Kluane Lake, YT
Kluane Lake is the largest lake in the Yukon Territory, encompassing over 400 km2. Drowned trees and raised beaches along the perimeter of the lake have suggested large fluctuations in lake level in Kluane's recent past. Our research in the Kluane Lake basin has revealed a remarkable history of lake level instability. In the last 5000 years lake level has fluctuated by more 40 m; this this represents a considerable volume of water for a lake this size. The main cause of these massive lake level changes is the advance and retreat of the Kaskawulsh Glacier. During the Little Ice Age (~300 years ago), the glacier advanced and blocked the southerly drainage of Kluane Lake towards the Gulf of Alaska. The lake now drains north through the Yukon River drainage system to the Bering Sea. Variations in the drainage trajectory of the Duke River, in and out of the lake basin, has also caused fluctuation in lake level over the last 5000 years. The current water balance of the lake is highly dependent on discharge from the Slims River. Declining glacier meltwater contributions, and the possible redirection of meltwaters to Gulf, will likely lead to lower water levels in Kluane Lake.
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Publications
++Brahney undergraduate/technician researcher, **Brahney graduate researcher
+Undergraduate researcher, *graduate researcher, φpost-doctoral researcher
*McKnight, E., Swanson, H., Brahney, J., Hik, D. (2021) Spatial and temporal variability of water properties in Yukon’s largest lake: Lhu aan Man (Kluane Lake). Arctic Science
Brahney, J., Clague, J.J., Edwards, T.W.D., Menounos, B. (2010b) Late Holocene paleohydrology of Kluane Lake,
Yukon Territory, Canada. Journal of Paleolimnology 44(3): 873-885
Brahney, J., Clague, J.J., Edwards, T.W.D., Menounos, B (2008b) Geochemical reconstruction of late Holocene
drainage and mixing in Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory. Journal of Paleolimnology 40(1): 489-505
Brahney, J., Clague, J.J., Menounos, B., Edwards, T.W.D. (2008a) Timing and cause of water level fluctuations in
Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, over the past 5000 years. Quaternary Research 70: 213-227
++Brahney undergraduate/technician researcher, **Brahney graduate researcher
+Undergraduate researcher, *graduate researcher, φpost-doctoral researcher
*McKnight, E., Swanson, H., Brahney, J., Hik, D. (2021) Spatial and temporal variability of water properties in Yukon’s largest lake: Lhu aan Man (Kluane Lake). Arctic Science
Brahney, J., Clague, J.J., Edwards, T.W.D., Menounos, B. (2010b) Late Holocene paleohydrology of Kluane Lake,
Yukon Territory, Canada. Journal of Paleolimnology 44(3): 873-885
Brahney, J., Clague, J.J., Edwards, T.W.D., Menounos, B (2008b) Geochemical reconstruction of late Holocene
drainage and mixing in Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory. Journal of Paleolimnology 40(1): 489-505
Brahney, J., Clague, J.J., Menounos, B., Edwards, T.W.D. (2008a) Timing and cause of water level fluctuations in
Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, over the past 5000 years. Quaternary Research 70: 213-227