Paleoclimatic reconstructions in western Canada from boreholetemperature logs: surface air temperature forcing and groundwater flow

International audienceModelling of surface temperature change effect on temperature vs.~depth and temperature-depth logs in Western Canada Sedimentary Basin show that SAT (surface air temperature) forcing is the main driving factor for the underground temperature changes diffusing with depth. It supports the validity of the basic hypothesis of borehole temperature paleoclimatology, namely that the ground surface temperature is systematically coupled with the air temperature in the longer term (decades, centuries). While the highest groundwater recharge rate used in the modelling suggests that for this extreme case some of the observed curvature in the profile, could be due to groundwater flow, it is more likely that the low recharge rates in this semi-arid region would have minimal impact. We conclude that surface temperature forcing is responsible for most of the observed anomalous temperature profile

Differences between repeated borehole temperature logs in the southern Canadian Prairies-validating borehole climatology

International audienceTemperature-depth (T-z) profiles from twenty-four shallow boreholes of less than 250 m in depth located in flat, semi-arid areas of the southern Canadian Prairie Provinces initially measured in the late 1980's and early 1990's and repeated between 2004 and 2006 show strong ground surface temperature (GST) warming signatures. GST changes of 0.1?0.2°C, and 0.4°C, are observed between the measurements for the shorter (decade) and longer (two decades) time spans, respectively. Borehole sites with repeated temperature logs are selected to demonstrate that multiple T-z profiles provide general agreement between GST warming and observed surface air temperature (SAT) warming measured at nearby historical climate stations. A comparison of measured changes from repeated temperature logs with those simulated from SAT forcing demonstrates the influence of SAT on the observed deviation of temperature with depth despite variations in snow cover. Repeated borehole measurements from the northern Great Plains of the USA also identify a similar positive temperature change but of lower magnitude. Temperature changes since 1900 in the southern Canadian Prairies and the adjoining northern Great Plains of the USA, as derived from the functional state inversion (FSI) of deeper borehole logs, average 2.5°C but show a strong latitudinal gradient

Paleoclimatic reconstructions in Western Canada from subsurface temperatures: consideration of groundwater flow

International audienceThe surface temperature forcing is responsible for the majority of the observed deviation of temperature with depth. In some cases, differences higher than the error of measurements are observed between the model and measurements. These can be an indication that other factors than surface temperature change influence subsurface temperature. Groundwater flow is one of the possible candidates

Inferred gas hydrate and permafrost stability history models linked to climate change in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin, Arctic Canada

Atmospheric methane from episodic gas hydrate (GH) destabilization, the "clathrate gun" hypothesis, is proposed to affect past climates, possibly since the Phanerozoic began or earlier. In the terrestrial Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin (BMB), GHs occur commonly below thick ice-bearing permafrost (IBP), but they are rare within it. Two end-member GH models, where gas is either trapped conventionally (Case 1) or where it is trapped dynamically by GH formation (Case 2), were simulated using profile (1-D) models and a 14 Myr ground surface temperature (GST) history based on marine isotopic data, adjusted to the study setting, constrained by deep heat flow, sedimentary succession conductivity, and observed IBP and Type I GH contacts in Mallik wells. Models consider latent heat effects throughout the IBP and GH intervals. Case 1 GHs formed at ~0.9 km depth only ~1 Myr ago by in situ transformation of conventionally trapped natural gas. Case 2 GHs begin to form at ~290–300 m ~6 Myr ago in the absence of lithological migration barriers. During glacial intervals Case 2 GH layers expand both downward and upward as the permafrost grows downward through and intercalated with GHs. The distinctive model results suggest that most BMB GHs resemble Case 1 models, based on the observed distinct and separate occurrences of GHs and IBP and the lack of observed GH intercalations in IBP. Case 2 GHs formed >255 m, below a persistent ice-filled permafrost layer that is as effective a seal to upward methane migration as are Case 1 lithological seals. All models respond to GST variations, but in a delayed and muted manner such that GH layers continue to grow even as the GST begins to increase. The models show that the GH stability zone history is buffered strongly by IBP during the interglacials. Thick IBP and GHs could have persisted since ~1.0 Myr ago and ~4.0 Myr ago for Cases 1 and 2, respectively. Offshore BMB IBP and GHs formed terrestrially during Pleistocene sea level low stands. Where IBP is sufficiently thick, both IBP and GHs persist even where inundated by a Holocene sea level rise and both are also expected to persist into the next glacial even if atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> doubles. We do not address the "clathrate gun" hypothesis directly, but our models show that sub-IBP GHs respond to, rather than cause GST changes, due to both how GST changes propagates with depth and latent heat effects. Models show that many thick GH accumulations are prevented from contributing methane to the atmosphere, because they are almost certainly trapped below either ice-filled IBP or lithological barriers. Where permafrost is sufficiently thick, combinations of geological structure, thermal processes and material properties make sub-IBP GHs unlikely sources for significant atmospheric methane fluxes. Our sub-IBP GH model histories suggest that similar models applied to other GH settings could improve the understanding of GHs and their potential to affect climate

