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TitleEstimation of maximum lake depth from the surrounding topography: towards a regional assessment of the occurrence of taliks below Arctic lakes
 
AuthorLeBlanc, A -MORCID logo; Chartrand, JORCID logo; Smith, SORCID logo
SourceArctic Change 2020 Conference book of abstracts/Compilation de résumés pour la Conférence Arctic; by ArcticNet; Arctic Science vol. 7, no. 1, 2021 p. 111-112, https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0001 Open Access logo Open Access
Image
Year2021
Alt SeriesNatural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20200670
PublisherCanadian Science Publishing
MeetingArctic Change 2020 Conference; December 7-10, 2020
Documentbook
Lang.English
Mediapaper; on-line; digital
RelatedThis publication is related to Estimation of maximum lake depth from the surrounding topography: towards a regional assessment of the occurrence of taliks below Arctic lakes
File formatpdf
ProvinceNunavut
NTS46D; 46E; 46F; 46L; 46M; 46N; 55; 56; 65A; 65B; 65G; 65H; 65I; 65J; 65O; 65P; 66A; 66B; 66G; 66H; 66I; 66J; 66O; 66P
AreaRankin Inlet; Baker Lake; Kitikmeot
Lat/Long WENS-100.0000 -85.0000 68.0000 60.0000
Subjectssurficial geology/geomorphology; environmental geology; hydrogeology; Nature and Environment; Science and Technology; Economics and Industry; permafrost; talik; surface waters; lakes; lake water depths; groundwater; groundwater flow; mining; mine development; transport mechanisms; mine waste products; waste disposal sites; models; ArcticDEM; Climate change; Mining industry; Digital elevation data; cumulative effects
ProgramClimate Change Geoscience Permafrost
Released2021 03 15
AbstractIn continuous permafrost regions, taliks (areas of unfrozen ground), are mainly found beneath large and deep lakes (>2 m depth) that do not freeze to their bottom. Open taliks connected to regional groundwater can affect the development of mine projects due to these potential pathways for contaminant transport. It is therefore important to determine which lakes are potentially underlain by open taliks, especially where lakes are used for mine waste disposal. As a first-order estimate, the potential for talik occurrence can be assessed based on the maximum lake depth of large lakes. For regional studies, maximum lake depth may be estimated with topographic variables from the surrounding landscape. This approach assumes that common geological processes form the landscape and the lakes, such as glacial processes. This study explores, for the first time, the use of a high-resolution elevation model (ArcticDEM) to extract topographical variables surrounding lakes in Nunavut to run predictive models of maximum lake depth. Lakes in the area of Rankin Inlet with known maximum lake depth (n = 102) are used to assess maximum depth for all 17 145 lakes in a 5000 km2 area near the community. We use stepwise regression to explore the topographical variables and Pearson's partial correlation coefficient to understand the relationship of a given variable to maximum lake depth. Among the eight variables considered within a buffer relative to lake size, lake area, median slope, maximum elevation, and mean elevation were the only significant explanatory variables (p < 0.05). For the simplest and best model (least variables), lake area and median slope explained 79% of the variance in maximum lake depth. Known maximum depth of lakes near Baker Lake and in the Kitikmeot region (n = 173) were utilized to further validate the initial model and to identify any local to regional model differences.
Summary(Plain Language Summary, not published)
Open taliks, areas of unfrozen ground, are mainly found beneath large and deep lakes that do not freeze to their bottom. Their connection to the regional groundwater can affect the development of mine projects due to these potential pathways for contaminant transport. This study explores the use of a high-resolution digital elevation model to extract topographical variables surrounding some lakes in Nunavut to run regional models of maximum lake depth. This step is use subsequently in the assessment of the occurrence of taliks below Arctic lakes in the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions of Nunavut. This regional-scale characterization method could be used by industry during environmental impact assessments.
GEOSCAN ID327953

 
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