Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Northern Research Supplement

A recent review of the evidence for Holocene glacier fluctuations in western Canada recommends that future efforts should focus on documenting glacier fluctuations in eastern Yukon and the ranges in the Northwest Territories since little work has been completed in this region to date. One promising region is centered around the Keele Peak region (N 63 deg 26', W 130 deg 19') in the Hess Mountains, Yukon. Based on an analysis of pollen records, substantial climate change affected the adjacent Mackenzie Mountains during the Holocene. Given the location of the study area at high latitude in the Northern Hemisphere, it is believed that orbital forcing caused glaciers to expand from minimal extents in the early Holocene to maximum downvalley positions during the Little Ice Age. I aim to test the role that orbital forcing played on glacier activity at high latitudes by completing work in the Keele Peak area and at sites in southern Patagonia (proposed in my Discovery Grant). If orbital forcing is a primary factor that explains long-term behavior of glaciers during the Holocene, then the records of glacier activity in the northern and southern Hemispheres should diverge. The development of continuous glacier proxies from the Hess mountains should also provide insight into the timing, amplitude, and duration of Holocene climate change that affected this portion of the Canadian Cordillera.The research that I propose directly benefits Canadians by helping to understand the behavior of the climate system. A careful study of past glacier fluctuations can help assess the magnitude, rapidity, and duration of past climatic events. These events provide valuable scenarios for calibrating and verifying general and regional circulation models. This research will provide undergraduate and graduate students with appropriate training in northern environments to minimize the projected Canadian deficit of highly qualified personnel (HQP) in the next decade. In addition to HQP training and publication of research findings, I plan to deliver several public talks about the research completed in the Keele Peak region to the communities of Ross River and Whitehorse.