Nested groundwater flow systems in Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta-Northwest Territories, Canada

• Main Author: Judit Deri-Takacs
• Other Authors: Mendoza, Carl (Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), Alessi, Daniel (Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), Rostron, Ben (Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences)
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alberta. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. 2019
• Subjects: geo; envir; Canada; Caribou Mountains; Northwest Territories; Wood Buffalo; Wood Buffalo National Park
• Online Access: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/2743250f-00d1-4e6d-b902-50106112048d

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Abstract: Water chemistry, numerical simulation and groundwater-related surface phenomena were combined into one integrated model to confirm the different scales and segments of flow systems in Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP). Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) concentrations in surface waters and springs in WBNP range from less than 1,000 mg/L to more than 300,000 mg/L. Hydrochemical facies of the waters form four distinct groups: 1) sodium- and chloride -dominated waters, 2) “mixed”-type of waters, 3) calcium- and sulphate-dominated waters, and 4) calcium- and bicarbonate-dominated waters. The origin of waters in WBNP is meteoric water rather than formation fluids of the Alberta Basin. The geochemical character of waters resulted from three main rock-water interactions: dissolution of halite, dissolution of sulphate minerals (gypsum, anhydrite), and dissolution of carbonates. The water chemical characteristics reflect different scales and segments of flow systems in the study area.The flow regime in WBNP exhibits hierarchically nested regional, intermediate and local scale flow systems. Simulation results demonstrate that the Caribou Mountains create an isolated flow regime in the park which prevents formation fluids from basin-scale flow systems entering the WBNP region. The decreasing thickness of the basin and the topographic elevations of the Caribou Mountains induce a regional-scale flow system in the deep part of the domain that limits deep, basin-scale fluid-flow.Surface-related phenomena related to groundwater discharge include water chemical characteristics, as well as presence of wetlands, springs, saline soils, phreatophyte/halophyte vegetation, karstic features and geothermal anomalies. These phenomena indicate discharge from different scales of groundwater flow systems.Wetlands, fresh water springs and phreatophyte vegetation indicate groundwater discharge of short flow systems near the Caribou Mountains and in the Salt Plains. Wetlands accompanied by springs with elevated ...