| Title | Geomorphic diversity and complexity of the inner shelf, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, based on LiDAR and multibeam sonar surveys |
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| Author | Shaw, J; Potter, D P; Wu, Y |
| Source | Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences vol. 57, no. 1, 2019 p. 123-132, https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0312 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2019 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20180322 |
| Publisher | Canadian Science Publishing |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut; Northern offshore region |
| NTS | 57A; 57B; 57C; 57D; 57E; 57F; 67A; 67B; 67C; 67D; 67E; 67F |
| Area | Hat Island; James Ross Strait; Alexandra Strait; Gjoa Haven |
| Lat/Long WENS | -102.0000 -90.0000 71.0000 68.0000 |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; geophysics; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; continental margins; continental shelf; geophysical surveys; acoustic surveys, marine;
side-scan sonar; bathymetry; marine sediments; glacial landforms; drumlins; lineations; icebergs; turbidity; moraines; sea ice; hydrate; sea level changes; beach ridges; shoreline changes; littoral environment; bottom currents; Canadian Arctic
Archipelago; glaciofluvial sediments; glaciomarine sediments; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Quaternary |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; 3-D images |
| Program | Public Safety
Geoscience Marine Geohazards |
| Released | 2019 05 29 |
| Abstract | Data from two surveys by multibeam sonar and two by marine/terrestrial LiDAR are used to evaluate the geomorphology of the seafloor in littoral areas of the Canadian Arctic Channels, near King William
Island, Nunavut. Submarine terrains show well-preserved glacial landforms (drumlins, mega-scale glacial lineations, iceberg-turbated terrain, recessional moraines, and glaciofluvial landforms) with only slight modification by modern processes (wave
action and sea-ice activity). At Gjoa Haven the seafloor is imprinted by fields of pits 2 m-wide and 0.15 m-deep. They may result from gas hydrate dissolution triggered by falling relative sea levels. The Arctic Archipelago displays what might be
termed 'inverted terrains': marine terrains, chiefly beach ridge complexes, exist above modern sea level and well-preserved glacial terrains are present below modern sea level. This is the inverse of the submerging regimes of Atlantic Canada, where
glacial terrains exist on land, but below sea level they have been effaced and modified by marine processes down to the lowstand depth. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Survey data (multibeam sonar and marine/terrestrial LiDAR) from shallow water in the Canadian Arctic Channels (King William Island, Nunavut) show that
the seafloor is dominated by well-preserved glacial terrains, barely modified by modern processes. At Gjoa Haven the seafloor is imprinted by fields of small pits, never observed elsewhere, that may result from gas hydrate dissolution triggered by
falling relative sea levels. The shallow seafloor of the Arctic Archipelago contrasts with the inner shelf of Atlantic Canada, where glacial terrains below sea level have been effaced by marine processes. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 313246 |
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