Baker Lake Research Articles

On the quiet-time Pc 5 pulsation events (Spacequakes)

A quiet-time Pc 5 event (designated Spacequake) of March 18, 1974, first noted on the Fort Churchill magnetopram, was studied using global data. Its amplitude was found to be largest in the northern part of the auroral zone and its period seemed to increase with latitude. The clockwise polarization of the event noted at Baker Lake and higher latitudes changed to counterclockwise at Fort Churchill in X- Y, X- Z and Y- Z planes. The resonance of a field line ( L ≅ 10) excited due to an instability of the Kelvin-Helmholtz type may have given rise to the observed event. It is conjectured that the cause of instability at this high altitude was internal convection of the magnetosphere. Similar quiet-time events from four Canadian observatories were selected from approximately 11 years of magnetograms and their statistical analysis revealed that (i) occurrences maximized near dawn and dusk (ii) the amplitude-latitude profile peaked at Great Whale River ( L ≅ 6.67), (iii) periods increased with increasing geomagnetic latitudes, (iv) a large number of events occurred in January, February and March every year, and (v) frequency of occurrence increased with increasing sunspot numbers. Comparison of these results with those available in the literature from analyses of satellite data clearly indicate that quiet-time Pc 5 events (Spacequakes) originate in the outer magnetosphere.

Surficial Origin of North American Pitchblende and Related Uranium Deposits

The ubiquitous association of pitchblende uranium deposits with terrestrial sediments is believed to be the natural result of formation of the orebodies by surficial processes operating under continental conditions. The major uranium deposits of North America illustrate this. The quartz-pebble conglomerate uranium deposits of Elliot Lake, Ontario, have thorium-rich uranium minerals that indicate a detrital origin. With the development of an oxygenic atmosphere before 1,700 m.y. ago, uranium was transported in solution in meteoric surface and near-surface ground water, and produced pitchblende veins in fractures in the basement and in lava flows in terrestrial environments. This accounts for the close association of fluvial sediments with the pitchblende deposits at Beaver odge, Rabbit Lake, Baker Lake, and Great Bear Lake, Canada. The development of land plants about 300 m.y. ago produced favorable environments within the terrestrial sandstones themselves, and resulted in the tabular uranium orebodies of the Colorado Plateau. The close relation of tabular orebodies to sedimentation is apparent when compared to recent fluvial sedimentation. In Wyoming, the stratigraphic restriction of the boundary-roll deposits to a few zones in Eocene rocks results from their being remobilized tabular deposits.

Some Characteristics of Large Amplitude Pc5 Pulsations

An analysis of the 1967 geomagnetic data from five Canadian observatories reveals that Pc5 pulsations of amplitude ;;.40 nT occur most often within geomagnetic latitudes 65�-74�. The occurrences peak during morning hours in the auroral zone but during later hours of the day at higher latitudes, while a strong midnight occurrence peak is also noted at the auroral zone stations. The occurrences and amplitudes in general are found to be largest near the central line of the auroral zone, while the periods are found to increase with increasing latitudes. Stronger magnetic activity seems to generate a larger number of Pc5 pulsations with large amplitudes. With increasing activity, there seems to take place a continuous decrease in the level at which instability develops. This may be inferred from the Baker Lake data, where the period of pulsations decreases continuously with increasing activity. The results of the present investigation seem to fit a model in which the auroral zone ionosphere acts as an amplifier of the amplitude of hydromagnetic waves which arrive along the lines of force from the magnetopause.

Increased heat emission from Mount Baker, Washington

In late afternoon on March 10, 1975, Roy Ashe, operator of the Upper Baker Dam at the Baker Lake hydroelectric reservoir, reported than an unusually large dark gray plume of vapor was rising above the rim of the Sherman Crater near the top of Mount Baker, 21 km upstream. A flurry of aerial observations the following day noted distinct changes from previously known fumarolic activity in the ice‐covered crater. New fumaroles, ice pits, semicircular crevasses, and ponded water in the crater had appeared, as well as a thin dusting of gray debris 100 to 300 m outside the crater. The apparently sudden change in the thermal regime of Mount Baker was obvious as well as ominous.

Period variation of Pc5 pulsations at high latitudes

Geomagnetic data for the year 1967 from seven Canadian observatories, spanning the subauroral, auroral and polar zones, have been analysed to investigate the characteristic variation of Pc5 period with several geophysical variables. Pulsations in the whole spectrum of Pc5 (period range 150–600 s) were found to occur at all of the observatories. Those with smaller periods occurred more frequently at lower latitudes while those with longer periods occurred more frequently at higher latitudes. Daily variation of the periods of Pc5 showed little change with seasons or with magnetic activity. Periods, in general, had two daily maxima which appeared at different local times in different zones. A predominant morning peak was noted at all stations except Baker Lake, where a mid-day maximum of the period was found. The Pc5 periods tended to increase with geomagnetic activity at lower latitude stations, and to decrease with activity at stations in the polar cap for low to moderateKp levels. At high activity levels these trends appeared to reverse, though results are less certain. In different seasons and for the whole year the periods increased almost linearly with latitude. However when similar analysis was done for individual hours of the day and for different magnetic activity groups, this linear relationship between period and geomagnetic latitude was not evident. Efforts to detect a 27-day recurrence tendency of Pc5 periods did not succeed.

Amplitude variation of Pc 5 pulsations at high latitudes

Normal‐run magnetograms for the year 1967 from seven Canadian observatories were scaled to study the amplitude characteristics of Pc 5 pulsations. The results of the statistical analysis are: (1) Large amplitude Pc 5's occur in a limited region located on the poleward side of the auroral zone. (2) The diurnal variation of Pc 5 amplitude maximizes in the postnoon period at Resolute Bay and this peak tends to appear earlier and earlier in the day at the lower latitude stations, e.g., it appears in the morning at Great Whale River. An additional midnight peak in the diurnal variation of amplitude is noted at auroral zone stations. (3) The amplitude attains a maximum value at Great Whale River near the central line of the auroral zone. It decreases at a faster rate toward the lower latitudes than toward the higher latitudes. In quiet intervals an additional peak in the amplitude‐latitude profile is noted near the cusp region at Baker Lake. (4) The diurnal variation pattern of amplitude shows no clear relationship with the seasons or with magnetic activity. (5) Under disturbed magnetic conditions a much larger amplification of the amplitude of Pc 5's has been at Great Whale River than at high or low latitude stations. Pc 5 amplitudes correlate very well with Kp up to a level of 6−. (6) With increasing solar elevation angle the region of maximum amplitude of Pc 5 is found to move toward the northern border of the auroral zone. (7) From the data analyzed, amplitudes of Pc 5 do not show a 27‐day recurrence tendency.

Occurrence studies of geomagnetic micropulsations Pc5 at high latitudes

Normal magnetograms from seven Canadian observatories, located in the polar, auroral and the subauroral zones, are used to study micropulsations in the period range of 180–600 sec belonging to the Pc 5 group of pulsations. The analysis reveals: (1) Pc 5 occurrence peaks during the pre-noon and the post-noon hours at all the stations with the post-noon peak being dominant at the polar and subauroral latitudes and the pre-noon peak in the auroral zone. An additional midnight occurrence peak, hitherto unreported, exists at the auroral zone stations. This general pattern is seen in different groups of days during all seasons and for different levels of magnetic activity. More hours with Pc 5 pulsations are noted in j-season than during the d-season. Maximum number of hours with Pc 5 pulsations is noted for Baker Lake—a station at the northern border of the auroral zone. It also seems clear, from the occurrence histograms, that the pulsational activity shifts towards the lower latitudes with increasing magnetic activity. During such active intervals, Baker Lake becomes a polar station indicating a shift of the auroral oval towards the south. (2) A linear increase, on the average, of Pc 5 occurrence has been noted for magnetic activity increasing up to Kp ∼- 5 0 and/or ΣKp ∼- 37; after these levels the occurrence becomes uncertain almost everywhere. (3) There is a good correlation of Pc 5 occurrence with ΣKp but the correlation is poor with either the daily or the monthly mean relative sunspot numbers. (4) The cause of the midnight Pc 5 pulsations seen at the auroral zone stations, and peaking at Meanook seems to be the stresses at the night-time boundary, between the open and the closed lines, due to the tail particles which ultimately precipitate in the auroral zones and give ride to the midnight substorms.

