An investigation of two periglacial landforms on ignimbrite blockslopes in Kluane National Park and Reserve, Yukon Territory

Boulding, Adam David

An investigation of two periglacial landforms on ignimbrite blockslopes in Kluane National Park and Reserve, Yukon Territory

dc.contributor.advisor	Hugenholtz, Christopher
dc.contributor.author	Boulding, Adam David
dc.contributor.committeemember	Moorman, Brian
dc.contributor.committeemember	Dutchak, Alex
dc.date.accessioned	2024-05-21T16:02:11Z
dc.date.available	2024-05-21T16:02:11Z
dc.date.issued	2024-05-14
dc.description.abstract	An expedition to the subarctic mountain of Campsite Peak, Yukon Territory, within the Kluane National Park and Reserve (KNPR), was conducted during the summer of 2019 to investigate two undocumented periglacial forms identified in satellite imagery. The overall goal of this MSc research is to present and measure these two features spatially, morphologically, and sedimentologically, placing them within the periglacial literature and hypothesizing plausible formative processes. The first study documents a feature similar to stone-banked solifluction terraces, termed blockslope terraces (BSTs) within this research, and are found in large numbers on low- to mid-slopes of Campsite Peak above the treeline, mantling a blocky open matrix of ignimbrite cobble-to-boulder material. BSTs differ from expected solifluction characteristics by showing apparent periodicity, large sample sizes, oblique orientations relative to their slope, and material too coarse to support the formation of ice needed for active solifluction. In-field morphological measurements combined with spatial and remote sediment sieving using photography and structure from motion modelling provided the exploratory measurements needed to place BSTs within the literature. It is the hypothesis of this research that BSTs are either a relict gelifluction feature from deglaciation, or nivation features of uncommon size and occurrence. The second study documents a feature, termed banded lichen formations (BLFs) within this research, found on the upper slopes of Campsite Peak. BLFs exhibit an alternating dark-and-light pattern caused by the presence and absence of lichens on the lighter felsic tuff material of Campsite Peak. It is hypothesized that BLFs are attributed to periglacial processes such as solifluction and frost heave, the form and relief of which are influenced by slope gradient and availability of fine-grained sediment in the system, leading to diverse spatial patterns, even across the same slopes. This research introduces two novel forms of periglacial landforms, both occurring on ignimbrite material, and both occurring on other mountains in KNPR of the same geologic unit. Further, the results of these studies underline the knowledge gaps in the solifluction and nivation literature surrounding landforms occurring on coarse, blocky material.
dc.identifier.citation	Boulding, A. D. (2024). An investigation of two periglacial landforms on blockslopes in Kluane National Park and Reserve, Yukon Territory (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/118795
dc.identifier.uri	https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/46392
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	geomorphology
dc.subject	landform
dc.subject	periglacial
dc.subject	solifluction
dc.subject	patterned ground
dc.subject	terrace
dc.subject	blockslope
dc.subject	blockfield
dc.subject.classification	Physical Geography
dc.title	An investigation of two periglacial landforms on ignimbrite blockslopes in Kluane National Park and Reserve, Yukon Territory
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Geography
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.