HAZEN LAKE

A view on the lake

Photo.
Photo: L. Johnson  
 
 

A. LOCATION

Northwest Territories, Canada.
81:0-81:5N, 68:7-73:0W; 158 m above sea level.

B. DESCRIPTION

Lake Hazen, the largest lake in the world entirely north of the Arctic Circle (66¡¦0'N), is situated at the northern end of Ellesmere Island, the largest and most northerly of the Queen Elizabeth Islands (1). The lake was first discovered by the Inuit. In modern times it was first discovered in 1882 by Adolphus Greely during his exploration of the region during 1881-1983 (2). Greely established a base at Fort Conger (81¡¦4'N) as part of the first International Geophysical Year (IGY). During the spring of 1882 he explored Conybeare and Chandler Fjords, moving up the Ruggles River to Lake Hazen. Greely, a signals officer in the U.S. Army, named the lake after his superior, William Babcock Hazen, the chief signals officer who had been responsible for the dispatch of the expedition.
In an earlier period the region had been occupied by Inuit of the Dorset culture, up to about 1200 A. D., but the area was abandoned following the climatic deterioration that began about this time (3) coincident with the spread of the more recent Thule culture.
Lake Hazen is situated on the Palaeozoic rocks of the Hazen Plateau of the Eureka Uplands (4, 5, 6). North of the lake the Hazen Fault Zone forms the boundary of the Grant Land Mountains. These mountains are largely covered by ice although nunataks (a hill or mountain completely surrounded by glacial ice) rise above the permanent ice-fields to heights up to 2,500 m. The icefields feed valley glaciers flowing southward to the Hazen Plateau, the melting of which in summer, primarily the Henrietta Nesmith and the Gilmour Glaciers, forms the major source of water for the lake.
Most of the information on Lake Hazen is derived from the results of a further IGY expedition in 1957-58 (1). In addition to geophysical and meteorological (7, 8) observations, investigations on the surrounding vegetation (9) and its susceptibility to disturbance (10), the lake fauna (11, 12) and the limnology were carried out. A bibliography of Lake Hazen region was prepared by the members of the IGY team (13). Unfortunately, the limnologist of the expedition, Dr. R. E. Deane, was drowned in a boating accident in southern Canada shortly after his return, thus precluding presentation of the full results.
The region around Lake Hazen functions as a "thermal oasis" in a true polar desert, the Lake Hazen Fault Zone functioning as a gigantic solar receiver while Lake Hazen itself augments this effect (7). Air temperatures frequently rise to 10-13¡¦between June 1 and August 10 although the lake itself remains ice-covered in all but the warmest years (8). Greely (2) reported a shade temperature of 23¡¦one afternoon in June 1882. The area is extremely dry experiencing only about 25 mm of precipitation annually.
The only fish species present, the anadromous arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus, maintains a sizeable population recognizable as distinct anadromous (migratory) and non-anadromous forms (14). These are the most northerly stock of charr in North America, possibly in the whole world. In recent years a small sport-fishing camp has been operating on the lake, serviced out of Resolute Bay. In 1983 the region was given the protective status of a National Park (5).

C. PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS (Q)

     
    Surface area [km2] 542
    Maximum depth [m] 280
    Water level Unregulated
    Normal range of annual water
    level fluctuation [m] 1.4*
    Length of shoreline [km] 185
    * 142.3 cm water level rose for 6-8 December 1962.
 

D. PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES

D1 GEOGRAPHICAL
Sketch map: Fig. NAM-32-01.
Names of main islands: John's.
Number of outflowing rivers and channels (name): 1 (Ruggles R.).

    Fig. NAM-32-01
    Sketch map of the lake (Q).
 

D2 CLIMATIC
Climatic data at Hazen Camp, 1958-1963 (8)
Mean temp. [deg C]

     
    Jun Jul 1-15 Aug
    1961 -0.5 5.6 4.8
    1962 4.4 8.6 7.55
    Annual precipitation [mm]: 23 (2-19, 1 June-15 August).


    Seasonal change of temperature [deg C](Q).
?

Number of hours of bright sunshine
Hazen Camp: Circa 2,200 hr yr-1.
Alert: Circa 1,700 hr yr-1.
Solar radiation (Alert)[MJ m-2 day-1](8a)

     
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ann.
    0.03 2.01 11.78 22.63 24.57 18.78 10.66 3.61 0.35 - - - 10.5
     
Water temperature [deg C](10)
1957-1962: <3¡¦ Most years ice does not clear completely.
Freezing period: Throughout the year.
1957 Ice-free by 3 August, frozen by 26 September.
1958 East half ice-free, west half 40% covered on 20 August and night freezing occurring.
1959 90% ice cover on 24 August.
1960 Well-developed shore lead on 12 June, ice-free on 29 August and 24 September.
1961 70% ice cover on 21 August.
Mixing type: Monomictic and Polar.
Notes on water mixing and thermocline formation
Although detailed observations are not available the lake has remained permanently ice covered in some years (amictic) while in others iceout occurs in late August (monomictic).

E. LAKE WATER QUALITY

E1 TRANSPARENCY [m](10)
Deep water, 1958
Clear in spring, turbid during melt season owing to turbid inflow from melting glaciers. In August: turbid water, Secchi disc 1.7 m; clear water, Secchi disc 8.3 m.
E4 DO [mg l-1](10)
Deep water, 1958
All samples taken under ice except those of August.
     
    [m]
    Depth Jun Jun Jun Jul Jul Jul Aug
    1.3 14.71 - 14.38 12.47 10.41 10.72 12.63
    2.9 15.04 15.01 15.11 13.37 12.66 11.82 -
    5.8 14.34 14.72 14.51 14.11 13.05 12.53 12.74
    8.7 14.53 14.58 14.24 - 13.36 12.64 -
    11.6 - 13.98 13.84 13.96 12.45 12.66 12.84
    14.6 13.28 13.97 - - - - -
    17.5 - - 13.11 - 12.23 12.67 -
    20.4 12.70 13.67 - 13.35 - - -
    23.3 - - 12.7 - 12.69 12.57 -
    26.2 - 13.31 - - - - -
    29.1 13.14 - 12.80 - 12.52 - -
    32.0 - - 12.82 - - - -
    34.9 - 13.24 - - 12.57 12.57 -
    46.6 - 13.19 - - - - -
    58.2 13.11 13.14 - 12.85 - - -
    116.4 12.70 - - - - - -
    136.8 12.53 - - 12.87 - - -
     
 

F. BIOLOGICAL FEATURES

F1 FLORA
Emerged macrophytes: None.
Floating macrophytes: None.
Submerged macrophytes: None.
Phytoplankton
"Virtually no plankton in net hauls at any date" (10). "But dark food was found in the guts of copepods collected on June 14 and 18, 1958 but never thereafter. The high oxygen values in mid-June even super-saturated near the surface are also certainly the result of plant production" (10).
F2 FAUNA
Zooplankton (10)
Cyclops scutifer, Keratella hiemalis (<1% less common than C. scutifer, K. cochlearis (very rare), Daphnia middendorffiana (single specimen). Estimated standing crop and production in dry weight of Cyclops scutifer
     
    Standing Crop Production
    Date mg m-2 Period mg m-2 day-1
    June 18 160 June 18-July 5 0.20
    July 5 55 July 5-July 24 2.25
    July 24 148
    August 10 23 July 24-Aug. 10-11 0.65
    August 11 68

    Fig. NAM-32-03
    Vertical distribution of naupliar and copepodite stages of Cyclops scutifer, Aug. 1958 (11).
 

Data on zooplankton collections in 1958 (11).

     
    *1 C. scutifer. *2 K. hiemalis. *3 
    Date Depth No. Vol. Portion Nos. in
    [m] hauls filter- sub- subsample
    ed [m3] sampled A*1 B*2
    Vertical and lique series
    Jun 14 135-0 2 vert. 1.82 0.60 763 2
    Jun 13 32-0 2 vert. 0.30 0.47 813 2
    Jul 4 135-0 2 vert. 1.90 0.41 505 8
    Jul 5 32-0 2 vert. 0.32 0.47 209 2
    Jul 24 32-0 1 obl. 0.43 0.53 684 3
    Aug 10 32-0 1 obl. 0.48 0.53 194 6
    Aug 11 32-0 1 obl. 0.90 0.45 747 10
    Horizontal hauls in shore lead
    July 24 1-4 1.67 0.04 670 0
    Horizontal hauls to show vertical distribution
    Aug 10 1 2.24 0.52 68 1
    Aug 10 3 1.48 0.27 62 0
    Aug 10 5 1.38 0.18 300 7
    Aug 10 10 1.57 0.18 244 4
    Aug 10 15 1.38 0.20 189 0
    Aug 10 24 1.19 0.30 369 2
    Aug 10 32 1.60 0.55 212 1
    Est. no* No. stages of C. scutifer in random aliquots
    C. scutifer NH NIII NIV NV CI CII CIII CIV CV A*2
    Vertical and lique series
    91,500/m3 - - - - - - - - - -
    186,000 26 49 91 10 4 13 93 3 0 0
    86,400 - - - - - - - - - -
    45,300 7 15 37 3 0 11 114 6 0 0
    91,900 4 25 54 88 3 6 79 137 3 0
    21,300 11 25 47 80 13 3 12 37 10 0
    55,200 1 9 19 48 23 1 12 33 6 0
    Horizontal hauls in shore lead
    9,980/m3 1 1 10 37 0 4 52 93 0 0
    Horizontal hauls to show vertical distribution
    60/m3 7 10 6 7 1 0 2 10 5 1
    155 8 20 17 21 1 1 4 40 19 1
    1,255 13 44 57 105 37 2 18 58 13 0
    870 4 30 36 79 73 2 17 30 18 0
    685 12 11 20 42 23 2 6 21 5 0
    625 2 6 11 24 5 2 22 8 0 0
    240 10 21 15 33 9 2 12 0 0 0
     
*1 It is assumed as shown by the series on August 10, that most animals are in the upper waters and that both the shallow (32.0 m) and deep (135-0) vertical hauls sampled the entire population. The results explained as members per square meter do not suggest otherwise. *2 Adults. *3 A few adults removed from the whole samples and identified by Dr. E.B. Reed. Benthos (12) Libertia sp., Hydroporus polaris, Apatania zonella, Radema sp., Tipula arctica, Dactylolabis sp., Protantypus caudatus, Pseudodiamesa artica, D. simplex, Psectrocladius barbatimanus, Prosmittia nanseni, Paraphaenocladius despectus, Chironomus sp., Procladius sp., Abiskomyia sp., Corynoneura sp., Heterotrissocladius subpilosus, Hydrobaenus fusistylus, Limnophyes globifer, Oliveridia tricornis, Orthocladius charensis, O. lapponicus, O. mixtus, Paracladius quadrindosus, Parakiefferiella sp., Zalutschia trigonacies, Micropsectra sp., Tanytarsus sp., Forcipomyia sp., Ceratopogon sp., Culicoides sp., Helophilus borealis, Metasyrphus chillcolti. Supplementary notes on the biota Two stocks of arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) exist; 1) a non.anadromous stock and 2) an anadromous stock migrating down Ruggles River to Lady Franklin Bay.

    Fig. NAM-32-04
    Fish catch and size distribution of Salvelinus alpinus.
 

F3 PRIMARY PRODUCTION RATE (10) Primary production is very low, just within the lower detection limits of the 14C method. July-August mean = 39 mg C m-3 day-1, range was 0-193 mg C m-3 day-1. The negative 14C results (August) can only be taken to indicate very low, unmeasurable primary production.

     
    Date Depth [m] C in mg m-2 day Comments
    18-19 Jul 1.5 59 In narrow lead off camp.
    2.5 56 Max. depth ca. 3 m
    9-10 Aug 0.2 31
    2.0 -5
    5.0 18
    10.0 6
    10-11 Aug 0.2 16
    2.0 0
    5.0 -4
    10.0 -13
     
All experiments were carried out in 300 B. 0. D. bottles, suspended for 24 hrs on clear days (24-hr daylight). Collections made with aluminum sampler. Oxygen determined by winkler method and gross carbon (C) production estimated using A. P. Q. of 1.25 (10). Char Lake (Cornwallis Island, latitude 74°Ë phytoplankton mean daily primary productivity was 2.3 mg C m-2 day-1 (15). Converting the Hazen Lake mean 39 mg C m-3 day-1 to aerial units assuming a 20 m deep photic zone (Secchi = 8.3 m in clear water) gives 2 mg C m-2 day-1 which is only sightly lower than the much smaller Char Lake (10).
F5 FISHERY PRODUCTS Annual fish catch 1984 Limited sport fishery; fishery production trends are unknown as the Hazen Lake fishery has only recently started operation.

G. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

G1 LAND USE IN THE CATCHMENT AREA
     
    Area [%]
    Natural landscape
    Herbaceous vegetation*1 10
    Others*2 90
    Total 100
    *1 Tundra. *2 Blue ground including ice. Virtually all inflow originates in the ice field to the northwest.
Types of important forest or scrub vegetation: None. Types of important herbaceous vegetation (9) Dryas hummocks, Dryas-Kobresia tundra, Dryas-Salix tundra, marshes and sedge meadows. Main kinds of crops and/or cropping systems: None. Trends of change in land use in recent years: None.
G2 INDUSTRIES IN THE CATCHMENT AREA AND THE LAKE
None.

H. LAKE UTILIZATION

H1 LAKE UTILIZATION Source of water and recreation (sport-fishing).

I. DETERIORATION OF LAKE ENVIRONMENTS AND HAZARDS

I1 ENHANCED SILTATION Natural siltation from spring runoff and ice-out causes Secchi transparency to fall from 8.3 m to 1.7 m (10).
I2 TOXIC CONTAMINATION No data.
I4 ACIDIFICATION Extent of damage: None.

J. WASTEWATER TREATMENTS

J1 GENERATION OF POLLUTANTS IN THE CATCHMENT AREA
    a) Pristine lake environment.
 

L. DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Small sport-fishing camp in recent years. Region given protective status of a National Park in 1983.

N. SOURCES OF DATA

  1. Questionnaire filled by Dr. L. Johnson, Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
  2. Hattersley-Smith, G. (1974) North of Latitude Eighty. Defence Research Board, Ottawa.
  3. Greely, A. W. (1866) Three Years of Arctic Service. An Account of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881-1884, 2 vols. New York.
  4. Bandi, Hans-Georg. (1968) Eskimo Pre-history. University of Alaska Press, College, Alaska.
  5. Douglas, R. J. W. (ed.). Physiographic Regions of Canada. Geol. and Economic Minerals of Canada, vol. II. Geological Survey, Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa.
  6. England, J. (1981) Northern Ellesmere Island: A Natural Resource Inventory. Parks Canada, Edmonton (see also Northern Perspectives, 10: 2- 9. Canadian Arctic Resources Committee).
  7. Christie, R. L. (1962) Northern Ellesmere Island, District of Franklin. Geol. Surv. Can. Paper, 62-10.
  8. Jackson, C. I. (1959) The meteorology of Lake Hazen, N. W. T. Analysis of the Observations. Arctic Met. Res. Group, McGill University, Montreal, Publ. 15. Defence Research Board, Ottawa.
  9. Harrington, C. R. (1960) A Short Report of the Ice and Snow Conditions on Lake Hazen. Winter 1957-58. Defence Research Board, Ottawa.
  10. ) Canadian Climate Normals, 1951-1980. Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment Service.
  11. Saville, D. B. 0. (1964) General ecology and vascular plants of the Hazen Camp area. Arctic, 17: 237-255.
  12. Babb, T. A. & Bliss, L. C. (1974) Susceptibility to environmental impact in the Queen Elizabeth Islands. Arctic, 27: 234-236.
  13. McLaren, I. A. (1964) Zooplankton of Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island, and a nearby pond with special reference to the Copepod Cyclops scutifer Sars. Can. J. Zool., 42: 613-629.
  14. Oliver, D. R. (1963) Entomological studies in the Lake Hazen area, Ellesmere Island, including lists of species of arachnida, collembola and insecta. Arctic, 16: 175-180.
  15. Defence Research Board of Canada. Bibliography of Operation "Hazen" 1957-1963.
  16. Johnson, L. (1983) Homeostatic mechanisms in single species arctic fish populations. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 40: 987-1024.
  17. Kalff, J. & Welch, H. E. (1974) Phytoplankton production in Char Lake, a natural polar lake, and in Meretta Lake, a polluted polar lake. Cornwallis Island, Northwest Territories. J. Fish. Res. Board Can., 31(5): 621-636.