Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada
The Lake Athabasca drainage area in northern Canada encompasses ecologically rich and sensitive ecosystems, vast forests, glacier-clad mountains, and abundant oil reserves in the form of oil sands. The basin includes the Peace–Athabasca Delta, recognized internationally by UNESCO and the Ramsar Conv...
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:972fec24be474c15b50f122d4424ac1b 2023-05-15T15:26:04+02:00 Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada K. Rasouli M. A. Hernández-Henríquez S. J. Déry 2013-05-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1681-2013 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/17/1681/2013/hess-17-1681-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/972fec24be474c15b50f122d4424ac1b en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/hess-17-1681-2013 1027-5606 1607-7938 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/17/1681/2013/hess-17-1681-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/972fec24be474c15b50f122d4424ac1b undefined Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Vol 17, Iss 5, Pp 1681-1691 (2013) envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2013 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1681-2013 2023-01-22T19:34:04Z The Lake Athabasca drainage area in northern Canada encompasses ecologically rich and sensitive ecosystems, vast forests, glacier-clad mountains, and abundant oil reserves in the form of oil sands. The basin includes the Peace–Athabasca Delta, recognized internationally by UNESCO and the Ramsar Convention as a biologically rich inland delta and wetland that are now under increasing pressure from multiple stressors. In this study, streamflow variability and trends for rivers feeding Lake Athabasca are investigated over the last half century. Hydrological regimes and trends are established using a robust regime shift detection method and the Mann–Kendall (MK) test, respectively. Results show that the Athabasca River, which is the main contributor to the total lake inflow, experienced marked declines in recent decades impacting lake levels and its ecosystem. From 1960 to 2010 there was a significant reduction in lake inflow and a significant recession in the Lake Athabasca level. Our trend analysis corroborates a previous study using proxy data obtained from nearby sediment cores suggesting that the lake level may drop 2 to 3 m by 2100. The lake recession may threaten the flora and fauna of the Athabasca Lake basin and negatively impact the ecological cycle of an inland freshwater delta and wetland of global importance. Article in Journal/Newspaper Athabasca River glacier* Lake Athabasca Unknown Athabasca River Canada Kendall ENVELOPE(-59.828,-59.828,-63.497,-63.497) Peace-Athabasca Delta ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 17 5 1681 1691 |
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envir geo K. Rasouli M. A. Hernández-Henríquez S. J. Déry Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada |
topic_facet |
envir geo |
description |
The Lake Athabasca drainage area in northern Canada encompasses ecologically rich and sensitive ecosystems, vast forests, glacier-clad mountains, and abundant oil reserves in the form of oil sands. The basin includes the Peace–Athabasca Delta, recognized internationally by UNESCO and the Ramsar Convention as a biologically rich inland delta and wetland that are now under increasing pressure from multiple stressors. In this study, streamflow variability and trends for rivers feeding Lake Athabasca are investigated over the last half century. Hydrological regimes and trends are established using a robust regime shift detection method and the Mann–Kendall (MK) test, respectively. Results show that the Athabasca River, which is the main contributor to the total lake inflow, experienced marked declines in recent decades impacting lake levels and its ecosystem. From 1960 to 2010 there was a significant reduction in lake inflow and a significant recession in the Lake Athabasca level. Our trend analysis corroborates a previous study using proxy data obtained from nearby sediment cores suggesting that the lake level may drop 2 to 3 m by 2100. The lake recession may threaten the flora and fauna of the Athabasca Lake basin and negatively impact the ecological cycle of an inland freshwater delta and wetland of global importance. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
K. Rasouli M. A. Hernández-Henríquez S. J. Déry |
author_facet |
K. Rasouli M. A. Hernández-Henríquez S. J. Déry |
author_sort |
K. Rasouli |
title |
Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada |
title_short |
Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada |
title_full |
Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada |
title_sort |
streamflow input to lake athabasca, canada |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1681-2013 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/17/1681/2013/hess-17-1681-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/972fec24be474c15b50f122d4424ac1b |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-59.828,-59.828,-63.497,-63.497) ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) |
geographic |
Athabasca River Canada Kendall Peace-Athabasca Delta |
geographic_facet |
Athabasca River Canada Kendall Peace-Athabasca Delta |
genre |
Athabasca River glacier* Lake Athabasca |
genre_facet |
Athabasca River glacier* Lake Athabasca |
op_source |
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Vol 17, Iss 5, Pp 1681-1691 (2013) |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/hess-17-1681-2013 1027-5606 1607-7938 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/17/1681/2013/hess-17-1681-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/972fec24be474c15b50f122d4424ac1b |
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undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1681-2013 |
container_title |
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1681 |
op_container_end_page |
1691 |
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