CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Brock, B.E.; Wolfe, B.B.; and Edwards, T.W.
Date : 2006.
Title : Identifying spatial and interannual variability in spring flooding in the Slave River Delta, NWT, using water isotope tracers.
Publication : Eos Transactions. AGU,
Issue : 87(52), Fall Meeting Supplement,
Page(s) : Abstract H12C-01.
Abstract
The Slave River Delta (SRD), one of three major river deltas in the Mackenzie Drainage Basin in northern Canada, is a highly productive ecosystem on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, NWT. Ongoing multidisciplinary research in the SRD aims to understand the basic functioning of the SRD ecosystem, and to address recent concerns about the impacts of natural and anthropogenic variations in climate and the river regime on SRD hydroecology. Here we focus on hydrological aspects of the flood-prone spring melt period in 40 SRD lakes, as the ecological productivity of the delta is thought to be closely associated with the delivery of Slave River water and sediment during the spring freshet. We aim to identify spatial and interannual variability in the magnitude of spring flooding, and potential causes of the observed variability. Data from analysis of water isotope tracers (18O, 2H) and total suspended sediments are used to differentiate flooded and non-flooded lakes, estimate floodwater- or snowmelt-induced dilution in delta lakes, and to conduct preliminary spatial mapping of spring melt conditions during 2003-2005, three years that displayed contrasting spring melt conditions. Thaw season temperature, snowpack depth and precipitation, as well as Slave River level and discharge, are examined to determine the main factors responsible for the observed variability in spring flooding in the SRD between 2003-2005. The understanding of spring melt conditions developed here will be used to reconstruct Slave River discharge from lake sediment records, and to hindcast flood frequency and its potential impacts on the delta. Collectively, this information is critical when considering the implications of naturally- and anthropogenically-induced variations in lake water balances, consequent impacts on the biological and ecological communities of the SRD, and resource management decisions for the delta.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology