The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 14, issue 8
Articles | Volume 14, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 14, issue 8
Research article
 | 
20 Aug 2020
Research article |  | 20 Aug 2020

Thermokarst lake inception and development in syngenetic ice-wedge polygon terrain during a cooling climatic trend, Bylot Island (Nunavut), eastern Canadian Arctic

Frédéric Bouchard, Daniel Fortier, Michel Paquette, Vincent Boucher, Reinhard Pienitz, and Isabelle Laurion

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020-supplement

Data sets

Computed tomography (CT) scans of a lake sediment core, Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, v. 1.0 (2015-2015), Nordicana D54 D. Fortier, and F. Bouchard https://doi.org/10.5885/45612CE-AB27C20EB10D4509

Organic matter content and grain size distribution in a lake sediment core, Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, v. 1.0 (2015-2015), Nordicana D52 D. Fortier, and F. Bouchard https://doi.org/10.5885/45603CE-21852993EE434926

Radiocarbon (14C) dates in terrestrial and aquatic environments, Bylot Island, Nunavut. Nordicana D75 R. Pienitz, F. Bouchard, I. Laurion, R. Pienitz, and M. Allard https://doi.org/10.5885/45651CE-C6FD628F45E44578

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey data for a thermokarst lake, Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, v. 1.0 (2015-2015), Nordicana D53 D. Fortier, M. Paquette, and F. Bouchard https://doi.org/10.5885/45609CE-E3573955017A4904

Fossil diatom abundance in a lake sediment core, Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, v. 1.0 (2015-2015), Nordicana D51 R. Pienitz, F. Bouchard, and V. Boucher https://doi.org/10.5885/45600CE-C0960664FE8F4038

Video supplement

Underwater camera video of submerged degraded ice-wedge polygons at the bottom of the peripheral shallow platform of Gull Lake, Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada F. Bouchard https://doi.org/10.5446/43923

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Short summary
We combine lake mapping, landscape observations and sediment core analyses to document the evolution of a thermokarst (thaw) lake in the Canadian Arctic over the last millennia. We conclude that temperature is not the only driver of thermokarst development, as the lake likely started to form during a cooler period around 2000 years ago. The lake is now located in frozen layers with an organic carbon content that is an order of magnitude higher than the usually reported values across the Arctic.
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