Paleomagnetism of the Precambrian Dubawnt Group

One hundred and twenty-seven oriented samples of the Dubawnt Group were collected from 32 sites (10 sites in igneous rocks and 22 in sedimentary rocks) along the shores of Baker Lake, Northwest Territories (mean location of sampling sites 64.1° N., 094.7° W.). The age of the rocks is in the range 1,720 to 1,735 m.y. Demagnetization studies, the observed consistency between igneous and sedimentary rocks, the presence of reversals, and the evidence from baked contacts indicate that the magnetization was acquired at or very soon after formation. The mean direction of magnetization, irrespective of sign, is 347°, −50° (α 95 = 7°), and the corresponding pole is 07° N., 083° W. (α 95 = 8°). This result, together with others recently obtained, suggests that relative to North America the pole followed a westerly track in the eastern Pacific Ocean during the middle Proterozoic. These rocks are not very different in age from the Sudbury Irruptive, and the results therefore allow a tentative reconstruction of the original attitude of the northern limb of the irruptive.

Some Characteristics of Irregular Micropulsations Pi2 at High Latitude Stations

Pi2 micropulsations were studied for the period July 12 to August 16, 1968, from four observatories at different latitudes in Canada. Maximum occurrence was near midnight with a preference for 5–6 h UT at all longitudes studied. The relationship of Pi2 occurrence to magnetic bays and to Kp is examined. The correlation of Pi amplitudes and periods with Kp and other parameters reveals a different pattern for lower latitude stations (Ottawa and Meanook) compared with Baker Lake (73.9 °N). These results are interpreted as evidence for two different types of Pi in the different latitude regions, the lower latitude Pi being associated with hydromagnetic waves on the plasmapause. In studies of simultaneous Pi events at the four stations, the maximum amplitude occurred most frequently at Meanook. Polarization of such events was found to be different at different stations and so previously reported patterns of Pi polarization could not be confirmed.

On the Diurnal Variation of the Periods of Pc3, 4 Micropulsations

The period has been measured of each cycle of all Pc3, 4 micropulsation occurring on 10 days selected from a month's rapid run records collected during July-August, 1968 at four Canadian observatories. The periods are averaged over each hour and then the hourly values are averaged in two groups of five days according to the Cp value for the days. For Pc3 on the quieter days the diurnal variation of the periods shows a maximum peak near local noon while on disturbed days the variation changes to ‘U-type’ with the minimum period near noon. The Pc4 period is found to be lowest in the morning and highest in the evening at Ottawa and Meanook. But at higher latitudes (Baker Lake and Resolute Bay) the Pc4 period variation is simply ‘U-type’. Analysis also shows the presence of a diurnal variation of the correlation between Pc periods and Kp. The position of the plasmapause seems to determine Pc4 periods except at the higher latitudes while effects closer to the ionosphere may have a greater influence on the periods of Pc3 pulsations.

Eskimo Art Is For Kabloona

Oonark was born in the area around Garry Lake and the Back River about 1906. She was married very young, as was customary among the traditional Eskimos, and had many children, eight of whom survived. Her husband died ... (around 1952). At that time there was a famine in the Garry Lake region and Oonark and one of here daughters were starving. They were rescued by a Government Forces plane ... and were taken to Baker Lake .... She was introduced to drawing by some school teachers, and some people from the Wildlife Service who gave her pencils and paper. ... Her drawings were first exhibited in the form of prints (executed by other Eskimo craftsmen) in 1960. ... Oonark also does sewn felt wallhangings, a number of which were recently exhibited in Toronto. ... When I met Oonark and her interpreter, Ruby Angoateegota Arngnaknark, on the occasion of her exhibition of drawings at the Canadian Guild of Crafts in Montreal, Quebec, we talked about what significance here drawings had for her. I asked whether meant anything specific for her and whether she hoped other people would learn something from her pictures. Ruby replied that Oonark probably didn't think about such things because they are not in the Eskimo language .... Much of Oonark's drawing seems to be done to please the prospective buyer or the crafts officer (for whom the artists have great regard). ... Oonark doesn't have any of her drawings in her house - as Ruby explains there was no notion of in Eskimo life. They view their art primarily as something to sell, in order to be able to buy what need or want. ...

