An Extreme Sediment Transfer Event in a Canadian High Arctic Stream.
Two large suspended sediment concentration (SSC) pulses were recorded in 1998 in a small snowmelt-fed stream on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. The largest pulse occurred from 7 to 8 July, when 32% of the monitored seasonal sediment transport occurred in only four hours. SSC reached 83...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2005
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://espace.inrs.ca/id/eprint/9576/ https://espace.inrs.ca/id/eprint/9576/1/P1352.pdf https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2005)037[0477:AESTEI]2.0.CO;2 |
Summary: | Two large suspended sediment concentration (SSC) pulses were recorded in 1998 in a small snowmelt-fed stream on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. The largest pulse occurred from 7 to 8 July, when 32% of the monitored seasonal sediment transport occurred in only four hours. SSC reached 83,760 mg L⁻¹, exceeding all previously recorded values from high arctic glacially-fed and snowmelt-fed rivers by more than one order of magnitude. The event occurred after the majority of snow in the watershed had melted, and was preceded by a long period of relatively high air temperature, and a small rainfall event on 7 July. We consider the most likely cause of the event to be a rapid mass movement. |
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