Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada
Permanent ice patches in the western Canadian Subarctic have been recently identified as sources of cryogenically preserved artifacts and biological specimens. The formation, composition, and constancy of these ice patches have yet to be studied. As part of the Northwest Territories (NWT) Ice Patch...
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/67231 2023-05-15T14:19:26+02:00 Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada Meulendyk, Thomas Moorman, Brian J. Andrews, Thomas D. MacKay, Glen 2012-05-24 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67231 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67231/51141 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67231 ARCTIC; Vol. 65 No. 5 (2012): Supplement 1: 1–202; 43–58 1923-1245 0004-0843 Holocene ground-penetrating radar ice coring radiocarbon dating geomorphology ice accumulation dung firn Holocène géoradar carottage de la glace datation au radiocarbone géomorphologie accumulation de glace déjection névé info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 2012 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:23:57Z Permanent ice patches in the western Canadian Subarctic have been recently identified as sources of cryogenically preserved artifacts and biological specimens. The formation, composition, and constancy of these ice patches have yet to be studied. As part of the Northwest Territories (NWT) Ice Patch Study, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and ice coring were used to examine the stratigraphy and internal structure of two ice patches. Results show the patches are composed of a core of distinct offset units, up to several metres thick, covered by a blanket of firn and snow. The interfaces between the units of ice are often demarcated by thin sections of frozen caribou dung and fine sediment. Radiocarbon dates of dung extracted from ice cores have revealed a long history for these perennial patches, up to 4400 years BP. Ice patch growth is discontinuous and occurs intermittently. Extensive time gaps exist between the units of ice, indicating that summers of catastrophic melt can interrupt extended periods of net accumulation. The results of this work not only display the character of ice patch development, but also indicate the significant role that ice patches can play in reconstructing the paleoenvironmental conditions of an area. Récemment, on a déterminé que les névés permanents du subarctique de l’Ouest canadien constituent des sources d’artefacts et de spécimens biologiques préservés cryogéniquement. La formation, la composition et la constance de ces névés n’ont toujours pas été étudiées. Dans le cadre de l’étude des névés des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, on a recouru à des géoradars (GPR) et au carottage de la glace pour examiner la stratigraphie et la structure interne de deux névés. Les résultats indiquent que les névés sont composés d’un noyau d’unités distinctes et décalées, mesurant plusieurs mètres d’épaisseur et recouvertes d’une couverture de vieille neige et de neige. L’interface entre les unités de glace est souvent démarquée par de minces sections de déjections de caribou gelées et de sédiments fins. La datation au radiocarbone des déjections extraites des carottes de glace révèle que ces névés pérennes ont une longue histoire, remontant jusqu’à 4400 ans BP. L’amplification des névés est discontinue et se produit de manière intermittente. Des écarts de temps considérables existent entre les unités de glace, ce qui laisse entendre que des étés de fonte catastrophique peuvent interrompre les périodes prolongées d’accumulation nette. Les résultats de cette étude laissent non seulement entrevoir le caractère de la formation des névés, mais indiquent également le rôle important que les névés peuvent jouer dans la reconstruction des conditions paléoenvironnementales d’une région. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Northwest Territories Subarctic subarctique* Territoires du Nord-Ouest University of Calgary Journal Hosting Canada Northwest Territories ARCTIC 65 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Holocene ground-penetrating radar ice coring radiocarbon dating geomorphology ice accumulation dung firn Holocène géoradar carottage de la glace datation au radiocarbone géomorphologie accumulation de glace déjection névé |
spellingShingle |
Holocene ground-penetrating radar ice coring radiocarbon dating geomorphology ice accumulation dung firn Holocène géoradar carottage de la glace datation au radiocarbone géomorphologie accumulation de glace déjection névé Meulendyk, Thomas Moorman, Brian J. Andrews, Thomas D. MacKay, Glen Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada |
topic_facet |
Holocene ground-penetrating radar ice coring radiocarbon dating geomorphology ice accumulation dung firn Holocène géoradar carottage de la glace datation au radiocarbone géomorphologie accumulation de glace déjection névé |
description |
Permanent ice patches in the western Canadian Subarctic have been recently identified as sources of cryogenically preserved artifacts and biological specimens. The formation, composition, and constancy of these ice patches have yet to be studied. As part of the Northwest Territories (NWT) Ice Patch Study, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and ice coring were used to examine the stratigraphy and internal structure of two ice patches. Results show the patches are composed of a core of distinct offset units, up to several metres thick, covered by a blanket of firn and snow. The interfaces between the units of ice are often demarcated by thin sections of frozen caribou dung and fine sediment. Radiocarbon dates of dung extracted from ice cores have revealed a long history for these perennial patches, up to 4400 years BP. Ice patch growth is discontinuous and occurs intermittently. Extensive time gaps exist between the units of ice, indicating that summers of catastrophic melt can interrupt extended periods of net accumulation. The results of this work not only display the character of ice patch development, but also indicate the significant role that ice patches can play in reconstructing the paleoenvironmental conditions of an area. Récemment, on a déterminé que les névés permanents du subarctique de l’Ouest canadien constituent des sources d’artefacts et de spécimens biologiques préservés cryogéniquement. La formation, la composition et la constance de ces névés n’ont toujours pas été étudiées. Dans le cadre de l’étude des névés des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, on a recouru à des géoradars (GPR) et au carottage de la glace pour examiner la stratigraphie et la structure interne de deux névés. Les résultats indiquent que les névés sont composés d’un noyau d’unités distinctes et décalées, mesurant plusieurs mètres d’épaisseur et recouvertes d’une couverture de vieille neige et de neige. L’interface entre les unités de glace est souvent démarquée par de minces sections de déjections de caribou gelées et de sédiments fins. La datation au radiocarbone des déjections extraites des carottes de glace révèle que ces névés pérennes ont une longue histoire, remontant jusqu’à 4400 ans BP. L’amplification des névés est discontinue et se produit de manière intermittente. Des écarts de temps considérables existent entre les unités de glace, ce qui laisse entendre que des étés de fonte catastrophique peuvent interrompre les périodes prolongées d’accumulation nette. Les résultats de cette étude laissent non seulement entrevoir le caractère de la formation des névés, mais indiquent également le rôle important que les névés peuvent jouer dans la reconstruction des conditions paléoenvironnementales d’une région. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Meulendyk, Thomas Moorman, Brian J. Andrews, Thomas D. MacKay, Glen |
author_facet |
Meulendyk, Thomas Moorman, Brian J. Andrews, Thomas D. MacKay, Glen |
author_sort |
Meulendyk, Thomas |
title |
Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_short |
Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full |
Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Morphology and Development of Ice Patches in Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_sort |
morphology and development of ice patches in northwest territories, canada |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67231 |
geographic |
Canada Northwest Territories |
geographic_facet |
Canada Northwest Territories |
genre |
Arctic Northwest Territories Subarctic subarctique* Territoires du Nord-Ouest |
genre_facet |
Arctic Northwest Territories Subarctic subarctique* Territoires du Nord-Ouest |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 65 No. 5 (2012): Supplement 1: 1–202; 43–58 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67231/51141 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67231 |
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ARCTIC |
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65 |
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5 |
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1766291266969010176 |