Aquifer-peatland connectivity in southern Quebec (Canada)

Ferlatte, Miryane; Quillet, Anne; Larocque, Marie; Cloutier, Vincent; Pellerin, Stéphanie et Paniconi, Claudio (2015). « Aquifer-peatland connectivity in southern Quebec (Canada) ». Hydrological Processes, 29(11), pp. 2600-2612.

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Résumé

In areas where peatlands are abundant, they are likely to play a significant role in the hydrological and hydrogeological dynamics of a watershed. Although individual case studies are reported in the literature, there is a large range of aquifer–peatland interactions and there is a need to understand the controls of these interactions. The objectives of this study were (1) to better understand aquifer–peatland connections and how these may be predicted by geology and geomorphic location and (2) to provide a variety of reference sites for glacial geological settings. Slope and depression peatlands were studied in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region and in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, two contrasting regions of southern Quebec. A total of 12 transects that span a shallow aquifer–peatland interface were instrumented with piezometers. Field investigations included peatland characterization, monthly water level monitoring, and continuous hydraulic head measurements with pressure transducers. The results indicate that 7 of the 12 transects receive groundwater from the surrounding shallow aquifer. At the peatland margin, four lateral flow patterns were identified and associated with slope peatlands (parallel inflow and divergent flow) and with depression peatlands (convergent flow and parallel outflow). Vertical hydraulic gradients suggest that water flows mainly downwards, i.e. from the peatland to the underlying mineral deposits. Vertical connectivity appears to decrease as the distance from the peatland margin increases. All of these exchanges are important components in the sustainability of peatland hydrogeological functions. The regional comparison of aquifer–peatland flow dynamics performed in this study provides a new set of referenced data for the assessment of aquifer–peatland connectivity.

Type:	Article de revue scientifique
Informations complémentaires:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ferlatte, M, Quillet, A, Larocque, M, Cloutier, V, Pellerin, S, and Paniconi, C (2015), Aquifer–peatland connectivity in southern Quebec (Canada). Hydrol. Process., 29, 2600–2612. doi: 10.1002/hyp.10390., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10390. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Mots-clés ou Sujets:	peatland, aquifer, connectivity, geologic setting, southern Quebec (Canada)
Unité d'appartenance:	Centres institutionnels > Centre de recherche en géochimie et géodynamique (GEOTOP) Faculté des sciences > Département des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphère
Déposé par:	Marie Larocque
Date de dépôt:	24 févr. 2016 14:15
Dernière modification:	19 avr. 2016 17:56
Adresse URL :	http://archipel.uqam.ca/id/eprint/7874

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