The dataset contains a report from field and laboratory monitoring conducted in the Mackenzie River Delta in May 2025.
The aim of the study was to identify the mechanisms of early hydrological connectivity between the main channel of the Mackenzie River and deltaic lakes during the period of ice break-up, and to determine the significance of these episodes for suspended sediment transport and the physicochemical conditions of lake waters. The research was carried out between 24 and 31 May 2025 in the central part of the Mackenzie Delta (Boot Lake, Inuvik), focusing on short-term pulses of river water inflow into lakes that remain permanently connected to the river but where this connectivity is periodically activated.
The dataset includes continuous field measurements and laboratory analyses. It consists of:
- high-resolution time series of water turbidity and temperature recorded by an automatic logger installed in the channel connecting the lake with the river;
- measurements of physicochemical water parameters (including temperature, electrical conductivity, and other hydrochemical parameters) conducted during water sampling in the lake and the connecting channel;
- grain-size analyses of river and lake suspended sediment performed using a Malvern Mastersizer 3000 laser particle size analyzer.
These data allow the determination of variability in suspended sediment concentration (SSC), the dynamics of turbidity changes, and the characteristics of transported sediment material.
The study covers an eight-day observation period during the initial phase of the spring flood, during which several episodes of intrusion of cold, highly turbid river water into the lake basin were recorded. The analysis indicates that these events have a pulsating character and are controlled by ice dynamics and short-term ice jams (ice-jam flooding), which cause temporary reversals of flow in delta channels and the inflow of river water into lakes.
The collected dataset documents the early stage of suspended sediment delivery to deltaic lakes prior to the peak flood discharge and provides a basis for interpreting the role of delta lakes as natural sediment filters and archives of hydrological variability in Arctic permafrost environments.
(2026-03)
