Permafrost research at the Geological Survey of Canada is driven by client needs, including those of the federal, provincial and territorial governments, industry and the general public. The current focus is on several broad themes:
• northern hydrocarbon development and infrastructure
• baseline regional studies in resource development regions
• mapping, modelling and monitoring of permafrost and its interaction with climate
• permafrost hydrogeology and the behaviour of contaminants in frozen soils, and
• design and testing of geophysical instrumentation.

GSC's permafrost research integrates geological mapping, process studies, geotechnical investigations, geophysical and geothermal surveys, laboratory studies (through the GSC-Ottawa/Carleton Geocryology Facility), and numerical/GIS modelling.