CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Broster, B.E.
Date : 1998
Title : Aspects of engineering geology at Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Publication : Urban Geology of Canadian Cities. Edited by: P.F. Karrow. Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper
Issue : 42:
Page(s) : 401-408
Abstract
Geotechnical data sets for Fredericton now exist mainly in the form of thematic, disassociated government reports, student theses, and independent engineering studies. A review of these data indicates that city growth and land-use are strongly linked to physiography and the style of local deglaciation during the late Wisconsinan. Deglaciation involved valley infilling under changing glaciomarine, estuarine and lacustrine conditions. Glacial sediments, more than 60 m thick in the centre of the valley, include variable clays (marine mud and laminated glaciolacustrine clay-silt) intercalated with glaciofluvial sand and gravel, underlain by a clayey lodgement till, and capped by a postglacial clay aquiclude and granular alluvium. Drilling logs indicate that the clay-silt unit surrounds a 45 m-thick glaciofluvial unit that forms the Fredericton aquifer, which supplies water for 90% of the city. Remaining water demands are supplied from bedrock wells that produce an aromatic Fe-Mn-rich water. Major portions of the downtown, high-density area of Fredericton, are sited on a floodplain that is prone to periodic flooding. Post-glacial erosion has cut through a floodplain aquiclude enabling migration of water or contaminants into the aquifer. Considerations for future development and land-use planning discussed in this study include: the potential for contamination of the aquifer, flood-prone urban areas, disturbance of sensitive clay by construction or seismicity and the need for a comprehensive data retrieval system.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology