CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Giles, P.T.
Date : 2003.
Title : Preliminary investigation of depositional fans and catchment areas in the Kluane region, southwest Yukon, Canada.
Publication : Joint Annual Meeting of the Canadian Quaternary Association and the Canadian Geomorphology Research Group. Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 8-12, 2003.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
This presentation summarizes a preliminary investigation of the morphology of terrestrial depositional fans, and corresponding catchment areas, in the Kluane region of southwest Yukon. A data set describing 350 fans and catchments was collected from visual interpretation of satellite imagery and automated analysis of digital elevation data. Reconnaissance field work was also conducted in the summer of 2002. The study area is a high-relief landscape, has very high rates of geomorphological processes, and is currently undergoing tectonic uplift. Both alluvial-dominated fans and debris-flow dominated fans are found. Many of the catchments supplying fans have recently emerged from glaciation or still contain alpine glaciers, and most catchments are believed to be underlain by permafrost at higher elevations. Expected changes in climate will likely affect permafrost stability and the nature of geomorphological processes in the catchment areas. Depositional fans and catchment areas, and their evolution, are closely linked, as fans are built with sediment material from the catchments. Past geomorphological, hydrological, climatic, and vegetation conditions in catchments have been interpreted from fan characteristics and deposits in previous studies. It has been demonstrated that within a region, catchment characteristics are the most influential factor in controlling fan morphology. The data for Kluane examined here reveal moderate to weak relationships between individual fan and catchment morphometric variables, meaning that the factors controlling fan morphology must be isolated and studied more closely. Research in the Kluane region is planned to continue in the following areas of investigation: 1) studying morphometric relationships between catchment area and depositional fan characteristics; 2) understanding the roles of glacial, periglacial, and fluvial processes in supplying sediment to the fans; 3) examining the effects on fan morphometry caused by differences in receiving basin characteristics, and by a climatic gradient (becoming drier from south to north). In addition to examining relationships at the gross morphological level, a sample of catchments and fans will be studied in greater detail. The overall objective of this research is to understand better the geomorphological processes in a mountainous landscape in the discontinuous permafrost zone of Canada.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology