Peat Northwest Territories 1994

Peat and mineral sampling survey, NTS 95G,H,I,J, 96E, 106N, 107B, Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories, 1994-1997.  


Geological Survey of Canada, Terrain Sciences Division

Survey Description

732 peat and 47 mineral sediment samples were collected between 1994 and 1997 in the Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories. The samples were collected by surface sampling and coring 14 peatland sites. The data are published in Geological Survey of Canada Open File 4007.

Data Description: 1 CD-ROM (MS-Excel and PDF).

Quantities Analysed: Peat by ICP-AES after aqua regia for 19 elements; by CV-AAS for Hg; and by INAA for 24 elements; selected peat samples by ICP-MS and other methods after a 5-step sequential extraction; <0.063 mm fraction of mineral sediments by ICP-AES after aqua regia for 19 elements.

Geochem Plots Available: Depth profile plots show distribution of elements with increasing depth in peat deposit.

Other Analyses: LOI; macrofossil and geochronological analysis.



Publication History

Kettles, I M; Robinson, S D; Bastien, D -F; Garneau, M; Hall, G E M. (2003). Physical, geochemical, macrofossil, ground penetrating radar information on fourteen permafrost-affected peatlands in the Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 4007, 1 CD-ROM.


Project History

1994-2003 Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories peat and mineral sediment sampling survey carried out between 1994 and 1997.
  Peat and mineral samples were collected in the Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories between 1994 and 1997. The frozen and unfrozen peatlands of this area represent and enormous source of stored carbon. Possible consequences of permafrost degradation in peatlands are the release of greenhouse gases, thaw subsidence of the ground surface and remobilization of trace elements presently retained in frozen peat. As a basis for monitoring environmental change in the Mackenzie Valley, baseline data is required on the distribution and thermal state of peatlands and on peat thickness and trace element composition. The data are published in Geological Survey of Canada Open File 4007.



Minimum Latitude Maximum Latitude Minimum Longitude Maximum Longitude

61.72º

68.35º -133.77º -120.99º