ABSTRACT: Sedimentation rates through time, Sunwapta Lake, Jasper National Park.

CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Abstract

Athabasca glacier is perhaps the most visited glacier in Canada, and from early historical times has been held in awe by all who visited. The first to visit and report about on it, gave a written impression of its extent, but it wasnt until the early 1900s that it was first photographed. From this point in time, photographic evidence illustrates that it has dramatically receded. Since about 1939, a small proglacial lake began to develop in the carved out bedrock, and this lake has continued to evolved through time. Sunwapta Lake was formed in the forefield of the Athabasca Glacier located in the Columbia Icefield region of Jasper National Park. It is fed by meltwater from both the Athabasca and Little Athabasca Glaciers and it drains into the Sunwapta River through a single outlet channel. Various researchers have studied the changing size and volume of the lake, and this study provides and update to this record of evolution. A bathymetric analysis was conducted on the lake in late August with the aid of a Trimble Differential GPS unit. We collected 250 depth measurements across the surface of the lake. The lakebed was mapped in three dimensions using the program SURFERTM and the current volume was calculated to be 237 000 cubic metres, which is an increase from the last measurements estimated in 2000. The causation of these changes, as well as the volumetric alterations during the past will be explored in this talk.

Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology