December 14th, 2010
Climatic Factors Driving the Hydrological and
Geochemical Responses of Tundra Upland
Lakes to Landscape Perturbation
1,2Erika
Hille ([email protected]) , 1Daniel Peters, 1Fred Wrona, and 3Steve Kokelj
1Environment
Canada, Water and Climate Impacts Research Centre (W-CIRC),
University of Victoria, BC, V8W 3R4
2Department of Geography, University of Victoria, BC, V8W 3R4
3Water Resources Division, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Yellowknife,
NT, X1A 2R3
ISSUE
Climate Change, construction,
oil/gas extraction, etc.
Permafrost degradation – active
layer thickening and shoreline
retrogressive thaw slumping
(SRTS)
Potential hydro-bio-geochemical
impacts
(Prowse, 2009)
“SLUMPED LAKES”
Vegetation Removal
Steep Headwalls
Mudflows
Exposure of ice-rich sediment
Thawing
Terrain instability
Collapsing shoreline
Stabilization
Burn et al. (1989)
INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH
1.
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2.
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ArcticNet/IPY Freshwater Bionet investigation - “Hydroecological responses of Arctic tundra lakes to climate change
and landscape perturbation”
Permafrost degradation (Kokelj et al.)
Timing and duration of lake-ice (Prowse et al.)
Aquatic Biology (Wrona et al.)
Thompson et. al.
Other Research
Stream discharge (Marsh et al.)
Stream hydro-chemistry (Marsh et al.)
Catastrophic drainage (Marsh et al.)
Vegetation (Lantz et al.)
Snowpack (Kokelj et al.)
Contaminants (Blais et al.)
Others
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
Purpose:
To investigate linkages between the hydrological and
geochemical processes of the contributing basin and
tundra lakes affected by landscape perturbation in the
region north-east of Inuvik, NWT, Canada.
Objective 1:
Objective 2:
Create/update a historical record of
temperature and precipitation
annual snow pack index
spring freshet initiation
open water duration
rainfall
snowfall
evaporation
Assess the importance of landscape-level
processes on the geochemistry of
“slumped” and “unslumped” lakes.
“Slumped”
“Unslumped”
Primary Study Sites:
Unslumped: Lake 5A
Catchment area = 0.21 km2
Lake area = 0.03 km2
Lake depth = 10.9 m
Slumped:
Lake 5B
Catchment area = 0.28km2
Lake area = 0.03 km2
Lake depth = 9m
Proposed Mackenzie Valley
Natural Gas Pipeline
• 66 paired lakes (control and affected)
• Chosen by Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada (INAC)
LAKE 5B
LAKE 5A
• Temperature ↑ above 0 in a matter of
days
• By May 1st much of the snowpack
had ablated
1-Sep
1-Aug
1-Jul
1-Jun
1-May
1-Apr
1-Mar
1-Feb
1-Jan
Date
1-Dec
1-Nov
1-Oct
• In 2009 and 2010 (two primary study
years) snowmelt was initiated 2-3
weeks early
Inuvik, NWT
Air Temperature C
Average Daily Air Temperature:
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
1958 - 2010
Month
Rainfall
Snowfall
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
• Rainfall dominates June – September
November
• Snowfall dominates October – May
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
October
Precipitation:
Precipitation (mm)
• Rarely has this happened before
High inter-annual variability in stream flow…
Spring:
• Rapid melt rates
• Low vertical infiltration
• Overland flow dominates
Summer/Fall:
• Snowpack has mostly ablated
• High vertical infiltration
• Subsurface flow dominates
Winter
• Snowpack forming
• Little to no vertical infiltration
• Low stream flow
Quinton et al. (1999)
• Mean Annual Air Temperature Inuvik, NWT
2000
2020
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
Year
2009
2006
2003
2000
1997
1994
1991
1988
1985
1982
1979
1976
1973
1970
0
1967
• Significant implications for the
hydrology of our two primary study
lakes
1980
Mean Annual Air
Temperature
Sen's estimate
1964
• High inter-annual variability in
snowpack depth
1960
p < 0.05
1961
• May 1st snowpack – Precipitation
(mm) that fell between October 1st
and April 30th
0.00
-2.00
-4.00
-6.00
-8.00
-10.00
-12.00
-14.00
1958
• Overall, ↑ by 0.07 °C every year
May 1st Snowpack (mm)
• High inter-annual variability
Temperature C
1940
Slope = 0.07
Year
SPRING 0°C ISOTHERM
Mean = 136 (May 15th)
Mean = 144 (May 29th)
Slope = -0.143
Anomaly
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
-5.00
