Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada
Water availability and management issues related to the supply of drinking water in northern communities are problematic in Canada. While rivers and lakes are abundant, they are vulnerable to contamination and may become dry in winter due to freezing. Groundwater can often provide a more secure and...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/16441 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-016-1411-1 |
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ftunivlavalcorp:oai:corpus.ulaval.ca:20.500.11794/16441 2024-06-23T07:54:25+00:00 Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada Cochand, Marion Ouellet, Michel Therrien, René Talbot Poulin, Marie-Catherine Murray, Renaud Banville, David-Roy Lemieux, Jean-Michel Fortier, Richard Molson, John W. H. (John William H.) Nunavik (Québec) 2018-01-15T16:21:01Z application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/16441 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-016-1411-1 eng eng Springer 1431-2174 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/16441 doi:10.1007/s10040-016-1411-1 http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec Cold regions hydrogeology Water supply Permafrost Climate change Canada Eau souterraine Hydrogéologie Eau -- Approvisionnement Pergélisols Climat -- Changements article de recherche COAR1_1::Texte::Périodique::Revue::Contribution à un journal::Article::Article de recherche 2018 ftunivlavalcorp https://doi.org/20.500.11794/1644110.1007/s10040-016-1411-1 2024-06-03T23:43:59Z Water availability and management issues related to the supply of drinking water in northern communities are problematic in Canada. While rivers and lakes are abundant, they are vulnerable to contamination and may become dry in winter due to freezing. Groundwater can often provide a more secure and sustainable water source, however its availability is limited in northern Canada due to the presence of permafrost. Moreover, the exploitation of northern aquifers poses a dual challenge of identifying not only permafrost-free areas, but also permeable areas which will allow groundwater recharge and exploitation. Suitable aquifers are not as common in northern Canada since the shallow subsurface is mostly composed of low-permeability crystalline rocks or unconsolidated sediments of glacial origin that are highly heterogeneous. In order to investigate groundwater occurrence and associated geological contexts in Nunavik (northern Quebec, Canada), along with exploring how these resources will evolve in response to climate change, field and compilation work were conducted in the surroundings of the four villages of Salluit, Kuujjuaq, Umiujaq and Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik. These villages are located in different permafrost zones, ranging from continuous to discontinuous, as well as in different geological environments. It was found that despite the ubiquitous presence of permafrost, unfrozen aquifers could be identified, which suggests that groundwater may be available as a source of drinking water for small communities. Expected climate change, with predicted permafrost thawing and increases in temperature and precipitation, should enhance groundwater availability and may contribute to a more secure source of drinking water for northern communities. Other/Unknown Material Kuujjuaq Kuujjuarapik permafrost Salluit Umiujaq Nunavik Université Laval: CorpusUL Nunavik Canada Kuujjuaq ENVELOPE(-68.398,-68.398,58.100,58.100) Kuujjuarapik ENVELOPE(-77.762,-77.762,55.276,55.276) Umiujaq ENVELOPE(-76.549,-76.549,56.553,56.553) Whapmagoostui ENVELOPE(-77.750,-77.750,55.250,55.250) Salluit ENVELOPE(-75.643,-75.643,62.204,62.204) Hydrogeology Journal 24 6 1497 1513 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université Laval: CorpusUL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivlavalcorp |
language |
English |
topic |
Cold regions hydrogeology Water supply Permafrost Climate change Canada Eau souterraine Hydrogéologie Eau -- Approvisionnement Pergélisols Climat -- Changements |
spellingShingle |
Cold regions hydrogeology Water supply Permafrost Climate change Canada Eau souterraine Hydrogéologie Eau -- Approvisionnement Pergélisols Climat -- Changements Cochand, Marion Ouellet, Michel Therrien, René Talbot Poulin, Marie-Catherine Murray, Renaud Banville, David-Roy Lemieux, Jean-Michel Fortier, Richard Molson, John W. H. (John William H.) Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada |
topic_facet |
Cold regions hydrogeology Water supply Permafrost Climate change Canada Eau souterraine Hydrogéologie Eau -- Approvisionnement Pergélisols Climat -- Changements |
description |
Water availability and management issues related to the supply of drinking water in northern communities are problematic in Canada. While rivers and lakes are abundant, they are vulnerable to contamination and may become dry in winter due to freezing. Groundwater can often provide a more secure and sustainable water source, however its availability is limited in northern Canada due to the presence of permafrost. Moreover, the exploitation of northern aquifers poses a dual challenge of identifying not only permafrost-free areas, but also permeable areas which will allow groundwater recharge and exploitation. Suitable aquifers are not as common in northern Canada since the shallow subsurface is mostly composed of low-permeability crystalline rocks or unconsolidated sediments of glacial origin that are highly heterogeneous. In order to investigate groundwater occurrence and associated geological contexts in Nunavik (northern Quebec, Canada), along with exploring how these resources will evolve in response to climate change, field and compilation work were conducted in the surroundings of the four villages of Salluit, Kuujjuaq, Umiujaq and Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik. These villages are located in different permafrost zones, ranging from continuous to discontinuous, as well as in different geological environments. It was found that despite the ubiquitous presence of permafrost, unfrozen aquifers could be identified, which suggests that groundwater may be available as a source of drinking water for small communities. Expected climate change, with predicted permafrost thawing and increases in temperature and precipitation, should enhance groundwater availability and may contribute to a more secure source of drinking water for northern communities. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Cochand, Marion Ouellet, Michel Therrien, René Talbot Poulin, Marie-Catherine Murray, Renaud Banville, David-Roy Lemieux, Jean-Michel Fortier, Richard Molson, John W. H. (John William H.) |
author_facet |
Cochand, Marion Ouellet, Michel Therrien, René Talbot Poulin, Marie-Catherine Murray, Renaud Banville, David-Roy Lemieux, Jean-Michel Fortier, Richard Molson, John W. H. (John William H.) |
author_sort |
Cochand, Marion |
title |
Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada |
title_short |
Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada |
title_full |
Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from Nunavik, Canada |
title_sort |
groundwater occurrence in cold environements : examples from nunavik, canada |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/16441 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-016-1411-1 |
op_coverage |
Nunavik (Québec) |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-68.398,-68.398,58.100,58.100) ENVELOPE(-77.762,-77.762,55.276,55.276) ENVELOPE(-76.549,-76.549,56.553,56.553) ENVELOPE(-77.750,-77.750,55.250,55.250) ENVELOPE(-75.643,-75.643,62.204,62.204) |
geographic |
Nunavik Canada Kuujjuaq Kuujjuarapik Umiujaq Whapmagoostui Salluit |
geographic_facet |
Nunavik Canada Kuujjuaq Kuujjuarapik Umiujaq Whapmagoostui Salluit |
genre |
Kuujjuaq Kuujjuarapik permafrost Salluit Umiujaq Nunavik |
genre_facet |
Kuujjuaq Kuujjuarapik permafrost Salluit Umiujaq Nunavik |
op_relation |
1431-2174 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/16441 doi:10.1007/s10040-016-1411-1 |
op_rights |
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/20.500.11794/1644110.1007/s10040-016-1411-1 |
container_title |
Hydrogeology Journal |
container_volume |
24 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1497 |
op_container_end_page |
1513 |
_version_ |
1802646576292691968 |