Field Notes on Mammals of the Chesterfield Inlet, District of Keewatin

These notes are based on observations, and some collecting, during a stay at the village of Chesterfield Inlet (C) from 27 May to 21 July 1967; they include some information obtained from local white and native residents. Small mammal traps were set in the warehouse of the Hudson's Bay Company (hereafter referred to as the "Bay") at Chesterfield, at several points on the outskirts of the village, and on Promise Island. A few specimens were also secured during 4 days, 21 to 25 July, spent at Rankin Inlet (R), 4 days, 25 to 29 July, spent at Baker Lake (B). In the annotated list below trinomials are used only for those species of which specimens were collected; in the case of arctic foxes the subspecies could be determined from several skulls that were found. The subspecific determinations were made by P.M.Youngman, curator of mammals at the National Museum of Canada, where the specimens were deposited. The localities referred to are shown on the sketch map, .... The vernacular names of the species and the order of the list follows Burt and Grossenheider whose guide was used in the field. The Eskimo names given are those in use about Chesterfield Inlet. My orthography is essentially that of Thibert's dictionary, i.e., the words are sounded as if they were Latin (or for that matter German) with the following exceptions: the guttural sound which often follows ak, for which Thibert finds no true equivalent in French, is rendered ch, pronounced as in the Scots' word loch (or German dach); the sound which he renders as s is written sh to be pronounced as in English (equivalent to German sch); s is to be pronounced as in any of the West European languages. This simple system is the same as I have previously used for Amerind and Eskimo bird names. As far as I can judge it is in agreement with Greenlandic orthography. My journey to Keewatin was supported by grants from the National Research Council of Canada and the Arctic Institute of North America.

Eskimo Bird Names at Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake, Keewatin, Northwest Territories

The list below was compiled during a stay of about two months, 27 May to 21 July 1967, at Chesterfield Inlet and during a few days spent at Baker Lake in the course of the homeward journey. At Chesterfield Inlet my principal native informants on bird names were Krakok, a man about forty-five years old who had lived part of his earlier life at Daly Bay (about 50 miles further north) and a twelve-year-old boy Koluar, who early in his childhood had been brought from Iglulik to Chesterfield by his father and who often accompanied me on bird-watching walks. Koluar, through his father, had learnt some Iglulik versions of bird names but also knew those in use locally. The Baker Lake names were collected from a man about fifty years old, Kchlaiyuk, with one of his sons acting as interpreter. According to Boas these people belong to the tribe he called the Kinepitu or Agutit. I conceive the principal virtue of the list here given to lie in the explanations of the basic meaning of the native names for which I am indebted to the scholarship of Father E. Fafard, O.M.I. [Oblates of Mary Immaculate] From the meanings of the bird names it will be evident that in the case of many only the context in which they are used would make it clear that a bird is referred to. ...

