Climatic Regions of the Canadian Arctic Islands

Maxwell, J. B.

doi:10.14430/arctic2525

Cited by 133 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…Exceptional summer rainfall events in the High Arctic infrequently generate dramatic hydrologic responses (e.g., Adams, 1966;Cogley and McCann, 1976). Mean monthly air temperatures at Resolute Bay are only positive during July and August (Table 1), with daily air temperatures on average below 0°C until 15 June and after 25 August (Maxwell, 1981). Rainfall occurs only during the summer months, usually as light showers, drizzle, or trace precipitation events, whereas heavy, high-intensity, rainfall events are rare.…”

Section: Climate and Hydrology Of Cornwallis Islandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Streamflow and Suspended Sediment Transfer to Lake Sophia, Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada

Braun

Hardy

Bradley

et al. 2000

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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To ascertain the climatic controls on sediment transport to Lake Sophia, Comwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada, we made detailed hydrological and meteorological measurements in the Sophia River watershed through the 1994 melt season. Streamflow and suspended sediment transport are limited, on an annual time scale, by the supply of snow and sediment in the watershed. Suspended sediment yield from the watershed was only 0.46 t k:m-2 , which is lower than any previously published yield for a stream in the High Arctic. Snowmelt rgnoff accounted for 88% of the annual suspended sediment load, whereas 6 and 9% were transported in response to a slushflow event and summer rainfall, respectively. These measurements provide no direct evidence that modem-day sediment delivery to Lake Sophia is related to fluctuations in air temperature, which has implications for the paleoenvironmental signal preserved in Lake Sophia's laminated sediments. We suggest that on-site sediment transport studies are necessary to establish the relationships among geology, geography, climate, and hydrology unique to each watershed-lake system and need to be an integral part of any calibration attempt. Additional years of data are needed however to define the interannual variability of streamflow and sediment transport in response to climate.

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Section: Climate and Hydrology Of Cornwallis Islandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Streamflow and Suspended Sediment Transfer to Lake Sophia, Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada

Braun

Hardy

Bradley

et al. 2000

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…These coastal climates are influenced by seasonal sea ice promoting near-surface temperature inversions that cool the ground in winter and spring (Atkinson and Gajewski, 2002;Maxwell, 1981;Smith and Bonnaventure, 2017).…”

Section: Permafrost In Southeastern Labradormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, when all other factors are the same, mean ground 15 temperatures should be lower in coastal areas with smaller temperature ranges (Riseborough, 2004). Second, melting sea ice and ocean-atmosphere contrasts promote coastal fog and persistent cloudiness in summer, leading to Arctic-like temperatures and lower amounts of insolation along the outer coasts in Labrador (Maxwell, 1981;Way et al, 2014Way et al, , 2017.…”

Section: Permafrost In Southeastern Labradormentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and fate of isolated permafrost patches in coastal Labrador, Canada

Way¹,

Lewkowicz²,

Yu³

2018

Preprint

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Abstract. Bodies of peatland permafrost were examined at five sites along a 300 km transect spanning the isolated patches permafrost zone in the coastal barrens of southeastern Labrador. Mean annual air temperatures ranged from +1°C in the south (latitude 51.4°N) to -1.1°C in the north (53.7°N) while mean ground temperatures at the top of permafrost varied 10 respectively from -0.7°C to -2.3°C with shallow active layers (40-60 cm) throughout. Small surface offsets due to wind scouring of snow from the crests of palsas and peat plateaux, and large thermal offsets due to thick peat are critical to permafrost, which is therefore absent in wetland, forested and forest-tundra areas inland, notwithstanding average air temperatures much lower than near the coast. Most permafrost peatland bodies are less than 5 m thick with a maximum of 10 m with steep geothermal gradients. One-dimensional thermal modelling for two sites showed that they are in equilibrium 15 with the current climate, but the permafrost mounds are generally relict and could not form today without the low snow depths that result from a heaved peat surface. Despite the warm permafrost, model predictions using downscaled global warming scenarios (RCP2.6, 4.5 and 8.5) indicate that perennially frozen ground will thaw from the base up and may persist at the southern site until the middle of the 21 st Century. At the northern site, permafrost is more resilient, persisting to the 2060s under RCP8.5, the 2090s under RCP4.5, or beyond the 21 st century under RCP2.6. Despite evidence of peatland 20 permafrost degradation in the study region, the local-scale modelling suggests that the southern boundary of permafrost may not move as quickly as had previously been thought.

