Regions: South Slave Region
Tags: glaciology, sedimentology, paleoclimatology, stratigraphy
| Principal Investigator: | Hardy, Francois (1) |
| Licence Number: | 13211 |
| Organization: | INRS-Georessources |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2001
|
| Issued: | Jun 29, 2001 |
| Project Team: | Michel Parent |
Objective(s): The purpose of the project is to collect sediments that will help to understand when the last glaciation ("ice-age") started. The timing of this last glaciation is very unclear in this region of the Northwest Territories (NWT). By adding additional information, and increasing the level of understanding of the climate during that period of time, the research team will be able to calculate climatic cycles over very long periods of time (up to a few hundred thousand years). The area to be studied is drained by the Thelon River, which shows the greatest thickness of glacial sediments in the whole NWT. By exploring this river, and examining the sediments contained in the Thelon River valley, the research team will attempt to develop information on what was happening before the last glaciation.
Project Description: The research team will be transported from Yellowknife to Eyeburry Lake by fixed wing aircraft. From here, the research team will travel approximately 120 km down the Thelon River by canoe, and study the stratigraphy of sediments on the shoreline. Field camps will be located along the river, and will be for one night only. All human waste will be buried, and all non-burnable garbage will be packed out. Samples of sediments will be collected in black ABS plastic tubes, to prevent light affecting the samples. Sample size will range from 2 to 5 pounds. All samples will be returned to the laboratory for later analysis. This project will show how glaciation occured from East to West, and will provide information on climate change during the last 125,000 years.