Observations on the Breeding Behaviour of Phalaropes

On 27 May 1967, I reached the settlement of Chesterfield Inlet (Igluliarjuk), Keewatin, Northwest Territories. No phalaropes were seen in the district until 13 June. On that day, red phalaropes ( Phalaropus fulicarius ) in considerable numbers and some northern phalaropes ( P. lobatus ) were seen at sea in the offing of, or flying over, one of the islets in the mouth of the inlet. During the next 10 days, phalaropes of both species used a mainland lagoon near the settlement, but their number here gradually declined and by the end of June they had deserted this locality completely. Some northern phalaropes nested on the mainland and others of this species at least attempted to nest on Promise Island (Nannuyuma), where 5 pairs of red phalaropes nested and a sixth pair made a nest (but apparently no eggs were laid). After the local spring passage, red phalaropes were seen only on Fairway (Pitiulaktok) and Promise islands. Breeding may well have taken place on Fairway, but a visit there at the appropriate time was not possible. The apparent definitive departure of the females from Promise Island after egg laying was observed on the night of 9-10 July. The newly hatched young of 1 pair still in the nest and guarded only by a male were found at this breeding station on 20 July. Three other males acted as if they had young hidden near the nests which were, by that time, empty. The eggs in the fifth nest had not hatched and this nest had evidently been deserted by the male. The 4 downy young found were weighed and banded. Confirming my earlier observations on Wilson's phalarope, no territorial behaviour was shown by red phalaropes on the mainland or on Promise Island. The association of red phalarope nesting with colonially breeding arctic terns ( Sterna paradisaea ), reported by Lovenskiold, as frequently observed in the Svalbard Archipelago (Spitsbergen), also applied to Promise Island. ... Local Eskimo bird and mammal names were collected in the Chesterfield Inlet area, and at Baker Lake a list restricted to bird names was made. The Eskimo names for prominent topographic features (on several of which the Canadian Army Survey markers were found) were recorded. General ornithological observations added 17 species to the local avifauna as it was known from previous published works. ... Proof of breeding of the following species, the local breeding status of which was either uncertain or unknown, was obtained: Canada goose ( Branta canadensis ), pintail ( Anas acuta ), sandhill crane, black guillemot ( Cepphus grylle ), savannah sparrow ( Passerculus sandwichensis ). Specimens of some of the rodents of the area were also secured. ...

A TIME-TERM ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST ARRIVAL DATA FROM THE SEISMIC EXPERIMENT IN HUDSON BAY, 1965

A time-term analysis is made of the first arrival data from the 41 shots of the1965 Hudson Bay seismic experiment. An investigation of the water-wave data is made to determine which of three possible series of navigation is most consistent. A single-layered crust with a compressional wave velocity of 6.33 km/s and an upper mantle compressional wave velocity of 8.27 km/s are proposed for Hudson Bay. The Mohorovičić discontinuity is found to have considerable topography with depths ranging from 42.7 km to less than 26 km. The Churchill–Superior boundary is proposed to be a three-dimensional crustal feature and is extended offshore from Cape Smith and extended westward to the north of the Ottawa Islands through approximately 59° 40′ N and 82° 00′ W. The Mohorovičić discontinuity rises to depths of about 26 km beneath Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake. The mantle is about 40 km deep at Churchill, Manitoba and rises to about30 km some 130 km west of Gilmour Island, then drops to almost 42 km farther east. The sudden drop is related to the Churchill–Superior boundary.

The Lemming Cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, During 1959-62.

The Lemming Cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, During 1959-62.

The Lemming Cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, during 1959-1962

Krebs, Charles J. The Lemming Cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, During 1959–1962. Tech. Paper No. 15, Arctic Institute of North America. 104 pp., 10 figs., frontis., 50 tables. September 1964. Price, $2.00 Get access Krebs Charles J.The Lemming Cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, during 1959–1962. Tech. Paper No. 15, Arctic Institute of North America. 104 pp., 10 figs., frontis., 50 tables. September 1964. Price, $2.00. Richard H. Manville Richard H. Manville Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 46, Issue 2, 20 May 1965, Pages 357–358, https://doi.org/10.2307/1377882 Published: 20 May 1965

The Salinity of Baker Lake, N.W.T., Canada

not available

Spring and Summer Phenology at Baker Lake, Keewatin, N.W.T., during 1959-62

Spring and Summer Phenology at Baker Lake, Keewatin, N.W.T., during 1959-62

Lemming Cycle at Baker Lake, Canada, during 1959-62

Brown and varying lemmings of the central Canadian arctic showed changes in reproduction, mortality, and the properties of the individuals over a 4-year period of fluctuating population. These changes were not due to starvation or malnutrition, nor were there any obvious symptoms of stress. They may have been associated with changes in the behavior of the animals.