Articles | Volume 12, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2349-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2349-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Jul 2018
Research article |
| 18 Jul 2018
| 18 Jul 2018
Circumpolar patterns of potential mean annual ground temperature based on surface state obtained from microwave satellite data
Christine Kroisleitner
Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, Vienna, Austria
Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
b.geos, Korneuburg, Austria
Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, Vienna, Austria
Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
b.geos, Korneuburg, Austria
Helena Bergstedt
Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS, University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Austrian Polar Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
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Constanze Reinken, Victor Brovkin, Philipp de Vrese, Ingmar Nitze, Helena Bergstedt, and Guido Grosse
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1817, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1817, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Thermokarst lakes are dynamic features of ice-rich permafrost landscapes, altering energy, water and carbon cycles, but have so far mostly been modeled on site-level scale. A deterministic modelling approach would be challenging on larger scales due to the lack of extensive high-resolution data of sub-surface conditions. We therefore develop a conceptual stochastic model of thermokarst lake dynamics that treats the involved processes as probabilistic.
Qing Ying, Benjamin Poulter, Jennifer D. Watts, Kyle A. Arndt, Anna-Maria Virkkala, Lori Bruhwiler, Youmi Oh, Brendan M. Rogers, Susan M. Natali, Hilary Sullivan, Amanda Armstrong, Eric J. Ward, Luke D. Schiferl, Clayton D. Elder, Olli Peltola, Annett Bartsch, Ankur R. Desai, Eugénie Euskirchen, Mathias Göckede, Bernhard Lehner, Mats B. Nilsson, Matthias Peichl, Oliver Sonnentag, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Torsten Sachs, Aram Kalhori, Masahito Ueyama, and Zhen Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2507–2534, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2507-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2507-2025, 2025
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We present daily methane (CH4) fluxes of northern wetlands at 10 km resolution during 2016–2022 (WetCH4) derived from a novel machine learning framework. We estimated an average annual CH4 emission of 22.8 ± 2.4 Tg CH4 yr−1 (15.7–51.6 Tg CH4 yr−1). Emissions were intensified in 2016, 2020, and 2022, with the largest interannual variation coming from Western Siberia. Continued, all-season tower observations and improved soil moisture products are needed for future improvement of CH4 upscaling.
Valeria Briones, Hélène Genet, Elchin E. Jafarov, Brendan M. Rogers, Jennifer D. Watts, Anna-Maria Virkkala, Annett Bartsch, Benjamin C. Maglio, Joshua Rady, and Susan M. Natali
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-226, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-226, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
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Arctic warming is causing permafrost to thaw, affecting ecosystems and climate. Since land cover, especially vegetation, shapes how permafrost responds, accurate maps are crucial. Using machine learning, we combined existing global and regional datasets to create a hybrid detailed 1-km map of Arctic-Boreal land cover, improving the representation of forests, shrubs, and wetlands across the circumpolar.
Annett Bartsch, Rodrigue Tanguy, Helena Bergstedt, Clemens von Baeckmann, Hans Tømmervik, Marc Macias-Fauria, Juha Lemmentiynen, Kimmo Rautiainen, Chiara Gruber, and Bruce C. Forbes
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1358, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1358, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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We identified similarities between sea ice dynamics and conditions on land across the Arctic. Significant correlations north of 60°N was more common for snow water equivalent and permafrost ground temperature than for the vegetation parameters. Changes across all the different parameters could be specifically determined for Eastern Siberia. The results provide a baseline for future studies on common drivers of essential climate parameters and causative effects across the Arctic.
Julia Wagner, Juliane Wolter, Justine Ramage, Victoria Martin, Andreas Richter, Niek Jesse Speetjens, Jorien E. Vonk, Rachele Lodi, Annett Bartsch, Michael Fritz, Hugues Lantuit, and Gustaf Hugelius
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1052, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1052, 2025
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Permafrost soils store vast amounts of organic carbon, key to understanding climate change. This study uses machine learning and combines existing data with new field data to create detailed regional maps of soil carbon and nitrogen stocks for the Yukon coastal plain. The results show how soil properties vary across the landscape highlighting the importance of data selection for accurate predictions. These findings improve carbon storage estimates and may aid regional carbon budget assessments.
