Geology topics

Research about Northwest Territories, Yukon

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Northwest Territories, Yukon.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2026

Improving predictions of insect harassment for barren-ground caribou in the Arctic

Many populations of barren-ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) have declined or are declining, which is concerning given their ecological role in Arctic ecosystems and their societal role in northern communities. Insect harassment is an important driver of the behavior, energetics, and demographic rates of caribou, and yet, due to challenges in predicting harassment, there is limited understanding of how it is responding to changing Arctic conditions. We investigated environmental correlates of mosquito (Culicidae) and oestrid fly (Oestridae) harassment for the Porcupine caribou herd, with the aim of improving our ability to predict harassment. We collected field observations of mosquito activity and used video collars to detect oestrid fly activity across the summer range, which spans the Alaska–Yukon border. Additionally, we documented the composition of harassing insects collected in malaise traps using DNA metabarcoding. We developed predictive mosquito and oestrid fly harassment models using remotely sensed variables relevant to the insects' biology within a nonlinear modeling framework. We then used the top mosquito and oestrid fly models to hindcast predictions of harassment during 1950–2024 and investigate long-term changes in severity and phenology. The top mosquito harassment model included wind speed, temperature, days since snowmelt, precipitation, topographic position, and soil moisture. The top oestrid fly harassment model included temperature, cumulative growing degree days, and time of day. Harassment of both insects was limited at low temperatures (<10°C), with mosquitoes being additionally limited at high temperatures (>22°C) and wind speeds (>7 m/s). The phenology of mosquito and oestrid fly harassment exhibited curvilinear trends across the summer, peaking in midsummer based on the number of days since snowmelt and cumulative growing degree days, respectively. Mosquito harassment also increased with greater soil moisture, precipitation, and at lower relative elevations. Hindcasting indicated that insect harassment notably intensified and advanced over time. Intensifying harassment could decrease caribou foraging opportunities and body condition, and advancing harassment is likely to increasingly overlap with the calving season when calves are most vulnerable. Our results highlight climate-driven changes in insect harassment and provide improved indices for predicting harassment in the Arctic for future applications.

Alaska↗

USGS2020

Drivers and consequences of apex predator diet composition in the Canadian Beaufort Sea

Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) rely on annual sea ice as their primary habitat for hunting marine mammal prey. Given their long lifespan, wide geographic distribution, and position at the top of the Arctic marine food web, the diet composition of polar bears can provide insights into temporal and spatial ecosystem dynamics related to climate-mediated sea ice loss. Polar bears with the greatest ecological constraints on diet composition may be most vulnerable to climate-related changes in ice conditions and prey availability. We used quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) to estimate the diets of polar bears ( n = 419) in two western Canadian Arctic subpopulations (Northern Beaufort Sea and Southern Beaufort Sea) from 1999 to 2015. Polar bear diets were dominated by ringed seal ( Pusa hispida ), with interannual, seasonal, age- and sex-specific variation. Foraging area and sea ice conditions also affected polar bear diet composition. Most variation in bear diet was explained by longitude, reflecting spatial variation in prey availability. Sea ice conditions (extent, thickness, and seasonal duration) declined throughout the study period, and date of sea ice break-up in the preceding spring was positively correlated with female body condition and consumption of beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas ), suggesting that bears foraged on beluga whales during entrapment events. Female body condition was positively correlated with ringed seal consumption, and negatively correlated with bearded seal consumption. This study provides insights into the complex relationships between declining sea ice habitat and the diet composition and foraging success of a wide-ranging apex predator.

Northwest Territories, Yukon↗

USGS2018

Sulfur isotopes of host strata for Howards Pass (Yukon–Northwest Territories) Zn-Pb deposits implicate anaerobic oxidation of methane, not basin stagnation

A new sulfur isotope stratigraphic profile has been developed for Ordovician-Silurian mudstones that host the Howards Pass Zn-Pb deposits (Canada) in an attempt to reconcile the traditional model of a stagnant euxinic basin setting with new contradictory findings. Our analyses of pyrite confirm the up-section 34 S enrichment reported previously, but additional observations show parallel depletion of carbonate 13 C, an increase in organic carbon weight percent, and a change in pyrite morphology. Taken together, the data suggest that the 34 S enrichment reflects a transition in the mechanism of pyrite formation during diagenesis, not isotopic evolution of a stagnant water mass. Low in the stratigraphic section, pyrite formed mainly in the sulfate reduction zone in association with organic matter–driven bacterial sulfate reduction. In contrast, starting just below the Zn-Pb mineralized horizon, pyrite formed increasingly within the sulfate-methane transition zone in association with anaerobic oxidation of methane. Our new insights on diagenesis have implications for (1) the setting of Zn-Pb ore formation, (2) the reliability of redox proxies involving metals, and (3) the source of ore sulfur for Howards Pass, and potentially for other stratiform Zn-Pb deposits contained in carbonaceous strata.

