Floodplain stratigraphy of the ice jam dominated middle Yukon River: a new approach to long‐term flood frequency |
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| Authors: | Joanne M Livingston Derald G Smith Duane G Froese Chris H Hugenholtz |
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| Institution: | 1. Tera Environmental Consultants Ltd, Suite 1100, 815—8th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 3P2, Canada;2. Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada;3. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada;4. Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Floodplain stratigraphy is used as a new method for reconstructing ice jam flood histories of northern rivers. The method, based on reconstruction of the sedimentary record of vertically‐accreting floodplains, relies on stratigraphic logging and interpretation of floodplain sediments, which result from successive ice jam floods, and radiocarbon dating of inter‐flood organic material for chronology. In a case study along a reach of the Yukon River that straddles the Yukon–Alaska border, the method is used to develop a record of ice jam flooding for the last 2000 years. Detailed chronostratigraphic logs from three sites along the Yukon River indicates that the long‐term recurrence interval varies depending on location, but ranges from approximately once in 25 years to once in 38 years (or a probability of ca 3–4% in any given year). This is broadly similar to the 4·5% probability of recurrence calculated from archival and gauged data at Dawson City, Yukon Territory, for the period 1898–2006. Two of the three study locations, with sufficient chronology, suggest a decrease in flood frequency in the last several hundred years relative to the preceding period at each site, broadly corresponding to the Little Ice Age, suggesting climate exerts some control over long‐term ice jam flood frequency. This study demonstrates that the floodplain sedimentary record offers the potential to extend records of ice jam flooding in remote, ungauged northern rivers and provides a broader temporal context for assessing the frequency and variability of ice jam flooding. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | ice jam flood sedimentology flood frequency floodplain Yukon River |
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