Coastal Enviroments And Processes In The Canadian Artic Archipelago

Abstract

<p> The prime objective is to define and characterize the various coastal environments in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The research, Hhich utilizes both secondary source information and actual field observations, takes into account coastal morphology, beach profile, sediment types, sea ice conditions, tidal range, depth of the frost table and wave energy. From a total of twelve coastal divisions based on the criteria of coastal morphology, tidal conditions and length of open water season, five have been chosen as t he basic coastal environ ments of the Arctic Archipelago. They are as follows: the Arctic Coastal Plain, the Ice Shelf, the Fiord environment, the High Straight coastal environment, and the Ridge and Valley coastal environment. Field observations within the last three environments provided additional evidence for the divisions and observations on the beach and nearshore characteristics at five selected locations. </p>