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Morphologic Characteristics of the Blow River Delta, Yukon Territory, Canada

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Morphologic Characteristics of the Blow River Delta, Yukon Territory, Canada Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1969 Morphologic Characteristics of the Blow River Delta, Yukon Territory, Canada. James Murl Mccloy Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Mccloy, James Murl, "Morphologic Characteristics of the Blow River Delta, Yukon Territory, Canada." (1969). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 1605. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1605 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 70-252 McCLOY, James Murl, 1934- MORPHOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BLOW RIVER DELTA, YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1969 Geography University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan Morphologic Characteristics of the Blow River Belta, Yukon Territory, Canada A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by James Murl McCloy B.A., State College at Los Angeles, 1961 May, 1969 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Research culminating in this dissertation was conducted under the auspices of the Arctic Institute of North America. The major portion of the financial support was received from the United States Army under contract no. BA-ARO-D-3I-I2I4.-G832, "Arctic Environmental Studies." Additional financial assistance during part of the writing stage was received in the form of a research assistantship from the Coastal Studies Institute, Louisi­ ana State University. Tuition fees for the summer session and for the fall semester, 1967, were granted by the Graduate School, Louisiana State University. Valuable assistance, advice, encouragement, and equipment were afforded the project by the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources Inuvik Research Laboratory, Inuvik, Canada. Special thanks are due Mr. Richard Hill, Laboratory Manager, Mr. John Ostrick, and Miss Norma Buchanan. The United States Navy Arctic Research Laboratory, Point Barrow, Alaska, furnished cold weather clothing and some of the scientific equipment. Further assistance was received from the personnel of the Distant Early Warning Line Station at Shingle Point, and especially from Mr. Walt Little, Station Chief. Grateful acknowledgement is made to Br. William G. Mclntire, Director, Coastal Studies Institute, L.S.U., for contributing much of the scientific equipment. The Coastal Studies Institute laboratories also analyzed the water and sediment samples and did the drafting. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Rodney Adams, Dr. Clara Ho, Mr. Philip Larimore, Mr. Vic Mazarak, Mr. Lewis Nichols, and Mrs. Suzie Truxillo for their various contributions to the project. The most sincere appreciation is due Hyuc Jae Kwon, my very able and understanding field companion, who pro­ vided stimulating arguments concerning several too hastily arrived at conclusions. Guidance throughout the project by Dr. H. J. Walker, Principal Investigator on the Arctic Institute of North America research project, and major advisor, was highly valued, and is gratefully acknowledged. III TABLE OP CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I FIGURES VI TABLES X ABSTRACT XI INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I - THE PHYSICAL SETTING 5 Geology and Geomorphology. 5 Richardson Mountains 5 Barn Mountains 7 Arctic Plateau and Arctic Coastal Plain.. 8 Climate 11 Climate Controls 13 Temperature 17 Precipitation......... 18 Wind 19 CHAPTER II - HYDROLOGY 21 Hydrologic Year and River State 21 Frozen . 22 Prebreakup Flooding and Breakup 25 Postbreakup Flooding. 28 Summer Flow 30 River Stage 32 River Stage and Air Temperature 36 River Stage and Water Temperature 37 IV Page River Stage and Current Velocity 37 River Stage and Wind 38 River Ice 38 Suspended Load.... I4.0 CHAPTER III - DELTA MORPHOLOGY AND PROCESSES 1+3 Delta Structure and Materials 1+1+ Deltaic Environments 1+7 Upper Deltaic Plain 1+7 Lower Deltaic Plain... 52 Lakes 56 Beach Ridges 60 Beaches 65 Pingo-like Moundi 68 Alluvial Fans 72 CHAPTER IV - CHANNEL PROCESSES AND FORMS 71+ Lateral Displacement of the Lower Trunk Channel 71+ Distributary Channel Bars............ 78 Point Bars and Their Evolution 78 Transverse Bars 88 Alteration of the Accretionary Channel Features 91 Ice 92 Vegetal Debris 95 Fine Sediment Veneers 101 Eolian Processes 101+ V Page Chute Cutoffs I0I4. Gravel Plugs 108 CHAPTER V - LEVEES Ill Upper Delta Levees Ill Cons true tion Ill Destruction 121 Discordant Levee Heights 126 Lower Delta Levees 128 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 133 BIBLIOGRAPHY 11±2 APPENDIX I - MEAN TEMPERATURES (°P), SHINGLE POINT lLf.7 APPENDIX II - PRECIPITATION (INCHES), SHINGLE POINT 150 APPENDIX III - ORIGIN OP THE NAME BLOW RIVER 152 APPENDIX IV - TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING POINT BARS 153 APPENDIX V - TERMINOLOGY CONCERNING LEVEES 159 VITA 161 APPROVAL SHEETS 162 FIGURES Figure Page 1 Location Map 2 2 Aerial Photograph of the Blow River delta.... 