Soil Temperatures in the Active Layer, Beaufort Plain

Abstract

Reports on summer 1968 fieldwork in this region of northwest Banks Island, where the some 200-ft thick, probably late Tertiary Beaufort Formation outcrops as unconsolidated sands and gravel with shale units. This plain is gently undulating and fluvially dissected, with many asymmetric valleys having steeper slopes oriented to the southwest. The scant summer precipitation, temperature (T) and wind data are tabulated and discussed in connection with soil T measured on slopes of varying orientations. Absolute T values in the Beaufort materials are high relative to analogous arctic regions. The asymmetry of the valleys appears to be closely related to the distinctive microclimates on differently oriented slopes, as controlled by angle and azimuth of the sun and prevailing northwest winds.