Recent Dynamics of Subarctic Dunes as Determined by Tree-Ring Analysis of White Spruce, Hudson Bay, Québec

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Marin, Pierre, Filion, Louise
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1992
• Subjects: Hudson Bay; Hudson; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(92)90041-g; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:003358949290041G?httpAccept=text/xml; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:003358949290041G?httpAccept=text/plain; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400024157

Abstract The radial-growth patterns of white spruce were studied on a number of trees growing in subarctic dunes along the eastern coast of Hudson Bay to calculate the rates of accumulation, erosion, and migration of cold-climate sand dunes. The average rate of sand accumulation in sheltered dunes (forest sites) was 2.5 to 3.3 cm/yr, which is two to three times lower than in highly exposed dunes with a rate of sedimentation of 7.65 cm/yr. The average erosion rate was 1.4–1.7 cm/yr, about two times lower than the accumulation rate. The migration rate of sheltered dunes was 18 to 30 cm/yr, three to five times lower than for an exposed dune which advanced at a speed of 74 cm/yr. This migration rate established for highly exposed dunes in the Subarctic with tree-ring methods is about 10 times lower than that established for a barchan in the Sahara with other methods.