Permafrost hydrogeology

在过去几十年里，北极地区气温上升的同时，向河流排放的冻土层以下和冻土层内地下水也有所增加。来自多年冻土流域的水文数据显示，基流流量具有很强的年际变异性，但长期趋势是地下水流量增加。这种增加的流量可能会影响河流的季节性流量、春季淡水的时间和严重程度，还可能加剧季节性结冰(Aufeis)对社区和基础设施的影响。该计划将充分利用我们最近在渥太华大学建立的加拿大唯一的加速器质谱仪设施，具有极低水平和化合物特定放射性碳的能力，以及用于惰性气体同位素分析的相关设施。这项研究计划在未来五年的目标是确定地下水补给的机制，量化通过永久冻土流域的循环，气候变化的影响，以及污染物如何通过这些流动系统的组成部分传输。

Increasing temperatures in the Arctic over the past decades has been accompanied by an increase in sub-permafrost and intra-permafrost groundwater discharge to rivers. Hydrometric data from permafrost drainage basins show strong interannual variability in baseflow discharge, although with a long term trend towards increased groundwater discharge. This increased flow can affect seasonal discharge in rivers, the timing and severity of the spring freshet and may also exacerbate the impact of seasonal icing (aufeis) formation on communities and infrastructure. This program will take full advantage of Canada’s only accelerator mass spectrometer facility that we recently established at the University of Ottawa, with capabilities for very low level and compound-specific radiocarbon plus associated facilities for noble gas isotopes analysis. The objective of this research program over the next five years is to determine the mechanisms of groundwater recharge and quantify circulation through permafrost watersheds, the impacts of climate variability, and how contaminants are transported through components of these flow systems.