-10.00
-15.00
-20.00
-25.00
1960
1980
2000
2020
2009
p < 0.05
Year
Mean Annual Air
Temperature
Sen's estimate
Bonsal and Prowse (2003)
• Good for analysis of spatial/interannual variability in ice-on and ice-off
dates
• More robust methods required for
open-water duration
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Anomaly
Year
1940
SPRING FRESHET
INITIATION
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
-5.00
-10.00
-15.00
-20.00
-25.00 p > 0.05
2009
Mean Annual Air
Temperature
Burn et al. (2006)
• Trail Valley Creek can act as a
surrogate for our primary study lakes
• Observed seasonal variability in “slumped”
lake chemistry
300
250
200
• Observed difference between “Slumped”
and “Unslumped” lakes – Higher
concentrations of SO4, Ca, Mg, and Na in
“Slumped” lakes
150
100
50
14-Oct
24-Sep
4-Sep
Sample Date
Date
Date
Unslumped
SO4-
Na
Mg
Unslumped
SO4-
Na
Mg
Ca
14-Oct
0
24-Sep
14-Oct
24-Sep
4-Sep
15-Aug
26-Jul
6-Jul
16-Jun
27-May
7-May
0
2
4-Sep
50
4
15-Aug
100
26-Jul
150
6
6-Jul
200
8
16-Jun
250
10
27-May
Na
7-May
Mg
17-Apr
Ca
-1
SO4
• Similar seasonal variability observed at
“Unslumped” lake – at lower concentrations
300
17-Apr
-1
Concentration (Mg L )
Slumped
• Confirms results of Kokelj et al. (2009)
Concentration (Mg L )
15-Aug
26-Jul
6-Jul
16-Jun
27-May
7-May
0
17-Apr
-1
Concentration (Mg L )
PRELIMINARY DATA: LAKE GEOCHEMISTRY
• Similar seasonal trends are observed for
landscape flow (e.g., ephemeral drainage
channels)
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Date
• “Slump flow” has higher concentrations of
Mg, Na, SO4, and Ca
5
4
3
2
1
Mg
Na
SO4
Ca
“Non-slump
Flow”
Mg
Na
Ca
14-Oct
SO4
Date
24-Sep
4-Sep
“Non-Slump
Flow”
15-Aug
Date
26-Jul
16-Jun
6-Jul
0
27-May
14-Oct
24-Sep
4-Sep
15-Aug
26-Jul
6-Jul
16-Jun
27-May
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
7-May
-1
Concentration (Mg L )
Na
7-May
Mg
“Slump Flow”
• Observed seasonal variability in “slump flow
to lake” chemistry
Concentration (Mg L -1)
Ca
14-Oct
4-Sep
SO4
24-Sep
15-Aug
26-Jul
6-Jul
16-Jun
27-May
• Agrees with seasonal trends in stream
hydrochemistry observed at nearby Trail
Valley Creek – Quinton et al. (2006)
7-May
-1
Concentration (Mg L )
PRELIMINARY DATA: Surface Flow Geochemistry
Summary
•
Strong inter-annual and seasonal variability in temperature controls key hydrological
processes
Ice-on and ice-off dates
Spring freshet initiation
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Variability in rainfall and snowfall also have significant implications
Snowpack
Spring stream discharge
•
Lake and stream water chemistry appears to be typified by the spring freshet
•
Shoreline Retrogressive Thaw Slumping (SRTS) is a common feature among lakes
in the upland region north-east of Inuvik, NWT
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Permafrost degradation (SRTS) appears to increase the SO4, Ca, Na, and Mg
loading to ephemeral drainage channels – increasing the ionic concentration of
“slumped” lakes
•
↑ in the concentration of SO4, Ca, Na, and Mg may affect the ecology of “slumped”
lakes
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
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Evaporation
Detailed micrometeorological measurements taken for 2006, 2007,
2008, and 2009
Use Priestley-Taylor to modify a simpler method
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Snow Water Equivalence (SWE)
Detailed snow surveys at 5A and 5B for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009
Snowpack at “slumped” vs. “non-slumped” lakes
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Inter-annual and seasonal variability in lake geochemistry – “slumped” vs.
“non-slumped”
Additional water chemistry data for 2007, 2007, 2008, and 2010
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Regional variability in lake geochemistry
Landscape and lake geochemistry at 19 additional lakes
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Regional variability in soil and permafrost geochemistry
Soil and Permafrost cores taken along the proposed transect
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Community outreach – NSERC Northern Research Internship
THANK YOU!
• Tom Carter
• Donald Ross
• William Hurst
• Klaus Gantner
• Peter Di Cenzo
Questions? E-mail me at [email protected]