Snowmelt hydrology and carbon dynamics in wetland ponds at Polar Bear Pass, Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada
Wetlands are important ecological niches in High Arctic environments, providing habitats for northern fauna and flora. Generally, these wetland complexes are composed of a series of ponds, wet meadows, and areas of wet and dry ground (Woo and Young 2006) and possess linkages to surrounding terrain (...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Conference Object |
| Language: | unknown |
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2012
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| Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/30361/ https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.39251 |
| Summary: | Wetlands are important ecological niches in High Arctic environments, providing habitats for northern fauna and flora. Generally, these wetland complexes are composed of a series of ponds, wet meadows, and areas of wet and dry ground (Woo and Young 2006) and possess linkages to surrounding terrain (e.g. hillslope streams, late-lying snowbeds). These connections have the ability to transfer water and nutrients into wetlands, but as yet, little is known about the importance of these contributions or the mechanisms which control them. A large number of ponds exist at Polar Bear Pass, Bathurst Island and are connected to their surrounding watersheds through various linkages and thus receive different hydrological and nutrient inputs. Since, ponds are numerous in this wetland and form the dominant land-use of this wetland-complex, the objective of this study was to understand the snowmelt hydrology, carbon dynamics (DOC, DIC, CO2, CH4) and carbon balance in a series of shallow tundra ponds comprising an extensive wetland system. |
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