Hydrogeomorphic factors controlling the routing of shallow groundwater in the Apex River watershed, Iqaluit, Nunavut

In the context of a warming climate, it has been suggested that groundwater pathways and contributions to surface water will increase due to permafrost degradation (Connon, 2014). However, groundwater fluxes and their contribution to surface waters remain difficult to predict due to uncertainties about temporal variation of thaw depths (i.e., frost table depths). As the frost table serves as an impermeable boundary, in arctic environments frost table depth is a key factor influencing how water is routed from hillslope recharge areas to lakes and streams (Semenova, 2012). While studies using sophisticated instruments and elaborated field research design have been conducted to understand the role of bedrock topography on groundwater flow in southern watersheds (Meerveld, 2015, Rodhe, 2011), most of recent research investigating shallow groundwater flow processes in permafrost environments has been model-based and the results of this research need to be confirmed through field-based inquiry (Bring et al, 2016). Improving our understanding of active layer dynamics is key to advancing our understanding of hydrological processes in permafrost landscape (Throckmorton et al., 2016). Approaches that combine detailed spatiotemporal characterisation of subsurface flow patterns with chemical analysis to track variable water sources will allow for a better understanding of flow path development and hydrological connectivity during the active layer thawing period. This knowledge is essential to anticipate how climate change and alterations to permafrost will impact the hydrology of arctic rivers. The aim of my research project is to assess how different thaw depths and soil characteristics influence hydrological connectivity across a hillslope-stream sequence during the arctic summer.