Northwest Territories, Yukon↗

USGS2016

Re-Os systematics and age of pyrite associated with stratiform Zn-Pb mineralization in the Howards Pass district, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada

Stratiform Zn-Pb deposits hosted in unmetamorphosed carbonaceous and siliceous mudstones of the Ordovician to Silurian Duo Lake Formation define the Howards Pass district in Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories, western Canada. Collectively, the deposits are amongst the largest in the world, containing drill-indicated and inferred resources of 423 Mt at 4.84 % Zn and 1.59 % Pb. Sulphide textures include (a) fine-scale laminations of sphalerite, galena, and pyrite from <0.05 mm to 1 cm thick, interbedded with carbonaceous sedimentary rock; (b) layers of coarse sulphide that are structurally controlled by microfolds; and (c) veins that cut bedding and sulphide laminations. The finely interlaminated nature of sulphides with mudstone has been used as evidence for syngenetic mineralizing processes, whereas paleomagnetic data determined on coarse layered sulphides suggest a Middle Jurassic age of mineralization. Here, we present new rhenium-osmium (Re-Os) isotopic data for 12 pyrite separates obtained from 4 laminated sulphide-rich samples from the XY Central (XYC) and Don (DON) deposits and for 1 unmineralized organic-rich mudstone ∼20 m stratigraphically below the sulphide-bearing zone. Pyrite separates that lack mudstone inclusions (“pure”) from the XYC deposit contain 2.2 to 4.0 ppb Re and 93.4 to 123.4 ppt Os; pure pyrite from the DON deposit is significantly more enriched in Re and Os (34–37 ppb Re; 636.8–694.9 ppt Os). The 187 Re/ 188 Os values of pure pyrite separates from the XYC and DON deposits range from 137.6 to 197 and 182.1 to 201.4, respectively. Regression of all pure pyrite Re-Os data from both deposits yields an isochron age of 442 ± 14 Ma (MSWD = 7.4) and an initial 187 Os/ 188 Os (Os i ) value of 0.71 ± 0.07. The Re-Os age indicates that the early phase of pyrite precipitation (and by inference, sphalerite and galena) occurred during the early Silurian, consistent with biostratigraphic ages of the host rocks. The Os i value of ∼0.8 for earliest Silurian seawater recorded from organic-rich shale in the basal Silurian Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) at Dobs Linn, Scotland is very similar to that provided by the Howards Pass pyrite regression and hence suggests a hydrogenous (seawater) source of Os for the pyrite. Therefore, two possible sources of Os are (1) the Zn- and Pb-bearing hydrothermal fluid that leached Os from footwall sedimentary rocks, which were deposited in seawater, or (2) directly from seawater during precipitation of the pyrite, which suggests that the Os content of the hydrothermal fluid was minor relative to that of seawater.

Northwest Territories, Yukon↗

USGS1995

Sea ice scouring on the inner shelf of the southeastern Canadian Beaufort Sea

About 2200 ice scours were observed and analyzed over a distance of approximately 500 km on the inner shelf of the southeastern Canadian Beaufort Sea. Ice scours were divided into two types based on their morphology: multiple scours consisting of a series of parallel scours and ridges, and single scours. Single scours are the dominant type representing more than 85% of the total observations. The mean scour depth and width are 0.3 m and 11 m respectively, but scour depths of more than 2 m and a scour width up to 345 m were documented. The magnitude of ice scouring processes increases with water depth. In water depths less than 10 m, less than 25% of the seafloor surface is reworked by ice scours. This percentage increases significantly seaward of the 10 m isobath, being more than 75% in water depths in excess of 12 m. A break in the seabed slope at about 10 to 12 m water depth marks a boundary between a nearshore zone moderately influenced by ice processes and an outer zone affected by intense ice scouring. This morphological boundary could be due to intense erosion by the keels of pressure ice ridges at the inner edge of a zone of grounded ice ridges. Most of the observed ice scours appear to be reworked, especially in water depths of less than 10 m, and represent small-scale sediment sinks. Inshore of the 10 m isobath, scour reworking is believed to be mainly due to frequent bottom disturbance by wave orbital currents and mean near-bottom flows during the open water season. Scour orientations show that the dominant motion of ice during scouring events is east or west, which is subparallel to the bathymetric contours and coastline. Scour terminal push mounds, however, suggest a dominant east to southeast movement that may contribute to onshore sediment transport during ice push events.

Northwest Territories, Yukon↗