ABSTRACT: Alluvial fan susceptibility to thermoerosion in a small arctic basin,Pangnirtung, NU.

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Abstract

An exceptional rainstorm, high air temperature, thick snow cover and low soil permeability due to high permafrost table in early summer are some of the main causes that led to an extreme peak discharge of the Duval River, in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, on June 8, 2008. The 95 km2 catchment is located on mountainous terrain and the river flows in a steep channel down to a large Holocene alluvial fan on which the community is partially built. In a matter of several hours, an estimated volume of 91 000 m3 of sediments were eroded by the combined mechanical and thermal action of flowing water (thermoerosion). The bouldery main channel of the river was overdeepened by nearly 10 m while the permafrost river banks were undercut up to ~ 80 m laterally. The weight of the undercut bank eventually exceeded the strength of the permafrost and they collapsed, permanently damaging two bridges. As the Duval River flows through the community, the damage to the bridges resulted in limited access to some vital services such as distribution of drinking water and sewage transport. This event shows how climate change and, more specifically, the potential increase in the recurrence of extreme climatic events can trigger landscape hazards, raising safety concerns and infrastructure issues in northern communities. In order to help develop a more resilient community, this study focuses on understanding the process of thermal erosion and on assessing the potential risk of reoccurrence of a high magnitude fluvial event in Pangnirtung. The susceptibility to thermoerosion of the alluvial fan on which the river flows was determined by measuring the main characteristics of the permafrost (grain size, temperature profile, water and ice content) and of the Duval River (water temperature, discharge, channel slope). The unconsolidated sediments (silty-sand matrix till), the low ice-content and the relatively high permafrost temperature at the 12 m depth (-2.8 °C) are all factors promoting thermal erosion. However, the bouldery pavement of the river bed and at the foot of the river banks limits contact between water and permafrost and therefore inhibits heat transfer. The size of the boulders (over a meter in diameter) indicates that a particularly strong discharge is necessary to move them in order to expose permafrost to water. As the river is not gauged and precipitation data are sparse, estimates of the flow regime at the time of the thermal erosion event were derived from the assessment of the convective heat transport coefficient based on the size and rate of cutting of the thermal erosion notch as observed and photographed by community members.

Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology