University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2017 A geophysical study of alpine groundwater processes and their geologic controls in the southeastern Canadian Rocky Mountains Christensen, Craig William Christensen, C. W. (2017). A geophysical study of alpine groundwater processes and their geologic controls in the southeastern Canadian Rocky Mountains (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24746 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3960 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY A geophysical study of alpine groundwater processes and their geologic controls in the southeastern Canadian Rocky Mountains by Craig William Christensen A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS CALGARY, ALBERTA July 2017 © Craig William Christensen 2017 Abstract Groundwater storage is essential for maintaining steady stream flows and temperatures in mountain watersheds, yet catchment-scale hydrogeological processes remain poorly understood. This study characterizes the hydrogeology of a new site in Kananaskis Valley of southeastern Canadian Rocky Mountains. Three different geophysical methods (electrical resistivity tomography, seismic refraction tomography, and ground penetrating radar) imaged structures such as thick, heterogenous talus, permafrost, and a buried overdeepening. Bedrock topography, overburden heterogeneity, and overburden thickness are the most important controls on groundwater flow paths and storage, and may explain anomalously high winter base flows at the site. Comparing the talus deposits to those at a contrasting site in Yoho National Park points to a causal link between hydrogeological characteristics and physiographic variables, hinting at possible spatial patterns in groundwater storage potential. These results will help water resource and ecosystem managers in adapting to stream flow changes resulting from climate change. ii Preface Some figures are tables within this thesis (and earlier versions thereof) have previously been published in Christensen et al. (2017), an industry magazine article of which I am lead author. These specifically are Figure 1-1, Figure 3-2, Figure 5-2, Figure 5-5, Table 4-6, and Table 5-3, adapted from Figure 1, Figure 7, Figure 8B, Figure 4, Table 2, and Table 1, respectively, from Christensen et al. (2017). Refer to Appendix H for the permission letters to reprint these materials. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, this study would not have been without the support of many of friends and colleagues who assisted me in field, especially on those two long and challenging geophysics campaigns in July 2015 and July 2016. My thanks go to Polina Adbrakhimova, Laura Beamish, Jenna Christensen, Cody Good, Jennifer Hanlon, Jordan Harrington, Jesse He, Brandon Hill, Yu Hu, Feodora Ivaniuk, Chris Jackson, Luke Kary, Kristina Kublik, Barret Kurylyk, Matthew Lennon, Andrius Paznekas, Anna Pekinasova, Saskia Schaelicke, Kim Sena, Shelby Snow, Ben Stevenson, Kelsey Tillapaugh, Jenna Trofin, Calista Yim, and Scarlett Zhu. Big thanks go out especially to Polina for working late into the night to help me with preparing ERT sequence files on an unfamiliar instrument that I was woefully underprepared to use. I also owe my gratitude to several faculty members for mentoring me, offering valuable technical advice regarding data acquisition, processing, and interpretation, as well as joining me in the field. Thank you to Masaki Hayashi, Larry Bentley, Jerry (Gerald) Osborn, and Rachel Lauer. My thanks also go to Ty Ferré, who offered some helpful comments on his brief visit to Calgary. I have many collaborators at University of Saskatchewan to thank. John Pomeroy and his team at the Coldwater Hydrology laboratory introduced us to the site, assisted with field work and logistics, and shared valuable hydrometric and meteorological data that greatly enhanced the interpretation of my geophysical results. Special thanks go to May Guan, Angus Duncan, Michael Schirmer, and Logan (Xing) Fang. Additionally, I thank Cherie Westbrook and Hongye Wu, who were concurrently studying the water balance and chemistry of the Bonsai Lake basin, for sharing some of their preliminary results, which helped with planning my own hydrogeological study and with interpreting some of my own results. Logistical support for field campaigns was provided by the folks at the Fortress Mountain Resort and at the Biogeoscience Institute (particularly from Adrienne Cunnings). The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (namely Andreas Aspmo Pfaffhuber and Asgeir Olaf Kydland Lysdahl) also generously shared code for displaying ERT images. On a more personal level, I thank my colleagues in the physical hydrology lab who I have not yet mentioned (Qixin Chang, Anna Leuteritz, Aaron Mohammed, Laura Morgan, Saskia Noorduijn, Igor Pavlovskii, and Kabir Rasouli) for offering good technical advice when I needed it and for iv making this a congenial place to work and study. I thank my mentors Brian Schulte and Trevor Borden for helping me keep a healthy perspective on life, career, and the future when the going got tough. Similarly, thank you to my fellow scholars in the Graduate College for making my last year at the University of Calgary an especially enriching, energizing, and engaging experience. Funding for this project was provided by a grant from the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and by the following scholarships: NSERC Canadian Graduate Scholarship, Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (CSEG) Foundation Scholarship, Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society (KEGS) Foundation Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) Pioneers Scholarship, Alberta Graduate Student Scholarship, and University of Calgary Graduate College Admission Scholarship. v Dedication To my loving family, Mom (Ann), Dad (Kevin), Jenna, and Allison, for being with me for all these years no matter how far away from home I inevitably find myself. vi Table of Contents (Abridged) Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ x List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. xix List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. xx Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 Site Description ..................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 3 Methods ................................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 4 Talus Hydrogeology ............................................................................................ 30 Chapter 5 Hydrogeology of Low-Lying Features .............................................................. 64 Chapter 6 Synthesis............................................................................................................. 106 Chapter 7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 121 References .................................................................................................................................. 124 Appendix A List of Field Site Visits .................................................................................. 140 Appendix B Petrophysics of Alpine Deposits ................................................................... 142 Appendix C Optimization Equations for Geophysical Inversion .................................. 144 Appendix D Electrical Resistivity Tomography Images ................................................. 146 Appendix E Seismic Refraction Tomography Images .................................................... 178 Appendix F Ground Penetrating Radar Images ................................................................. 198 Appendix G Literature Review of Links Between Mountain Topography and Geomorphology of Mountain Landforms ............................................................................... 209 Appendix H Copyright Permission Letters .....................................................................