Bernard Hétu

Effects of environmental change on scree slope development throughout the postglacial period in the Chic-Choc Mountains in the northern Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec

Abstract The combined study of present-day processes and stratigraphic data, has permitted the reconstruction of the dynamics of scree slopes of the northern Gaspe Peninsula throughout the postglacial period. In this region, liberated progressively from beneath an ice cover between 13,500 and 10,000 years BP, the scree slopes have to be seen as an integral part of a regional geosystem. Evolution of these slopes has been rapid, influenced by local paraglacial conditions (glacio-isostatic rebound, glacio-eustatic fluctuations, and re-equilibration of glacially over-steepened rockwalls) which operated against a backdrop of Late Glacial and Holocene climatic fluctuations. During the Younger Dryas and part of the Early Holocene period, as the foot slopes emerged from beneath the Goldthwait Sea, the basal part of several scree slopes advanced onto marine terraces as lobate rock glaciers, under the influence of a periglacial climate, characterised by permafrost. Many scree slopes continued to transfer debris downslope after regional establishment of a closed forest cover at ca. 7250 years BP. Forest colonisation in the early pre-emergent phase of the postglacial period was retarded, due to constant replenishment of the debris removed from the foot slopes by marine processes. In the later post-emergent phase, development of a complete forest cover has only been possible on slopes where the summit rockwall segment has been completely eliminated, a condition not yet fulfilled for many geomorphologically active scree slopes of the region. In fact, both of these paraglacial influences have been diachronous on a regional scale. Advance upslope of the forest front on the scree slopes appears to have been slow, difficult and subject to periodic regressions of possible climatic origin, as indicated by numerous buried soils in colluvial stratigraphic sequences, and for the past 150 years by dendro-ecological studies. Stratigraphic exposures, along with direct observation of slope events, have revealed the operation of a large variety of debris transfer processes, including niveo-aeolian sedimentation and frost-coated clast flows, the latter representing an important process first recognised on the scree slopes of Gaspesie.

Tree-Ring Reconstruction of High-Magnitude Snow Avalanches in the Northern Gaspé Peninsula, Québec, Canada

Abstract In eastern Canada, snow avalanches are a common phenomenon, but their occurrences remain poorly documented. In the last 30 yr, they were responsible for deaths and damage to property and forests in avalanche-prone areas in northern and eastern Québec. This study provides tree-ring–based avalanche chronologies for three scree slope stands in the northern Gaspé Peninsula (Québec). Tree-ring records indicated that high-magnitude avalanches occurred seven times during the period from 1860 to 1997, i.e., in 1871, 1898, 1952, 1956, 1966, 1977, and 1996, with 5- to 15-yr return intervals for the period between 1939 and 1997. High-magnitude avalanches occurred during snowy winters, with total snowfall well above average (330 cm). According to the size of past runout zones established from damaged trees at the main study stand, snow avalanches were greater in 1956 and 1966 than in 1996. The 1996 avalanche area was about 16,600 m2 of which 60% (10,000 m2) was covered with mature trees. It caused a ∼200-m recession of the tree line. Causal factors of snow avalanches including weather conditions and stand characteristics were also examined.

Recent research on the nature, origin and climatic relations of blocky and stratified slope deposits

A selection of subaerial slope processes is discussed together with the morphological and sedimentological traces that are left by the processes. Emphasis is on mass transfers related to (coarse) blocky slopes and to scree accumulations, either on steep or on gentle slopes. New developments in the interpretation of more or less clearly stratified slope deposits are discussed in the light of the findings of research focusing on present-day process-form (process-material) relationships. The question of the climatic (and, more specifically, the periglacial) significance of the different processes and their morpho-sedimentary expression is a returning theme in this paper. It is concluded that many deposits are formed by azonal processes, although their activity (in terms of magnitude-frequency combinations) is often relatively high under periglacial conditions. Some of the deposits point to (cold-climate) extreme events. This especially is the case for frost-coated clast flows, aeolian transport of large platy clasts, and to a lesser extent debris flows.

