subsurface water flow pathways in the canadian high arctic

100 Pages·2017·2.81 MB·English

SUBSURFACE WATER FLOW PATHWAYS IN THE CANADIAN HIGH
ARCTIC

by

Jessica Peters

A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Planning
In conformity with the requirements for
the degree of Masters of Science

Queen’s University
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
(September, 2017)

Copyright © Jessica Peters, 2017
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Abstract

In Arctic regions subsurface flow is often a dominant flow path of water, especially as the thaw
depth progresses and the active layer water storage capacity increases. Subsurface flow through
the active layer is important for water delivery to streams and can be potentially routed through
subsurface preferential flow pathways (PFP). The majority of research on subsurface
hydrological PFP has occurred in the subarctic where organic soils and discontinuous permafrost
are predominant. Research on such pathways in the High Arctic where mineral soils with
minimal organic layer dominate is limited. This thesis investigated the hydrological response
during active layer development in a dominantly mineral soil to understand how soil subsurface
and surface water interactions are conditioned by the presence and seasonal development of PFP
pathways in a headwater subcatchment at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory,
Melville Island, Nunavut. Subsurface flow and PFP were examined through cryostructure
analysis from two active layer cores, and seasonal active layer development. A network of
piezometers was also installed across four land cover types (high and low hummock, mesic
slope, polar semi-desert, and an area with established soil pipe drainage) to evaluate hydrological
function of preferential pathways. Electrical conductivity (EC) and stable water isotopes were
collected from piezometers to further infer subsurface water sources. Results indicate that
drainage and saturation of soil from water in the subsurface is spatially and temporally
heterogeneous in High Arctic mineral soils. The timing of the activation (effective drainage) and
deactivation (termination of drainage) of subsurface water pathways was similarly heterogeneous
across the study site. The timing and depth of the activation of pathways demonstrates that
varying cryostructure at depth triggered the emergence of substantial water at select locations.
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Finally stable isotopes indicate that the source of water moving through the subsurface varies
spatially and temporally over short distances with seasonal progressions from rain water to
snow/ground ice, and vice versa. This knowledge provides primary observations towards
understanding subsurface preferential flow pathways in a High Arctic catchment and the
importance of PFP on water delivery to streams in the late thaw season.

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Co-Authorship
Field research at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO) was directed by Dr. Scott
Lamoureux. Field work and data analysis was conducted in 2016 by the author and meteorological data
collection from CBAWO was undertaken by Dr. Scott Lamoureux and Dr. Melissa Lafrenière. This thesis
was written by the author with scientific and analytical assistance from Dr. Scott Lamoureux.
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Acknowledgements
I would first like to acknowledge my supervisor Dr. Scott Lamoureux for the amazing
opportunity to go to Cape Bounty. This work would not have been possible without his expertise and
passion for the High Arctic and for his continuing support, feedback and guidance.
I would also like to extend a huge thank you to the entire Cape Bounty 2017 field crew. Maddie
(the salami to my Creamy Mash), Amanda, Anthony, Casey, Gillian, Jackie, Matt, Robbie, and Sean, I
had an amazing summer and all the support was phenomenal. I would also like to thank Stephen Koziar
for all his countless hours spent fixing the LGR. I would also like to extend a thank you to everyone in the
LaRSEES lab for their assistance and patience with my ArcMap endeavors. Ashley, thank you for all your
advice, edits, and assistance.
To Dana and Alex, thank you for your undying support, continuous words of encouragement, and
being the two best friends anyone could ask for. Gillian, thank you will never be enough, you were my
rock. To Kaitlyn and Bridget, the friendship and support (and our Snapchat group) was more than I could
have asked for. To princess Casey, thank you for endless kitty snuggles and for edits to my work (via
kitty paws walking across my keyboard). To my roommates Paulina, Fanny, Joyce, Katie and Simone,
thank you for laughs, love, and allowing me to take over the living room on writing days. Devin, thank
you for the encouragement and support throughout the final stages. Thank you Grandma for all the love
and weekly phone calls. Mom, Dad, and Jenn, thank you for your undying love and support, advice and
encouragement, and words of wisdom when I doubted myself.
This project would not have been possible without the funding and assistance from NSERC,
NSTP, PCSP, and ArcticNet.

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Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my Grandpa, Steve Peters. No one was as proud of me as he
was, and he would have printed off a copy of my thesis to put on his bookshelf to show everyone what his
“Jessy of the North” wrote.

