Downstream impacts of glacial retreat in the Peyto Glacier basin, Banff National Park, Canada

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dc.contributor.advisorShugar, Dan
dc.contributor.authorBasiuk, Holly
dc.contributor.committeememberRyan, Cathy
dc.contributor.committeememberMoorman, Brian
dc.date2025-02
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-30T20:10:35Z
dc.date.available2025-01-30T20:10:35Z
dc.date.issued2025-01-29
dc.description.abstractGlacier retreat strongly influences the surrounding environment and downstream through landscape evolution, diurnal meltwater generation, sediment production, and sediment export. Proglacial environments, located in front of glaciers, are dynamic systems by continuous landscape processes seeking to reach a new equilibrium. An increasingly common feature in these environments is proglacial lakes, which act like dammed reservoirs, slowing water, and allowing for sediments to settle out of suspension. Peyto Basin has long been of interest to scholars and tourists; however, little research has focused on the development of Lake Munro, an ice-contact proglacial lake at the terminus of Peyto Glacier. To understand the implications of Lake Munro’s development, a multipronged approach was employed, examining lake area growth, glacier length changes, and downstream channel braiding. Additionally, ion contributions from waterbodies in the basin, sediment samples, and suspended sediment concentrations were analyzed and compared with available historic data. Our results show that Peyto Glacier has retreated 2048 +/- 5 m between 1952 and 2023, while Lake Munro expanded from non-existence to 0.305 +/- 0.010 km2 between 2008 and 2023, and is estimated to be trapping suspended sediments, with rough estimates suggest up to 60% of sediments being captured by Lake Munro. However, downstream proglacial channels rapidly replenish the larger grain sizes in the suspended sediment of Peyto Creek. Caldron Creek was identified as the highest contributor of ions to Peyto Creek, and downstream, Peyto Lake now exhibits a strong thermal stratification and has higher suspended sediment concentrations compared to historic data. Channel braiding is more variable in recent years, but further seasonal and intra-annual data should be analyzed before stronger relationships can be drawn. The findings highlight how glacial retreat, and the development of a proglacial lake impact downstream sediment concentrations, channel patterns, and grain size distribution in the Canadian Rockies. Continued research within the Peyto Basin will continue to highlight processes in the proglacial environment as Peyto Glacier retreats.
dc.identifier.citationBasiuk, H. (2025). Downstream impacts of glacial retreat in the Peyto Glacier basin, Banff National Park, Canada (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1880/120634
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgary
dc.rightsUniversity 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.subjectMountains
dc.subjectAlberta
dc.subjectProglacial Environment
dc.subjectProglacial
dc.subjectProglacial Hydrology
dc.subjectSuspended Sediment
dc.subjectGlacier
dc.subjectClimate Change
dc.subjectPeyto Lake
dc.subjectPeyto Glacier
dc.subject.classificationPhysical Geography
dc.subject.classificationRemote Sensing
dc.subject.classificationEnvironmental Sciences
dc.subject.classificationHydrology
dc.titleDownstream impacts of glacial retreat in the Peyto Glacier basin, Banff National Park, Canada
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineGeoscience
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudentI do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.
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