Perennial spring occurrence in the Expedition Fiord area of western Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic

This paper documents perennial spring activity at Expedition Fiord on weste rn Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Two groups of mineraliz ed springs occur. near the McGill University Axel Heiberg Research Station located at 79 degrees 26'N, 90 degrees 46'W. The first is at Gypsum Hill, 3 km from the terminus of the White and Thompson glaciers, and the second si te is at Colour Peak, approximately 10 km downvalley near the head of Exped ition Fiord. Each spring group consists of 20-40 vents spread over several hundred square metres. The highly mineralized nature of the discharge cause s a freezing-point depression of 7-10 degrees C and produces a range of pre cipitates and travertine deposits. Year-round water temperature and dischar ge rate measurements have been obtained, demonstrating perennial activity a t these sites. Results indicate that temperatures range from -4.0 to 6.6 de grees C among the individual sources; however, water temperatures at the va rious outlets remain constant throughout the year despite a mean annual air temperature of -15 degrees C. Although discharge from any one outlet is lo w (<0.5 to 2.0 L/s), the total discharge is substantial, each year producin g several seasonal frost mounds and an icing 180000 - 300000 m(2) at the Gy psum Hill site.