| Title | Drift isopach, till isopach, and till facies reconstructions for Northwest Territories and northern Yukon |
| Download | Downloads |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Smith, I R ;
Lesk-Winfield, K |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 6324, 2010; 1 DVD, https://doi.org/10.4095/261783  Open Access |
| Links | Metadata - Métadonnées
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| Year | 2010 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | DVD; digital; on-line |
| File format | readme
|
| File format | txt; pdf; html; shp |
| Province | Northwest Territories; Yukon; Alberta; British Columbia |
| NTS | 84M; 84N; 84O; 85B; 85C; 85D; 85E; 85F; 85G; 85K; 85L; 85M; 94N; 94O; 94P; 95A; 95B; 95C; 95F; 95G; 95H; 95I; 95J; 95K; 95M; 95N; 95O; 95P; 96; 97B; 97A; 97B; 97C; 97D; 97F; 105P; 106; 107A; 107B; 107C;
107D; 107E; 116F; 116G; 116H; 116I; 116J; 116K; 116N; 116O; 116P; 117A; 117B; 117C; 117D |
| Area | Mackenzie corridor; Colville Hills; Fort Liard; Fort Good Hope; Fort McPherson; Mackenzie Delta; Mackenzie Mountains; Mackenzie River; Old Crow basin; Richardson Mountains; Trout Lake; Tuktoyaktuk
Peninsula |
| Lat/Long WENS | -144.0000 -114.0000 71.0000 59.5000 |
| Lat/Long WENS | -141.0000 -133.5000 69.5000 65.0000 |
| Subjects | surficial geology/geomorphology; stratigraphy; environmental geology; lithology; lithostratigraphy; permafrost; freezing ground; ground ice; glacial deposits; glaciofluvial deposits; glacial landforms;
postglacial deposits; fluvial deposits; tills; till deposits; drift deposits; overburden thickness; isopachs; aggregates; gravels; sands; silts; clays; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Quaternary; Mesozoic; Paleozoic |
| Illustrations | tables; screen captures |
| Program | Secure Canadian Energy Supply |
| Program | Program of Energy Research and Development (PERD) |
| Released | 2010 03 03 |
| Abstract | Unconsolidated sediments, collectively referred to as "drift," blanket much of the terrain in the Mackenzie corridor, Mackenzie Delta and adjoining regions of petroleum exploration and development in
Northwest Territories and northern Yukon. The drift cover is dominantly till, but may also include significant regional and localized accumulations of glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, and glaciomarine sediments as well as post-, and pre-glacial-aged
fluvial, lacustrine and aeolian deposits. In places the drift cover can be 10s of metres thick. The sedimentology, thickness, composition, and compaction of the drift cover fundamentally influence much of the biological, hydrological, permafrost, and
geomorphic characteristics of the landscape. Understanding the drift cover is thus recognized as being a key component of infrastructure development design and assessment, drift geochemical mineral and ore deposit exploration, and of particular
relevance to all manner of ecological studies.This study principally uses seismic shothole drillers' logs (~275,000), collected during auger drilling of shotholes (10-40 m deep) to create cumulative drift isopach (thickness) models and derivative
till isopach models. Transparencies of these two isopach models, overlaid onto a digital elevation model, depict areas of both positive constructional relief, and areas where drift has infilled valleys and/or blanketed the underlying topography.
Differences and regional trends of drift and till thickness can be linked to compressional and extensional dynamics of glacial entrainment and deposition, and areas where glaciers impounded the regional drainage, into which sedimentation was
focused.Further in aid of drift prospecting exploration, this study presents an identification of different till facies. Understanding of till facies is important because different facies are associated with either changes in glacial flow direction,
and hence, bedrock source material, or can be used to characterize tills comprised of more locally derived bedrock material such as typically shale-rich basal "blue tills" found in the southeastern and central Mackenzie corridor, compared to
overlying "brown tills" which are comprised of more far travelled, englacially transported Canadian Shield derived materials, deposited by deglacial lodgement and meltout processes. Understanding which till is being sampled during surface sediment
collection, and hence, which types and locations of bedrock the sediments have been derived from, is critically important to the interpretation of drift geochemical analytical results. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 261783 |
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