Barbara Widhalm, Annett Bartsch, Tazio Strozzi, Nina Jones, Artem Khomutov, Elena Babkina, Marina Leibman, Rustam Khairullin, Mathias Göckede, Helena Bergstedt, Clemens von Baeckmann, and Xaver Muri
The Cryosphere, 19, 1103–1133, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1103-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1103-2025, 2025
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Mapping soil moisture in Arctic permafrost regions is crucial for various activities, but it is challenging with typical satellite methods due to the landscape's diversity. Seasonal freezing and thawing cause the ground to periodically rise and subside. Our research demonstrates that this seasonal ground settlement, measured with Sentinel-1 satellite data, is larger in areas with wetter soils. This method helps to monitor permafrost degradation.
Annett Bartsch, Xaver Muri, Markus Hetzenecker, Kimmo Rautiainen, Helena Bergstedt, Jan Wuite, Thomas Nagler, and Dmitry Nicolsky
The Cryosphere, 19, 459–483, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-459-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-459-2025, 2025
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We developed a robust freeze–thaw detection approach, applying a constant threshold to Copernicus Sentinel-1 data that is suitable for tundra regions. All global, coarser-resolution products, tested with the resulting benchmarking dataset, are of value for freeze–thaw retrieval, although differences were found depending on the seasons, particularly during the spring and autumn transition.
Clemens von Baeckmann, Annett Bartsch, Helena Bergstedt, Aleksandra Efimova, Barbara Widhalm, Dorothee Ehrich, Timo Kumpula, Alexander Sokolov, and Svetlana Abdulmanova
The Cryosphere, 18, 4703–4722, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4703-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4703-2024, 2024
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Lakes are common features in Arctic permafrost areas. Land cover change following their drainage needs to be monitored since it has implications for ecology and the carbon cycle. Satellite data are key in this context. We compared a common vegetation index approach with a novel land-cover-monitoring scheme. Land cover information provides specific information on wetland features. We also showed that the bioclimatic gradients play a significant role after drainage within the first 10 years.
Cecile B. Menard, Sirpa Rasmus, Ioanna Merkouriadi, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Annett Bartsch, Chris Derksen, Florent Domine, Marie Dumont, Dorothee Ehrich, Richard Essery, Bruce C. Forbes, Gerhard Krinner, David Lawrence, Glen Liston, Heidrun Matthes, Nick Rutter, Melody Sandells, Martin Schneebeli, and Sari Stark
The Cryosphere, 18, 4671–4686, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4671-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4671-2024, 2024
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Computer models, like those used in climate change studies, are written by modellers who have to decide how best to construct the models in order to satisfy the purpose they serve. Using snow modelling as an example, we examine the process behind the decisions to understand what motivates or limits modellers in their decision-making. We find that the context in which research is undertaken is often more crucial than scientific limitations. We argue for more transparency in our research practice.
Annett Bartsch, Aleksandra Efimova, Barbara Widhalm, Xaver Muri, Clemens von Baeckmann, Helena Bergstedt, Ksenia Ermokhina, Gustaf Hugelius, Birgit Heim, and Marina Leibman
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2421–2481, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2421-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2421-2024, 2024
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Wetness gradients and landcover diversity for the entire Arctic tundra have been assessed using a novel satellite-data-based map. Patterns of lakes, wetlands, general soil moisture conditions and vegetation physiognomy are represented at 10 m. About 40 % of the area north of the treeline falls into three units of dry types, with limited shrub growth. Wetter regions have higher landcover diversity than drier regions.
Annett Bartsch, Helena Bergstedt, Georg Pointner, Xaver Muri, Kimmo Rautiainen, Leena Leppänen, Kyle Joly, Aleksandr Sokolov, Pavel Orekhov, Dorothee Ehrich, and Eeva Mariatta Soininen
The Cryosphere, 17, 889–915, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-889-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-889-2023, 2023
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Rain-on-snow (ROS) events occur across many regions of the terrestrial Arctic in mid-winter. In extreme cases ice layers form which affect wildlife, vegetation and soils beyond the duration of the event. The fusion of multiple types of microwave satellite observations is suggested for the creation of a climate data record. Retrieval is most robust in the tundra biome, where records can be used to identify extremes and the results can be applied to impact studies at regional scale.