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“…10 0 C at tree-line in LabradorUngava to <0°C in the accumulation zones of the various ice caps and glaciers at elevations between 700 and 2000 m asl (Andrews and Miller, 1972). Climatically the area can be considered as a unit, although it can be broken down into several sub-regions (Maxwell, 1981;Jacobs et al, 1985). Baffin Island exhibits the following temperature and precipitation characteristics:…”

Section: Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

The Eastern Canadian Arctic at ca. 6 ka BP: A Time of Transition

Williams¹,

Short²,

Andrews³

et al. 2007

gpq

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The middle Holocene was a time of definite environmental transition in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Based on several proxy indicators (pollen, diatoms, foraminifera, molluscs and nearshore sedimentation rates), it appears that a thermal maximum occurred around middle Holocene (6-4 ka), several thousand years after the insolation maximum — a lag caused by the thermal inertia of the earlier massive ice sheet. Terrestrial records indicate that a warming began around 6 ka, both in the subarctic (Labrador - Ungava) and on Baffin Island. Marine records, on the other hand, suggested major water structure changes around 6 ka both in the Northeastern Canadian Arctic and also along the East Greenland coast with evidence of a marine surface water temperature maximum at 8 ka. We hypothesize that the marine circulation changes, both along the Baffin Island and along the East Greenland coasts, were primarily driven by glacio-isostatic uplift of the Arctic Channels. With the cessation of water flow of Atlantic (warmer) origin, and decrease in water volume from the deeper parts of the Arctic Ocean through the Arctic Channels, the export through the Fram and Denmark straits increased and the water column changed. Changes in the concentration and duration of sea ice along the eastern Canadian coast would have had important repercussions on the biota of the coastal marine and terrestrial ecosystems.L'Holocène moyen a été une période de transition bien déterminée dans l'est de l'Arctique canadien. Selon de nombreux indicateurs (pollen, diatomées, foraminifères, mollusques et taux de sédimentation côtiers), il semble qu'un maximum thermique ait été atteint vers le milieu de l'Holocène (6-4 ka), plusieurs milliers d'années après le maximum d'insolation — un retard dû à l'inertie thermique causée par la présence de l'immense inlandsis. Les données terrestres démontrent qu'un réchauffement s'est amorcé vers 6 ka, à la fois dans le subarctique (Labrador, Ungava) et dans l'île de Baffin. Les données marines, d'autre part, indiquent qu'il y a eu des changements de structure de l'eau vers 6 ka à la fois dans le nord-est de l'Arctique canadien et le long de la côte du Groenland avec des indices de températures maximales marines de surface à 8 ka. Nous posons l'hypothèse selon laquelle les changements de circulation marine, à la fois le long de l'île de Baffin et le long de la côte est du Groenland ont été provoqués par le relèvement isostatique des chenaux arctiques. Avec l'arrêt de l'écoulement (plus chaud) en provenance de l'Atlantique et la diminution du cubage d'eau provenant des grandes profondeurs de l'océan Arctique dans les chenaux arctiques, l'évacuation par les détroits de Fram et du Danemark s'est accrue et la colonne d'eau s'est modifiée. Les changements de concentration et de durée de la glace marine le long de la côte est du Canada auraient eu d'importantes répercussions sur les écosystèmes marins côtiers et terrestres.Das mittlere Holozân war eine eindeutige Umwelt-Ùbergangszeit in der ostkanadischen Arktis. Gestùtzt auf zahlr...

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Climatic Regions of the Canadian Arctic Islands

Cited by 133 publications

References 30 publications

Streamflow and Suspended Sediment Transfer to Lake Sophia, Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada

Streamflow and Suspended Sediment Transfer to Lake Sophia, Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, Canada

Characteristics and fate of isolated permafrost patches in coastal Labrador, Canada

The Eastern Canadian Arctic at ca. 6 ka BP: A Time of Transition

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