Title: Hydrometeorological conditions preceding wildfire, and the subsequent burning of a fen watershed in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
Citation: Elmes, Matthew (2018). Elmes et al. (NHESS) Data.zip. figshare. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5346484.v2
Study Site: Fort McMurray, Alberta
Purpose: The destructive nature of the ∼ 590 000 ha Horse river wildfire in the Western Boreal Plain (WBP), northern Alberta, in May of 2016 motivated the investigation of the hydrometeorological conditions that preceded the fire. Historical climate and field hydrometeorological data from a moderate-rich fen watershed were used to (a) identify whether the spring 2016 conditions were outside the range of natural variability for WBP climate cycles, (b) explain the observed patterns in burn severity across the watershed, and (c) identify whether fall and winter moisture signals observed in peatlands and lowland forests in the region are indicative of wildfire.
Abstract: Hydrological data were collected between 2011 and 2016. Initial instrumentation included a water table monitoring well in a fen area (NW fen), located in the northwest section of the watershed, and a well in the adjacent margin area (NW margin), located ∼140m south of the fen well (Fig. 1) and ∼0.65m higher in elevation. The NW fen water table was monitored from June 2011 to May 2016
using either a logging pressure transducer (from 2011 to 2012; Schlumberger Mini-Diver) or a capacitance water level recorder (from 2013 to 2016; Odyssey Dataflow Systems Ltd.). In spring 2015, additional groundwater monitoring focused on two fen areas located at contrasting low (lower) and high (upper) topographic elevations, which varied by ∼0.7m (Fig. 1). Groundwater monitoring nests were installed in the lower (n = 4) and upper (n =3) fen areas and adjacent mar
gins (n = 4) (Fig. 1). Screened wells and piezometers (20cm screened intake) were constructed from PVC (2.5cmI.D.) pipe and installed into the different substrates in grouped nests. Nests typically comprised a fully slotted well, with piezometers installed in mid-peat (0.6–0.75 m depth) and
underlying mineral (1.25–1.85 m depth). Logging pressure transducers were installed in a well and in a piezometer situated in the underlying mineral layer, for one nest each in the lower and upper areas (Fig. 1). Nests were measured manually on a weekly basis between May and August 2015 and
again in early October. Vertical hydraulic gradients were calculated between the water table and hydraulic head in the underlying mineral layer for each nest in the lower and upper fen areas using standard methods (Freeze and Cherry, 1978). Fen ground temperatures were monitored within close
proximity to the NW fen well between fall 2012 and summer 2016 using two thermocouple arrays, buried at 0.1 and 0.2m depth below surface. Temperatures were logged half-hourly and daily averages were calculated for each depth.
Supplemental Information Summary:
Research:
Further Info: Elmes, M. C., Thompson, D. K., Sherwood, J. H., and Price, J. S.: Hydrometeorological conditions preceding wildfire, and the subsequent burning of a fen watershed in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 157–170, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-157-2018, 2018.
Status: Complete
Keywords:
hydrology,
meteorology,
fen,
wildfire,
Geographical coordinates: North: 56.93, South: 56.93 East: -111.53 West: -111.53
Bounding Temporal Extent: Start Date: 2011-01-01, End
Date: 2016-12-31