Freshwater Seepage Into Sediments of the Shelf, Shelf Edge, and Continental Slope of the Canadian Beaufort Sea

Long‐term warming of the continental shelf of the Canadian Beaufort Sea caused by the transgression associated with the last deglaciation may be causing decomposition of relict offshore subsea permafrost and gas hydrates. To evaluate this possibility, pore waters from 118 sediment cores up to 7.3‐m long were taken on the shelf and slope and analyzed for chloride concentrations and δ180 and δD composition. We observed downcore decreases in pore waters Cl− concentration in sediments from all sites from the inner shelf (<20‐m water depth), from the shelf edge, from the outer slope (down to 1,000‐m water depths), and from localized shelf features such as midshelf pingo‐like features and inner shelf pockmarks. In contrast, pore water freshening is absent from all investigated cores of the Mackenzie Trough. Downcore pore waters Cl− concentration decreases indicate regional widespread freshwater seepage. Extrapolations to zero Cl− of pore water Cl− versus δ180 regression lines indicate that freshwaters in these environments carry different isotope signatures and thus are sourced from different reservoirs. These isotopic signatures indicate that freshening of shelf sediments pore waters is a result of downward infiltration of Mackenzie River water, freshening of shelf edge sediments is due to relict submarine permafrost degradation or gas hydrate decomposition under the shelf, and freshening of slope sediments is consistent with regional groundwater flow and submarine groundwater discharge as far as 150 km from shore. These results confirm ongoing decomposition of offshore permafrost and suggest extensive current groundwater discharge far from the coast

Thermal lithosphere across the Trans-European Suture Zone in Poland

Significant lateral variations of surface heat flow occur in the Polish Lowland area, ranging up to 30+/–10 mW/m2 across the transition from the East European Craton (EEC) and the northeastern part of the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone (TTZ) to the accreted terranes in the south-west (Palaeozoic Platform) and up to 25 mW/m2 of change within the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ). Modelling of the crustal temperatures for the deep seismic profiles parallel to TESZ (P1, P5 and TTZ) and perpendicular to it (LT-7, P2, LT-2, P4, LT-4 and LT-5) shows evidence of extensive crustal-mantle warming (elevated mantle heat flow in the area between the Sudetes and the EEC). The EEC and the northern part of the TTZ have a much lower mantle heat contribution. Mantle heat flow variations are significant (approximately 20–40 mW/m2). Significant are also variations in thermal lithosphere thickness ranging from ca. 150–200 km in the craton and the northern part of the TTZ to 100–150 km (locally less than 100 km) in the accreted terranes to the south-west of the TTZ and in the central part of the TTZ. The TTZ is a thermally inhomogeneous zone.The thermal transition between the Palaeozoic Platform and the EEC is not a sharp one. Significant variations in the thickness of the thermal lithosphere do not follow major tectonic units of the crust