Soil Temperatures in the Active Layer, Beaufort Plain

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Author: French, Hugh M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1970
• Subjects: Frozen ground; Active layer; Arctic; Banks Island
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/66230

Reports on summer 1968 fieldwork in this region of northwest Banks Island, where the some 200-ft thick, probably late Tertiary Beaufort Formation outcrops as unconsolidated sands and gravel with shale units. This plain is gently undulating and fluvially dissected, with many asymmetric valleys having steeper slopes oriented to the southwest. The scant summer precipitation, temperature (T) and wind data are tabulated and discussed in connection with soil T measured on slopes of varying orientations. Absolute T values in the Beaufort materials are high relative to analogous arctic regions. The asymmetry of the valleys appears to be closely related to the distinctive microclimates on differently oriented slopes, as controlled by angle and azimuth of the sun and prevailing northwest winds. Températures du mollisol dans la plaine de Beaufort. Ce texte décrit les températures mesurées dans le mollisol, sur des pentes d'orientations diverses, dans le nord-ouest de l'île de Banks, au cours de l'été de 1968. Des températures élevées, souvent supérieures à 60ºF (16ºC) à une profondeur d'un pouce (25 mm) ne sont pas rares dans les aires sises sur la formation de Beaufort et reflètent la forte conductivité et la faible rétention thermiques de ces matériaux. On étudie brièvement la relation entre les micro-climats des pentes d'orientations diverses et la nature asymétrique des vallées de la région.