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Identification of Thermal Refuges and Water Temperature Patterns in Salmonid-Bearing Subarctic Rivers of Northern Quebec

Fakhari, Milad; Raymond, Jasmin; Martel, Richard; Dugdale, Stephen J.; Bergeron, Normand

Identification of Thermal Refuges and Water Temperature Patterns in Salmonid-Bearing Subarctic Rivers of Northern Quebec Thumbnail


Authors

Milad Fakhari

Jasmin Raymond

Richard Martel

Normand Bergeron



Contributors

Xu Chen
Editor

Luca Salvati
Editor

Abstract

In summer, salmonids can experience thermal stress during extreme weather conditions. This may affect their growth and even threaten their survival. Cool water zones in rivers constitute thermal refuges, allowing fish to be more comfortable to grow and survive in extreme events. Therefore, identifying and understanding the spatiotemporal variability of discrete thermal refuges and larger scale cooling zones in rivers is of fundamental interest. This study analyzes thermal refuges as well as cooling zones in two salmonid rivers in a subarctic climate by use of thermal infrared (TIR) imagery. The two studied rivers are the Koroc and Berard Rivers, in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. On the 17 km studied section of the Berard River, four thermal refuges and five cooling zones were detected, covering 46% of the surveyed section of the river. On the 41 km section studied for the Koroc River, 67 thermal refuges and five cooling zones were identified which represent 32% of the studied section of the river. 89% of identified thermal refuges and about 60% of cooling zones are groundwater-controlled. Continuity of permafrost and shape of the river valley were found to be the main parameters controlling the distribution of refuges and cooling zones. These data provide important insights into planning and conservation measures for the salmonid population of subarctic Nunavik rivers.

Citation

Fakhari, M., Raymond, J., Martel, R., Dugdale, S. J., & Bergeron, N. (2022). Identification of Thermal Refuges and Water Temperature Patterns in Salmonid-Bearing Subarctic Rivers of Northern Quebec. Geographies, 2(3), 528-548. https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies2030032

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 23, 2022
Online Publication Date Sep 2, 2022
Publication Date 2022-09
Deposit Date Nov 9, 2022
Publicly Available Date Nov 9, 2022
Journal Geographies
Electronic ISSN 2673-7086
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 2
Issue 3
Pages 528-548
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies2030032
Keywords Article, surface water–groundwater interaction, thermal infrared imagery, thermal refuges, cooling zones, permafrost
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/12317927
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/2/3/32

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Identification of Thermal Refuges and Water Temperature Patterns in Salmonid-Bearing Subarctic Rivers of Northern Quebec (8.1 Mb)
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Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).





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