MACROFOSSIL ANALYSIS OF A PEAT SECTION IN THE HOT WEATHER CREEK AREA, FOSHEIM PENINSULA, ELLESMERE ISLAND, NWT

The onset of peat accumulation in the Hot Weather Creek area (79-degrees-58'N-84-degrees-28'W) followed the postglacial marine emergence of the region. The physiographic context of the studied Holocene deposit suggests that peat initially accumulated in a depression south of early Ridge Lake. Polygons subsequently formed in that peat deposit. The draining of the lake took place as a result of downcutting of the deposit by the lake spillway. At the base of the 2.85 m sequence, macrofossil analysis reveals an open meadow dominated by grasses and sedges recording a pioneer stage that followed emersion. The physionomy of this meadow was subsequently modified by the formation of a low-centred polygon. Bryophytes colonized the resulting wet depression and a peat deposit developed. A series of mineral horizons occur throughout the deposit, indicating recurrent aeolian or alluvial activity during peat accumulation. These layers are associated with higher rates of peat decomposition.