Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario
The advance and retreat of ice lobe margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet formed moraines that are a prevalent feature throughout southwestern Ontario. In contrast to the well-studied stratified moraine complexes, recessional and end moraines have largely been ignored in the context of hydrogeological...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 2024-06-23T07:53:49+00:00 Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario Arnaud, Emmanuelle McGill, Michael Trapp, Andrew Smith, James E. 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 55, issue 7, page 768-785 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 journal-article 2018 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 2024-06-13T04:10:50Z The advance and retreat of ice lobe margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet formed moraines that are a prevalent feature throughout southwestern Ontario. In contrast to the well-studied stratified moraine complexes, recessional and end moraines have largely been ignored in the context of hydrogeological studies. Recent urban growth has led to development pressures on these moraines and a need to better understand their hydrogeology. This study presents data sets from the Paris Moraine near Guelph, Ontario, to examine its geomorphology, internal composition, and the corresponding hydraulic properties of these ice-marginal features. The moraine’s geomorphic elements were mapped using high-resolution Global Positioning System transects, aerial photograph analysis, and ground truthing. Nine continuous sediment cores were recovered to determine the nature and distribution of subsurface sedimentary units and their relation to the regional stratigraphic framework. Cores were described in detail using standard sedimentological techniques, and significant sediment heterogeneity was observed in cross sections. Grain-size analyses of over 150 samples provide site-specific estimates of saturated hydraulic conductivity. In addition, saturated hydraulic conductivity was measured on 104 samples using the falling head permeameter method. This study found that different scales of sediment heterogeneity occur across the moraine and the associated till plain and outwash. In contrast, the hydraulic conductivity varies much less. It is expected that certain sedimentary units at specific depths will impact groundwater flow at the centimetre to hundreds of metres scale, which is significant in environmental site assessments or for understanding contaminant hydrogeological problems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 55 7 768 785 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
The advance and retreat of ice lobe margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet formed moraines that are a prevalent feature throughout southwestern Ontario. In contrast to the well-studied stratified moraine complexes, recessional and end moraines have largely been ignored in the context of hydrogeological studies. Recent urban growth has led to development pressures on these moraines and a need to better understand their hydrogeology. This study presents data sets from the Paris Moraine near Guelph, Ontario, to examine its geomorphology, internal composition, and the corresponding hydraulic properties of these ice-marginal features. The moraine’s geomorphic elements were mapped using high-resolution Global Positioning System transects, aerial photograph analysis, and ground truthing. Nine continuous sediment cores were recovered to determine the nature and distribution of subsurface sedimentary units and their relation to the regional stratigraphic framework. Cores were described in detail using standard sedimentological techniques, and significant sediment heterogeneity was observed in cross sections. Grain-size analyses of over 150 samples provide site-specific estimates of saturated hydraulic conductivity. In addition, saturated hydraulic conductivity was measured on 104 samples using the falling head permeameter method. This study found that different scales of sediment heterogeneity occur across the moraine and the associated till plain and outwash. In contrast, the hydraulic conductivity varies much less. It is expected that certain sedimentary units at specific depths will impact groundwater flow at the centimetre to hundreds of metres scale, which is significant in environmental site assessments or for understanding contaminant hydrogeological problems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Arnaud, Emmanuelle McGill, Michael Trapp, Andrew Smith, James E. |
spellingShingle |
Arnaud, Emmanuelle McGill, Michael Trapp, Andrew Smith, James E. Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario |
author_facet |
Arnaud, Emmanuelle McGill, Michael Trapp, Andrew Smith, James E. |
author_sort |
Arnaud, Emmanuelle |
title |
Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario |
title_short |
Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario |
title_full |
Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario |
title_fullStr |
Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario |
title_full_unstemmed |
Subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky Paris Moraine, Guelph, Ontario |
title_sort |
subsurface heterogeneity in the geological and hydraulic properties of the hummocky paris moraine, guelph, ontario |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 |
genre |
Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 55, issue 7, page 768-785 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2016-0161 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
container_volume |
55 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
768 |
op_container_end_page |
785 |
_version_ |
1802645658718437376 |