Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories
Arctic coasts are particularly vulnerable to rapid and extreme erosion due to the presence of ice-rich permafrost sediment, with erosion rates varying anywhere from 1 to 20 m/yr in the region. Erosion is limited to the open-water season such that the factors controlling rates of erosion are warmer a...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Master Thesis |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Schulich School of Engineering
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113949 https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39266 |
id |
ftunivcalgary:oai:prism.ucalgary.ca:1880/113949 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivcalgary:oai:prism.ucalgary.ca:1880/113949 2023-08-27T04:07:30+02:00 Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories Ouellette, Danika Sophie Hayley, Jocelyn H. Priest, Jeffrey A. Moorman, Brian J. Zhou, Qi 2021-09-16 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113949 https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39266 eng eng Schulich School of Engineering University of Calgary Ouellette, D. S. (2021). Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39266 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113949 University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Arctic Permafrost Coastal Erosion Numerical Modeling Engineering--Environmental Engineering--Marine and Ocean Geotechnology master thesis 2021 ftunivcalgary https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39266 2023-08-06T06:28:01Z Arctic coasts are particularly vulnerable to rapid and extreme erosion due to the presence of ice-rich permafrost sediment, with erosion rates varying anywhere from 1 to 20 m/yr in the region. Erosion is limited to the open-water season such that the factors controlling rates of erosion are warmer air temperatures and storm surges impacting the sensitive ice-rich permafrost coastal bluffs. Erosional processes in the Arctic are unique and consist of coupled thermal and mechanical mechanisms. The coastal community of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, located along the Beaufort Sea coast in the western Canadian Arctic, has been dealing with the consequences of coastal erosion for many decades and will likely face displacement due to accelerating rates of erosion. In this study, a process-based thermal-mechanical erosion numerical model was developed for Tuktoyaktuk Island, which currently shelters the harbour and eastern shores of the community from wave impact, to investigate erosional processes commonly impacting ice-rich permafrost coasts including thermal denudation of the cliff face, and thermal abrasion and formation of thermoerosional niche at the base of the cliff under a storm surge to understand the impact of permafrost sediment properties on rates of erosion. It was found that erosion rates vary significantly between stratigraphic units, where sandy silt sediments have higher rates than ice rich clayey silt layers due to latent heat effects, and therefore should be considered on a site-specific scale for engineering purposes rather than the traditional cliff edge retreat method. The increased granularity improved our understanding of erosion rates on Tuktoyaktuk Island thus enabling future detailed consideration of mitigation strategies. It was concluded that massive block failure due to the formation of a thermoerosional niche under a storm surge is presently unlikely to occur on the island. For block failure to occur, either a storm of extreme duration or storm surge level is required. Lastly, it is ... Master Thesis Arctic Beaufort Sea Ice Northwest Territories permafrost Tuktoyaktuk PRISM - University of Calgary Digital Repository Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk ENVELOPE(-133.006,-133.006,69.425,69.425) Tuktoyaktuk Island ENVELOPE(-133.009,-133.009,69.454,69.454) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PRISM - University of Calgary Digital Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgary |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Permafrost Coastal Erosion Numerical Modeling Engineering--Environmental Engineering--Marine and Ocean Geotechnology |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Permafrost Coastal Erosion Numerical Modeling Engineering--Environmental Engineering--Marine and Ocean Geotechnology Ouellette, Danika Sophie Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories |
topic_facet |
Arctic Permafrost Coastal Erosion Numerical Modeling Engineering--Environmental Engineering--Marine and Ocean Geotechnology |
description |
Arctic coasts are particularly vulnerable to rapid and extreme erosion due to the presence of ice-rich permafrost sediment, with erosion rates varying anywhere from 1 to 20 m/yr in the region. Erosion is limited to the open-water season such that the factors controlling rates of erosion are warmer air temperatures and storm surges impacting the sensitive ice-rich permafrost coastal bluffs. Erosional processes in the Arctic are unique and consist of coupled thermal and mechanical mechanisms. The coastal community of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, located along the Beaufort Sea coast in the western Canadian Arctic, has been dealing with the consequences of coastal erosion for many decades and will likely face displacement due to accelerating rates of erosion. In this study, a process-based thermal-mechanical erosion numerical model was developed for Tuktoyaktuk Island, which currently shelters the harbour and eastern shores of the community from wave impact, to investigate erosional processes commonly impacting ice-rich permafrost coasts including thermal denudation of the cliff face, and thermal abrasion and formation of thermoerosional niche at the base of the cliff under a storm surge to understand the impact of permafrost sediment properties on rates of erosion. It was found that erosion rates vary significantly between stratigraphic units, where sandy silt sediments have higher rates than ice rich clayey silt layers due to latent heat effects, and therefore should be considered on a site-specific scale for engineering purposes rather than the traditional cliff edge retreat method. The increased granularity improved our understanding of erosion rates on Tuktoyaktuk Island thus enabling future detailed consideration of mitigation strategies. It was concluded that massive block failure due to the formation of a thermoerosional niche under a storm surge is presently unlikely to occur on the island. For block failure to occur, either a storm of extreme duration or storm surge level is required. Lastly, it is ... |
author2 |
Hayley, Jocelyn H. Priest, Jeffrey A. Moorman, Brian J. Zhou, Qi |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Ouellette, Danika Sophie |
author_facet |
Ouellette, Danika Sophie |
author_sort |
Ouellette, Danika Sophie |
title |
Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories |
title_short |
Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories |
title_full |
Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories |
title_fullStr |
Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories |
title_sort |
thermal and mechanical modeling of coastal erosion processes on tuktoyaktuk island, northwest territories |
publisher |
Schulich School of Engineering |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113949 https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39266 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-133.006,-133.006,69.425,69.425) ENVELOPE(-133.009,-133.009,69.454,69.454) |
geographic |
Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk Tuktoyaktuk Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk Tuktoyaktuk Island |
genre |
Arctic Beaufort Sea Ice Northwest Territories permafrost Tuktoyaktuk |
genre_facet |
Arctic Beaufort Sea Ice Northwest Territories permafrost Tuktoyaktuk |
op_relation |
Ouellette, D. S. (2021). Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Coastal Erosion Processes on Tuktoyaktuk Island, Northwest Territories (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39266 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113949 |
op_rights |
University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39266 |
_version_ |
1775348258859646976 |