NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: physical sciences, soil, stratigraphy, environmental change, sediment transport, wind, erosion

Objective(s): The general project objectives are to establish the natural controls on, and timing of, aeolian sand sheet development during the last glacial-interglacial cycle in the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands. This pioneering research will substantially improve knowledge of aeolian sedimentation in contemporary cold environments and enhance paleoenvironmental interpretation of sand sheets in former cold environments. The research team will study the temporal relationships between sand sheet formation and known changes of climate, active layer depth, vegetation and glaciation. Changes in these parameters will affect soil moisture, ice cementation, root binding, and outwash supply, and, in turn, the supply, transport and deposition of windblown sand. Such relationships are best studied in a contemporary high-latitude environment where: (1) aggrading and stabilized sand sheets occur in close proximity; (2) the record of active layer change is clearest; and (3) in situ plant remains suitable for radiocarbon and luminescence dating techniques tend to be preserved in permafrost. Specific objectives of the project are: (1) To describe the sediments and stratigraphy of sand sheets in the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula and Richards Island area; (2) To establish a chronology of sand sheet development using luminescence and radiocarbon dating techniques; and (3) To determine the relationships between sand sheet chronology and known regional environmental change.

Project Description: The research team will operate from two fly camps beside the northern coast of Liverpool Bay, and two camps in the Mason Bay area in the northest portion of Richards Island. Transportation to the camps will be by float plane and boat. All human waste will be buried, and all non-burnable waste will be packed out. Equipment used will consist of shovels and trowels to clear slumped sediment from coastal bluffs, as well as sampling augurs. Data collection will consist of sampling of sand and buried plant remains, and detailed recording of associated geological structures. Sand sample size will range from 0.5-1.0 kg (less than 50 samples), while organic samples will range from 10-500 g (less than 30 samples). Samples will be returned to the laboratory for detailed analysis.