Dust Detection: Developing a toolbox to monitor fugitive dust in the Arctic

Canada’s Arctic is an expansive and unique environment. Although sparsely populated, it’s home to many communities, including Mittimatalik, also known as Pond Inlet. Mittimatalik is the largest community on Northwest Baffin Island in Nunavut. It’s known as the “Jewel of the North” as it’s surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges, glaciers and an abundance of wildlife. The region also has abundant mineral deposits and is the site of Canada’s most northern mine. Located 160 kilometres south of Mittimatalik, the Mary River Mine has been in operation since 2014 producing the highest-grade direct-shipping iron ore in the world.

November 2024

By Madison VanCamp

As the dust settles

In recent years, traditional land-users travelling near the mine have noticed changes to the landscape, including discoloration of the snow and ice, which is an important source of fresh water in the winter. There are concerns that this discoloration is caused by dust originating from local mining activities, such as blasting, hauling and stockpiling iron ore.

This dust, referred to as fugitive dust, is a potential environmental issue, especially in sensitive ecosystems such as the Arctic. To better understand what’s happening on Northwest Baffin Island, Natural Resources Canada research scientists Philippa Huntsman, PhD of CanmetMINING and H. Peter White, PhD from the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observations and their team including PhD student Amy Cleaver, are developing a toolbox of comprehensive techniques to monitor dust in the Arctic.

Reaching out to the community

They are conducting research primarily around the Mary River mine and collaborating with Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation (BIMC) to study the issue and to test different dust collection and detection technologies. Their aim is to improve mine dust monitoring and predictions for impact assessment.

“We’re looking to improve the techniques and tools for industry to monitor and characterize dust, and we’re also working with the community to address the questions they have,” said Philippa. Working with local communities and BIMC at each stage of the project will lead to a more complete and valuable understanding of the issue.

They started this project by holding meetings and workshops in Mittimatalik to hear the community’s feedback about dust. This collaborative approach allowed the team to align their research goals with the community’s needs, ensuring that the data being collected addresses specific questions from the community about what is in the dust and where it is going.

Fugitive dust

“Fugitive” dust gets its name as it is air-borne particulate matter that evades capture, making it challenging to monitor and control. It’s often produced by industrial operations, road construction, traffic and natural disturbances. Fugitive mine dust is a potential pollutant as it can contain various metals and metalloids, depending on what is being mined.

Dust monitoring

Dust monitoring in the Arctic provides unique challenges, even for experienced researchers like Peter, Philippa and Amy.  “We’ve worked at other sites across Canada, but this is the first tundra environment we’ve both worked in,” says Peter. The team is looking to integrate various ground-based dust capture techniques, such as collecting samples from snow and lichen and using dustfall samplers, known as passive dust deposition collectors.

Since fugitive dust settles on snow, samples are collected in the spring to analyze the amount of dust that has accumulated over the winter. These samples help the team map the regional distribution of dust and identify the chemical elements and minerals it contains. This information helps them understand how dust-forming minerals affect the movement of elements near the mine.

These sampling efforts are combined with remote sensing techniques including satellite imagery to detect dust on the surface of the snow. The presence of dust on snow alters its albedo — or reflectivity — by creating a layer that absorbs more sunlight. This could impact both melt rates and the amount of water produced from snowmelt.

The team also uses ground-based monitoring devices such as passive dust collectors, allowing them to monitor regional dustfall remotely. At previous sites, they were able to install the collectors on trees. However, with no trees in the Arctic, they had to design tripods to hold the dust collectors. These collectors have been successfully deployed at 17 locations on Northwest Baffin Island. And as Philippa says, they’re “collecting dust as we are sitting here talking.”

In addition to analyzing the snow and using remote sensing and ground-based devices, a fourth approach to measuring fugitive dust levels involves collecting vegetation samples, as dust can accumulate on lichen and dwarf willow growing in tundra. This work complements other BIMC studies conducted annually as part of the mine company’s ongoing environmental monitoring program. Overall, this multidisciplinary approach will help to develop a toolbox of dust monitoring techniques suitable for Arctic conditions. The findings produced by all these tools are being evaluated to gain a clearer picture of the transport and distribution of dustfall in the surrounding environment.

A joint effort

Maintaining these monitoring tools is a large task, and collaboration is essential to the project’s success. Partnering with local guides from the Mittimatalik community is invaluable for Philippa and Peter, since they can’t always be there in person. So, in the case of the dust collectors, these are managed by the BIMC’s environment team and local guides from Pond Inlet, who receive training and advice from Peter and Philippa’s team. This local support not only ensures that the dust monitoring equipment is maintained and samples are sent to the lab, but also that on-site knowledge and experience can be integrated into the project on a deeper level.

A cornerstone of this research is its strong emphasis on community co-development and participation. “The community knows the land,” says Philippa. “We’re bringing our Western scientific expertise, but we depend on their participation to create an impactful research program that benefits everyone.”

This work is supported by the BIMC, which has its own dustfall monitoring program in place. By working together, BIMC and NRCan aim to better understand if a variety of monitoring techniques capture data more effectively. Once this point is established, these techniques can then be assessed for wider use at mining and infrastructure sites across the Canadian Arctic.

For now, the data collection and analysis are continuing, with plans for more fieldwork next year. This long-term monitoring will provide a more robust understanding of dust dynamics in the Arctic and help Peter, Philippa and their team further refine their Arctic monitoring toolbox.

Addressing Arctic challenges

Partnerships between researchers, industry and local communities are vital for addressing the unique challenges posed by dust monitoring in the Arctic, and they also ensure that the voices of the people who are most affected are directly involved in the scientific process and discourse.

Through continued collaboration and innovation, Peter and Philippa strive to advance inclusive and effective monitoring practices that can be applied across many different environments and benefit many people in many ways.

Discover more:

Bridging traditional and scientific knowledge in Tuktoyaktuk
Research in the Arctic (Natural Elements)