Recent climate and stable isotopes in modern surface waters of northernmost Ungava Peninsula, Canada

The isotope composition (δ 18 O and δD) of surface waters was measured over a 26-month period near three localities situated along the northern coast of Ungava Peninsula, Quebec, Canada. To characterize the present-day local hydrological settings, the oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios were measured...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
Main Authors: Saulnier-Talbot, Émilie, Leng, Melanie J, Pienitz, Reinhard
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2007
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e06-089
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e06-089
Description
Summary:The isotope composition (δ 18 O and δD) of surface waters was measured over a 26-month period near three localities situated along the northern coast of Ungava Peninsula, Quebec, Canada. To characterize the present-day local hydrological settings, the oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios were measured from precipitation and were compared to local and regional climate data. We show that the modern surface waters contain information on climate and that this relationship is likely to be transferred to biotic components within the lakes. These components, once sedimented, are therefore likely to form an archive of climate change. The new data presented here show the possibility of isotope paleoclimatic investigation based on lake sediments in the northern coastal region of Ungava Peninsula.