Abstract
Wabush Lake is one of the few very well-constrained source-to-sink sedimentary systems in the world that exhibits near-continuous turbidity currents. In this system, approximately 20million tons of mine tailings are delivered each year to a 40km2 lake. Multibeam bathymetric surveys of this lake were carried out between 1999 and 2011. In addition, a program of extensive sampling and seismic surveys, an airborne LiDAR survey and a photogrammetric survey were carried out during this period. The objective of this study was to determine the evolution through time of this anthropic source-to-sink system, from the point where sediments exit the slurry pipelines at the head of the system to the distal end and bottom of the Lake. The total volume of the Lake is around 1×109m3.Analysis of subaerial and subaqueous datasets allows the evaluation of disposal strategies on the delta topset and on tailings accumulation. Disposal strategies influence the dynamics of the channels on the topset, thus in turn affecting the accumulation of tailings throughout the lake, as well as the shoreline advancement rate. Subaqueous erosional channels present on the bed of the Lake influence the depositional pattern of tailings as well as their granulometric distribution. These erosional channels are created by the shoreward migration of knickpoints. In some places, this migration can be documented over multiple surveys.Finally, sequential analysis of the 1999, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011 surveys has allowed detailed documentation of the infilling of the Lake, including the migration of sediment depocenters, the mechanism of emplacement and the progressive infilling of a series of minibasins.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 227-243 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Earth-Science Reviews |
| Volume | 151 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2015 |
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Keywords
- Delta
- Hyperpycnal flow
- Minibasin
- Submarine channels
- Tailings
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
Cite this
Evolution of an anthropic source-to-sink system : Wabush Lake. / Turmel, Dominique; Parker, Gary; Locat, Jacques.
In: Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 151, 01.12.2015, p. 227-243.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution of an anthropic source-to-sink system
T2 - Wabush Lake
AU - Turmel, Dominique
AU - Parker, Gary
AU - Locat, Jacques
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Wabush Lake is one of the few very well-constrained source-to-sink sedimentary systems in the world that exhibits near-continuous turbidity currents. In this system, approximately 20million tons of mine tailings are delivered each year to a 40km2 lake. Multibeam bathymetric surveys of this lake were carried out between 1999 and 2011. In addition, a program of extensive sampling and seismic surveys, an airborne LiDAR survey and a photogrammetric survey were carried out during this period. The objective of this study was to determine the evolution through time of this anthropic source-to-sink system, from the point where sediments exit the slurry pipelines at the head of the system to the distal end and bottom of the Lake. The total volume of the Lake is around 1×109m3.Analysis of subaerial and subaqueous datasets allows the evaluation of disposal strategies on the delta topset and on tailings accumulation. Disposal strategies influence the dynamics of the channels on the topset, thus in turn affecting the accumulation of tailings throughout the lake, as well as the shoreline advancement rate. Subaqueous erosional channels present on the bed of the Lake influence the depositional pattern of tailings as well as their granulometric distribution. These erosional channels are created by the shoreward migration of knickpoints. In some places, this migration can be documented over multiple surveys.Finally, sequential analysis of the 1999, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011 surveys has allowed detailed documentation of the infilling of the Lake, including the migration of sediment depocenters, the mechanism of emplacement and the progressive infilling of a series of minibasins.
AB - Wabush Lake is one of the few very well-constrained source-to-sink sedimentary systems in the world that exhibits near-continuous turbidity currents. In this system, approximately 20million tons of mine tailings are delivered each year to a 40km2 lake. Multibeam bathymetric surveys of this lake were carried out between 1999 and 2011. In addition, a program of extensive sampling and seismic surveys, an airborne LiDAR survey and a photogrammetric survey were carried out during this period. The objective of this study was to determine the evolution through time of this anthropic source-to-sink system, from the point where sediments exit the slurry pipelines at the head of the system to the distal end and bottom of the Lake. The total volume of the Lake is around 1×109m3.Analysis of subaerial and subaqueous datasets allows the evaluation of disposal strategies on the delta topset and on tailings accumulation. Disposal strategies influence the dynamics of the channels on the topset, thus in turn affecting the accumulation of tailings throughout the lake, as well as the shoreline advancement rate. Subaqueous erosional channels present on the bed of the Lake influence the depositional pattern of tailings as well as their granulometric distribution. These erosional channels are created by the shoreward migration of knickpoints. In some places, this migration can be documented over multiple surveys.Finally, sequential analysis of the 1999, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011 surveys has allowed detailed documentation of the infilling of the Lake, including the migration of sediment depocenters, the mechanism of emplacement and the progressive infilling of a series of minibasins.
KW - Delta
KW - Hyperpycnal flow
KW - Minibasin
KW - Submarine channels
KW - Tailings
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84945378386&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84945378386&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.10.007
DO - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.10.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84945378386
VL - 151
SP - 227
EP - 243
JO - Earth-Science Reviews
JF - Earth-Science Reviews
SN - 0012-8252
ER -