3 3 Regional geology and major geomorphic units 6 Ij. Faceted bluffs of the lower alluvial valley. 10 5 Close-up panoramic view of faceted bluffs.... 10 6 Permafrost limits of Canada 13 7 Monthly mean temperatures, 1958-1967, Shingle Point II4. 8 Selected pyrheliometer records 16 9 Graphs of precipitation, water temperature, air temperature, and river stage.. 23 10 Ice blocks in the distributary channel 2I4. 11 Sediment layer on a stranded ice block 2I4. 12 Preservation of breakup flood stage by cutbank snow foot 27 13 River stage variation during summer flood.... 32 llj. Camp Point point bar 33 15 Trapped air escaping from gravel bar during a rapid rise in flood waters 33 16 View of east distributary during rain flood discharge 3k- 17 Delayed melt of snow banks due to exposure 35 18 Sheet ice in the east distributary 39 19 Confluence of Rapid Creek and the Blow River J4.3 VII Figure Page 20 Flat sediment commonly found in the delta.... lj.6 21 Aerial photograph of major deltaic environments ij.8 22 Delta apex and middle ground 50 23 Low-center nonorthogonal ice-wedge polygons 5I4. 2I4. Ridge and swale topography of the beach- ridge system.... 62 25 Large debris piles on the beach-ridge system 63 26 Western delta beach 65 27 Reworked organic beach materials 66 28 Erosional forms in organic beach materials... 67 29 Selected traverses and plane table drawing of the pingo-like mound 69 30 Pingo-like mound 70 31 Uplift scarp on the north side of the pingo-like mound 70 32 Mud vent near the crest of the pingo- like mound 71 33 Panoramic views of the lower trunk channel and upper distributary system.. 75 3I4. Embryonic convex point bar 79 35 Well rounded, coarse point-bar detritus 79 36 Initial grass tussock colonization 8l 37 A youthful tussock accumulation 82 38 Countercurrent pattern on the wake zone deposit of a large tussock 82 39 A mature hummocky tussock flat 83 I4-O A point-bar tussock flat 8I4. Figure Page J4.I A tussock flat in the process of being colonized by willow and alder bushes 85 ij2. A reversed point bar 86 I4.3 Lower delta type of reversed point bar 88 Exposed relict channel deposits 89 kS Transverse bar of gravel altering the alignment of the present distributary channel , 90 I4.6 Ice-shove features on a gravel bar 93 i|-7 Ice-block debris rafting 93 lj.8 Scour trail formed by debris lodged in an ice block 91+ I4.9 Horseshoe type scour feature 96 50 Skewed type scour feature , 98 51 Lateral type scour feature..' 99 52 Wake zone configuration of a horseshoe type scour feature 100 53 Debris mass deposition common to skewed and lateral type scour features 101 5k Debris and a thin sedimentary veneer on the lee side of a point bar 102 55 Flat-floor channel geometry with terraces in a chute cutoff 105 56 Cross section of a point bar and tussock flat 107 57 Point bar relationship to chute cutoff, v tussock flat, and levee system 107 58 Chute cutoff breach of a mature tussock flat 108 59 Snow-filled breach of a mature tussock flat 109 Figure Page 60 Gravel plug of a small stream on the western distributary 110 61 Fine cohesive sediments overlying poorly consolidated coarse materials in a truncated levee 111}. 62 A snowbank on an exposed slope 115 63 Organic debris deposited on a snowbank 117 6J4. Winter eolian deposition of snow overlain by sediments 118 65 Snow fence effect of willows on an alluvial floodplain levee 118 66 Permafrost cross section across a levee 120 67 Block slump caused by a thermo-erosional niche 123 68 Vegetation mat collapse over a thermo- erosional cavern 121}. 69 Sloughing of an overly steepened exposed bank 12ij. 70 Discordantly high levee with horizontal strata 127 71 Lower delta bank caving in blocks 129 72 Lower delta bank slumping with higher stage overbank deposits 129 73 Dessication cracks delimited by lineations of grass 130 7U- Lower delta levee log accumulations 131 X TABLES Table Page I Suspended Sediment Concentrations ij.0 II Selected Water Samples - Lower Delta 61 XI ABSTRACT A geomorphic reconnaissance has been made of the small arcuate Blow River delta which is prograding over the western portion of the subaqueous Mackenzie River delta on the coast of the Beaufort Sea in the American Arctic. The geology and geomorphology of the drainage area is reviewed and the larger geologic units; the Richardson and Barn Mountains, the Arctic Plateau, and the Arctic Coastal Plain, are delimited and generally described. Utilizing meteorological data from the nearby Shingle Point DEW Line Station and hydrologic data gathered during the field season, some of the hydro- meteorological relationships are analyzed; particularly those conditions occurring during breakup and postbreakup flooding.
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