ABSTRACT: Seasonal hydrology and doc dynamics at an extensive low-gradient wetland, Polar Bear Pass, Bathurst Island, Canada.

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Abstract

Numerous ponds and lakes exist at Polar Bear Pass (PBP), a National Wildlife area. This large wetland (100 km2) situated in the middle of Bathurst Island is considered one of the most critical ecological sites in the area and is home to migratory birds, muskox and caribou. Detailed hydrological and hydrochemical investigations were initiated here in the summer of 2007 and have continued through to 2010. In this talk we explore the seasonal variability of a range of ponds typical of the area and examine trends in the movement and sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) into them. Our hydrologic results suggest that ponds are highly dependent on the presence and/or absence of linkages to water sources, such as late-lying snowbeds occurring in the lee of slopes or hillslope creeks which drain into the low-lying wetland from the surrounding plateau, especially in warm years (e.g. 2007). Importance of these linkages is minimized in wet cool years (2008, 2009), when high summer rainfall keeps water tables high in ponds and connectivity between ponds, wet meadows and small creeks is enhanced. Seasonal dynamics of DOC into ponds was highly dependent on the timing and duration of a pond’s hydrologic connectivity to its catchment. Evaluation of terrestrial pathways of carbon showed distinct differences in DOC concentrations into ponds based on these different water sources (e.g. lingering snowbank, creek). Understanding pond hydrology, and pond linkages to its surrounding catchment (i.e. other water sources), along with terrestrial pathways for DOC will help to identify carbon pathways in this wetlands and perhaps lead to better estimates of carbon budgets in these expansive low-gradient wetlands.

Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology