Arctic hydrogeology and paleoclimatology

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The cryosphere constitutes roughly one half of Canada's land mass, and is underlain by perennially frozen terrain - permafrost - that greatly alters the mechanisms we know to govern water movement through watersheds in temperate landscapes. Groundwater movement through talik (unfrozen) zones in permafrost is an important component of the Arctic hydrological cycle, as it provides base flow for fish spawning habitat. It is involved in the formation of endostromatolites, biomineralizations that hold paleoclimate information as well as information on life in extreme environments. Long-term impacts of groundwater in talik also include effects on mining in the north and on nuclear waste repositories over the scale of glacial/interglacial cycles. While little is known about the role of groundwater in the north today, even less is understood about its role under past Arctic climates.