Articles | Volume 16, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2837-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2837-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Contrasted geomorphological and limnological properties of thermokarst lakes formed in buried glacier ice and ice-wedge polygon terrain
Stéphanie Coulombe
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Polar Knowledge Canada, Cambridge Bay, X0B 0C0, Canada
Department of Geography, Université de Montréal,
Montréal, H2V 2B8, Canada
Centre for Northern Studies, Université Laval, Quebec City, G1V
0A6, Canada
Daniel Fortier
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, Université de Montréal,
Montréal, H2V 2B8, Canada
Centre for Northern Studies, Université Laval, Quebec City, G1V
0A6, Canada
Frédéric Bouchard
Centre for Northern Studies, Université Laval, Quebec City, G1V
0A6, Canada
Department of Applied Geomatics, Université de Sherbrooke,
Sherbrooke, J1K 2R1, Canada
Michel Paquette
Ecofish Research Ltd, Squamish, V8B 0V2, Canada
Simon Charbonneau
Department of Geography, Université de Montréal,
Montréal, H2V 2B8, Canada
Centre for Northern Studies, Université Laval, Quebec City, G1V
0A6, Canada
Denis Lacelle
Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of
Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N 6N5, Canada
Isabelle Laurion
Centre for Northern Studies, Université Laval, Quebec City, G1V
0A6, Canada
Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Institut national de la recherche
scientifique, Quebec City, G1K 9A9, Canada
Reinhard Pienitz
Centre for Northern Studies, Université Laval, Quebec City, G1V
0A6, Canada
Department of Geography, Université Laval, Quebec City, G1V 0A6,
Canada
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Small thermokarst lakes release greenhouse gases (GHGs) as permafrost thaws, but most studies focus on diurnal measurements, potentially overlooking significant variations. We measured GHG fluxes from 2 lakes in Nunavik over twosummers—one colder, one warmer—alongside two years of continuous water column monitoring. Fluxes were higher in the warmer summer, with strong day-night differences. Our findings show that accurate GHG estimates require full diel measurements and seasonal considerations.
Marjolaine Verret, Sebastian Naeher, Denis Lacelle, Catherine Ginnane, Warren Dickinson, Kevin Norton, Jocelyn Turnbull, and Richard Levy
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15 million years ago, the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica were dominated by a tundra environment. In contrast, the modern environment is amongst the coldest and driest on Earth. Using a permafrost core, this paper investigates the shift from a tundra- to a bacteria-dominated landscape. By differentiating between ancient and modern organic material, we further our understanding of preservation of ancient organic material and its response and contribution to future climate change.
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Thermo-erosion gullies (TEGs) are one of the most common forms of abrupt permafrost degradation. While their inception has been examined in several studies, the processes of their stabilization remain poorly documented. For this study, we investigated two TEGs in the Canadian High Arctic. We found that, while the formation of a TEG leaves permanent geomorphological scars in landscapes, in the long term, permafrost can recover to conditions similar to those pre-dating the initial disturbance.
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In the Arctic tundra, climate change is transforming the landscape, and this may impact wildlife. We focus on three nesting bird species and the islets they select as refuges from their main predator, the Arctic fox. A geomorphological process, ice-wedge polygon degradation, was found to play a key role in creating these refuges. This process is likely to affect predator–prey dynamics in the Arctic tundra, highlighting the connections between nature's physical and ecological systems.
Eliot Sicaud, Daniel Fortier, Jean-Pierre Dedieu, and Jan Franssen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 65–86, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-65-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-65-2024, 2024
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For vast northern watersheds, hydrological data are often sparse and incomplete. Our study used remote sensing and clustering to produce classifications of the George River watershed (GRW). Results show two types of subwatersheds with different hydrological behaviors. The GRW experienced a homogenization of subwatershed types likely due to an increase in vegetation productivity, which could explain the measured decline of 1 % (~0.16 km3 y−1) in the George River’s discharge since the mid-1970s.
Flora Mazoyer, Isabelle Laurion, and Milla Rautio
Biogeosciences, 19, 3959–3977, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3959-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3959-2022, 2022
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Dissolved organic matter collected at the end of winter from a peatland thermokarst lake was highly transformed and degraded by sunlight, leading to bacterial stimulation and CO2 production, but a fraction was also potentially lost by photoflocculation. Over 18 days, 18 % of the incubated dissolved organic matter was lost under sunlight, while dark bacterial degradation was negligible. Sunlight could have a marked effect on carbon cycling in organic-rich thermokarst lakes after ice-off.
Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Barret L. Kurylyk, Michelle A. Walvoord, Victor F. Bense, Daniel Fortier, Christopher Spence, and Christophe Grenier
The Cryosphere, 15, 479–484, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-479-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-479-2021, 2021
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Groundwater is an underappreciated catalyst of environmental change in a warming Arctic. We provide evidence of how changing groundwater systems underpin surface changes in the north, and we argue for research and inclusion of cryohydrogeology, the study of groundwater in cold regions.
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Short summary
Buried glacier ice is widespread in Arctic regions that were once covered by glaciers and ice sheets. In this study, we investigated the influence of buried glacier ice on the formation of Arctic tundra lakes on Bylot Island, Nunavut. Our results suggest that initiation of deeper lakes was triggered by the melting of buried glacier ice. Given future climate projections, the melting of glacier ice permafrost could create new aquatic ecosystems and strongly modify existing ones.
Buried glacier ice is widespread in Arctic regions that were once covered by glaciers and ice...