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List of Abbreviations
CBAWO Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory
EC Electrical Conductivity
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
GPR Ground Penetrating Radar
GMWL Global Meteoric Water Line
LEL Local Evaporation Line
LGR Los Gatos Research
LMWL Local Meteoric Water Line
PFP Preferential Flow Pathways
PSD Polar Semi Desert
PVC Polyvinyl Chloride
PVDF Polyvinylidene Difluoride
PWP Pore Water Pressure
SLAP Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation
VSMOW Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water
VWC Volumetric Water Content

.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii
Co-Authorship................................................................................................................................ iv
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Permafrost ............................................................................................................................ 4
2.2 Controls over active layer development ............................................................................... 6
2.3 Cryostructure ........................................................................................................................ 8
2.4 Permafrost Hydrology ........................................................................................................ 10
2.4.1 Subsurface hydrology in permafrost regions ................................................................ 11
2.4.2 Subsurface water flow pathways .................................................................................. 13
2.5 Stable Isotopes as Water Source Indicators ....................................................................... 15
2.6 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 17
Chapter 3 Development and hydrological response of seasonal subsurface flow pathways in High
Arctic mineral soils ....................................................................................................................... 19
3.1 - Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 21
3.2 - Study site ........................................................................................................................... 22
3.3 - Methods............................................................................................................................. 25
3.3.1 - Meteorology ............................................................................................................... 25
3.3.2. Subsurface hydrology .................................................................................................. 26
3.3.3 - Surface hydrology ...................................................................................................... 28
3.3.4 - Active Layer Measurements....................................................................................... 29
3.3.5 - Laboratory and analytical measurements ................................................................... 29
3.4 - Results ............................................................................................................................... 30
3.4.1. Meteorological conditions and active layer development ........................................... 30
3.4.2. Soil water conditions ................................................................................................... 33
Subsurface water level and soil moisture........................................................................... 33
3.4.3 Surface Water Hydrology ............................................................................................. 37
3.4.4. Soil and surface water electrical conductivity ............................................................. 38
3.4.5. Isotope Hydrology ....................................................................................................... 40
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3.5. Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 43
3.5.1. Seasonal water dynamics in High Arctic mineral soils ............................................... 43
3.5.2. Preferential subsurface flow pathways in High Arctic soils........................................ 45
3.5.4. Subsurface preferential flow pathways and late season surface water discharge ........ 50
3.6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 51
Chapter 4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 53
References ..................................................................................................................................... 55

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List of Figures
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1: Concentrations of solutes in a vertical soil profile ....................................................... 6
Figure 2.2: Six dominant cryostructures identified by Kanevskiy et al., 2013 ............................... 9
Figure 2.3: Isotopic compositions of snow and rain samples from the Old Crow Flats, Yukon .. 17

Chapter 3
Figure 3.1: Study site map ……………………………………………………………...…….... 24
Figure 3.2: Surface water features in Upper Goose …………………………………………… 25
Figure 3.3: a) Daily mean temperature and total daily precipitation and b) active layer thaw depth
for 2016 melt season…………………………………………………………………………… 31
Figure 3.4: Graphic depiction of the active layer cores. ………………………………………. 32
Figure 3.5: a) WestMet daily mean temperature and total daily precipitation record for the 2016
melt season. b) Soil temperature profiles from station UG2 …………………………………... 33
Figure 3.6: Water level measurements and stable water isotopic composition from water within
piezometers………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
Figure 3.7: Water level measurements and stable water isotopic composition from water within
piezometers that did not maintain high water level …………………………………………... 36
Figure 3.8: Soil moisture data from station UG2 ……………………………………………… 37
Figure 3.9: Discharge data from Goose Creek and relative discharge data from the soil pipe
outlet……………………………………………………………………………………………. 38
Figure 3.10: Electrical conductivity (EC) values of piezometer water and soil pipe discharge... 39
Figure 3.11: a) EC of the soil pipe, the permanent pond, and Goose Creek and 18O values from
the Upper Goose runoff, the permanent and ephemeral pond, and the soil pipe ……………… 40
Figure 3.12: Source water values plotted along the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), the
Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL), and the Local Evaporation Line (LEL) ……………… 42
Figure 3.13: Conceptual diagrams of two types of observed subsurface preferential pathway
condition...................................................................................................................................... 4
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