Seasonal and short-term periodic suspended sediment concentration and bulk hydrochemical variations, Slims River 1993 and 1994, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Abstract

Peak seasonal discharge takes place after snowmelt in 1994 as meltwater production was amplified by more exposed glacier ice which was indicated by exponentially increasing diurnal discharge amplitude. Air temperature strongly influenced discharge in both years and precipitation was infrequent with limited influence. Discharges in 1994 were under-competent. Diurnal clockwise hysteresis defines the short term relation between suspended sediment concentration and discharge but current explanations fail to explain its frequency. Respectively, the dominant cations are Ca$\sp{2+},$ Mg$\sp{2+},$ K$\sp{+}$ and Na$\sp{+},$ and each has a strong positive relation with conductivity. Conductivity, and thus individual cation concentrations, decrease over both seasons and are inversely related to discharge. Diurnal conductivity amplitude was greatest with glacier melt and clockwise hysteresis defines the short-term relation between discharge and conductivity.