Geomorphic and dendroecological impacts of slushflows in central Gaspé Peninsula (Québec, Canada)

Slushflows are rare phenomena in southeastern Canada. Here we report for the first time the occurrence of slushflows in a subalpine environment in eastern Canada (Mt. Albert, Gaspé Peninsula, Québec). Because nothing is known of their frequency‐ magnitude in the area, we reconstructed the chronology of slushflow events over the past century using dendrogeomorphic techniques based on impact scars, reaction wood and traumatic resin ducts. Slushflows contributed to the formation of a tongue‐shaped accumulation of 17900 m2 at the outlet of a firstorder drainage basin. The slushflow boulder tongue was composed of heterogeneous‐sized, angular and unoriented clasts, which are markedly different from the sediments of an adjacent alluvial fan. Although movements were initiated above the subalpine forest limit, slushflows induced forest fragmentation along the treed slope. Three slushflow events were identified over the past century, in 1925, 1964 and 1988, respectively, which indicate exceptional initiation conditions and considerable geomorphic activity of individual events.

The Holocene development of a debris slope in subarctic Québec, Canada:

The development of a debris-covered slope in subarctic Québec was reconstructed in relation to vegetation dynamics, fire history and local permafrost evolution. The slope consisted of a low- elevation rockwall and a rockwall-derived debris veneer overlying a sandy till deposit reworked by gelifluction. The sedimentological and stratigraphical data along with radiocarbon dating and den droecological data indicated that: (1) the period around 5050 BP corresponded to the initial establishment of the forest cover probably after paraglacial rockfall activity following deglaciation; (2) it was followed by a period of stability until c. 3200-3000 BP when gelifluction occurred; (3) the period between c. 3000 BP and 900 BP was one of relative stability; until (4) a series of fires after 900 BP initiated a period of destabilization by mass movements and surficial weathering processes; (5) local permafrost formed during the last few centuries, especially under the forest fringe where Sphagnum peat developed. Results from this study indicate a strong connection between fire, slope destabilization and the intensification of geomorphological slope processes during the last millennium at the study site.

Hydrogeochemical evolution and groundwater mineralization of shallow aquifers in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Québec, Canada

This study presents the first regional groundwater hydrogeochemical portrait of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region (BSL), a region shaped by the Appalachians, a strong Quaternary glacial heritage, and coastal dynamics from the St. Lawrence Estuary. The proximity of BSL’s aquifers to St. Lawrence Estuary and its geological history with the past Goltwait Sea transgression create unique issues with respect to groundwater mineralization and sustainability in the region. The study is based on the distribution of major and trace elements and stable isotope signatures of water and inorganic carbon (δ18O, δ2H, δ13CDIC) in 145 groundwater samples collected in private and municipal wells distributed evenly over the study area. Groundwater shows a wide range of composition as indicated by the seven facies revealed by their composition of major elements. Ca-HCO3 and Na-HCO3 facies mainly dominate the regional groundwater composition, representing respectively 66 and 20% of the samples. Nevertheless, no significant relation between the geology, the aquifer confinement, and the geochemical facies emerged. This suggests that factors other than the hydrological settings may control the chemical composition of the groundwater in the study area. A hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), including major, minor and trace elements, was performed, allowing the water samples to be distributed into four distinct geochemical groups that reveal a gradient from less mineralized (C4 and C2 groups with a dominant Ca-HCO3 facies) in the recharge areas to more mineralized (C1 with a Ca-HCO3 facies, to C3 with a Na-HCO3 facies) in the coastal discharge areas. Based on geochemical graphs and isotopic signatures, a conceptual model is proposed to explain this hydrogeochemical evolution at the regional scale. The most remarkable finding is that groundwater mineralization does not originate from modern seawater mixing despite the proximity of St. Lawrence seawater. Most of the hydrochemical evolution and groundwater mineralization is induced by the mixing with evaporated or remnant seawater originated from past transgressions, cation exchanges and mineral dissolution.