MAPPING OF ARCTIC PEATLANDS USING GROUND PENETRATING RADAR AND BOREHOLE DATA

Our study area in Northern Manitoba is located in discontinuous permafrost at the present-day taiga-tundra ecotone, which makes the region sensitive to past and future climate change. In addition, its proximity to Hudson Bay may amplify regional climate variability through changes in sea ice cover. The area contains numerous small lakes and extensive peatlands which have developed over the past 8000 years and act as a reservoir of organic carbon.

To estimate the volume of existing peat deposits, nine wetlands in Northern Manitoba (59.3°N, -97.5°W) were surveyed using ground penetrating radar (GPR). Previously acquired borehole data was used to ground-truth more than 2 km of GPR profiles. Data were taken using a SIR-3000 radar unit (Geophysical Survey Systems Incorporated) and were analyzed using ReflexW v 5.6 (Sandmeier Scientific Software). The majority of the studied wetlands is less than 1.5 m in depth and shows a regular basin shape. Therefore information from peat cores can be generalized across the watershed.