Title | A ground ice atlas of Canada |
Download | Downloads |
| |
Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
Author | Wolfe, S A ;
O'Neill, H B ; Duchesne, C |
Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8770, 2021, 35 pages (1 sheet), https://doi.org/10.4095/328115 Open Access |
Image |  |
Image |  |
Year | 2021 |
Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
Document | open file |
Lang. | English |
Maps | Publication contains 1 map |
Map Info. | surficial geology, ground ice |
Media | on-line; digital |
Related | NRCan
photo(s) in this publication |
File format | readme
|
File format | pdf; rtf |
Province | Canada; British Columbia; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island; Newfoundland and Labrador; Northwest Territories; Yukon; Nunavut;
Canada |
NTS | 1; 2; 3; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48; 49; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56; 57; 58; 59; 62; 63; 64; 65;
66; 67; 68; 69; 72; 73; 74; 75; 76; 77; 78; 79; 82; 83; 84; 85; 86; 87; 88; 89; 92; 93; 94; 95; 96; 97; 98; 99; 102; 103; 104; 105; 106; 107; 114O; 114P; 115; 116; 117; 120; 340; 560 |
Lat/Long WENS | -141.0000 -50.0000 90.0000 41.7500 |
Subjects | surficial geology/geomorphology; environmental geology; Nature and Environment; Science and Technology; permafrost; ground ice; periglacial features; thermokarst; climate; geological history;
vegetation; environmental controls; models; Climate change; permafrost thaw |
Illustrations | schematic representations; location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; photographs; satellite images |
Program | Climate Change
Geoscience Permafrost |
Released | 2021 03 23 |
Abstract | This Open File summarizes ground ice information from 31 sites across the permafrost regions in Canada. The poster presents a map with photographs from each site, and estimates of ground ice abundance
from segregated, wedge, and relict ice in top 5 m of permafrost, derived from national-scale mapping by O'Neill et al. (2019; 2020). The sites represent a range of environmental conditions (climate, surficial geology, geological history, vegetation)
spanning the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones in Canada. The report in the Open File provides detailed site descriptions, comments on the modelled ground ice abundance compared to observations of ground ice from the area, the
implications of ground ice conditions for thaw processes (thermokarst), and references to key literature. The atlas illustrates the varied ground ice conditions in northern Canada and the associated environmental conditions that control ice type and
abundance. Furthermore, the atlas serves as a means to validate and improve recent national-scale ground ice mapping by identifying conditions not well represented by the modelling. This validation has highlighted that an updated national surficial
geology dataset that incorporates the latest large-scale GSC mapping would improve the model outputs in many areas by more accurately depicting the distribution of frost-susceptible sediments. |
Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published) This atlas highlights ground ice conditions and associated terrain types in Canada. Thirty-one examples from across northern Canada are featured on the
new Ground Ice Map of Canada. The map depicts the total ground ice abundance in the top 5 metres of permafrost. The photographs show different permafrost landscapes and thermokarst terrains associated with ground ice types (segregated, relict, and
wedge ice) and abundance. The poster illustrates the associations between modelled ground ice distribution and the observed permafrost landscapes and thermokarst features in Canada. It highlights the diverse nature of ice-rich permafrost terrain
susceptible to thawing in northern Canada and serves as an informative learning and outreach tool. |
GEOSCAN ID | 328115 |
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