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

• 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
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Canada; Ungava Peninsula; Ungava peninsula
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e06-089; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e06-089

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.