Noriaki Ohara, Benjamin M. Jones, Andrew D. Parsekian, Kenneth M. Hinkel, Katsu Yamatani, Mikhail Kanevskiy, Rodrigo C. Rangel, Amy L. Breen, and Helena Bergstedt
The Cryosphere, 16, 1247–1264, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1247-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1247-2022, 2022
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New variational principle suggests that a semi-ellipsoid talik shape (3D Stefan equation) is optimum for incoming energy. However, the lake bathymetry tends to be less ellipsoidal due to the ice-rich layers near the surface. Wind wave erosion is likely responsible for the elongation of lakes, while thaw subsidence slows the wave effect and stabilizes the thermokarst lakes. The derived 3D Stefan equation was compared to the field-observed talik thickness data using geophysical methods.
Zhen Zhang, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Katherine Jensen, Kyle McDonald, Gustaf Hugelius, Thomas Gumbricht, Mark Carroll, Catherine Prigent, Annett Bartsch, and Benjamin Poulter
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2001–2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2001-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2001-2021, 2021
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The spatiotemporal distribution of wetlands is one of the important and yet uncertain factors determining the time and locations of methane fluxes. The Wetland Area and Dynamics for Methane Modeling (WAD2M) dataset describes the global data product used to quantify the areal dynamics of natural wetlands and how global wetlands are changing in response to climate.
Georg Pointner, Annett Bartsch, Yury A. Dvornikov, and Alexei V. Kouraev
The Cryosphere, 15, 1907–1929, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1907-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1907-2021, 2021
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This study presents strong new indications that regions of anomalously low backscatter in C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of ice of Lake Neyto in northwestern Siberia are related to strong emissions of natural gas. Spatio-temporal dynamics and potential scattering and formation mechanisms are assessed. It is suggested that exploiting the spatial and temporal properties of Sentinel-1 SAR data may be beneficial for the identification of similar phenomena in other Arctic lakes.
Michael Kern, Robert Cullen, Bruno Berruti, Jerome Bouffard, Tania Casal, Mark R. Drinkwater, Antonio Gabriele, Arnaud Lecuyot, Michael Ludwig, Rolv Midthassel, Ignacio Navas Traver, Tommaso Parrinello, Gerhard Ressler, Erik Andersson, Cristina Martin-Puig, Ole Andersen, Annett Bartsch, Sinead Farrell, Sara Fleury, Simon Gascoin, Amandine Guillot, Angelika Humbert, Eero Rinne, Andrew Shepherd, Michiel R. van den Broeke, and John Yackel
The Cryosphere, 14, 2235–2251, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2235-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2235-2020, 2020
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The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter will provide high-resolution sea ice thickness and land ice elevation measurements and the capability to determine the properties of snow cover on ice to serve operational products and services of direct relevance to the polar regions. This paper describes the mission objectives, identifies the key contributions the CRISTAL mission will make, and presents a concept – as far as it is already defined – for the mission payload.
Jaroslav Obu, Sebastian Westermann, Gonçalo Vieira, Andrey Abramov, Megan Ruby Balks, Annett Bartsch, Filip Hrbáček, Andreas Kääb, and Miguel Ramos
The Cryosphere, 14, 497–519, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-497-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-497-2020, 2020
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Little is known about permafrost in the Antarctic outside of the few research stations. We used a simple equilibrium permafrost model to estimate permafrost temperatures in the whole Antarctic. The lowest permafrost temperature on Earth is −36 °C in the Queen Elizabeth Range in the Transantarctic Mountains. Temperatures are commonly between −23 and −18 °C in mountainous areas rising above the Antarctic Ice Sheet, between −14 and −8 °C in coastal areas, and up to 0 °C on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Sarah E. Chadburn, Gerhard Krinner, Philipp Porada, Annett Bartsch, Christian Beer, Luca Belelli Marchesini, Julia Boike, Altug Ekici, Bo Elberling, Thomas Friborg, Gustaf Hugelius, Margareta Johansson, Peter Kuhry, Lars Kutzbach, Moritz Langer, Magnus Lund, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Shushi Peng, Ko Van Huissteden, Tao Wang, Sebastian Westermann, Dan Zhu, and Eleanor J. Burke
Biogeosciences, 14, 5143–5169, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5143-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5143-2017, 2017
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Earth system models (ESMs) are our main tools for understanding future climate. The Arctic is important for the future carbon cycle, particularly due to the large carbon stocks in permafrost. We evaluated the performance of the land component of three major ESMs at Arctic tundra sites, focusing on the fluxes and stocks of carbon.
We show that the next steps for model improvement are to better represent vegetation dynamics, to include mosses and to improve below-ground carbon cycle processes.
Sina Muster, Kurt Roth, Moritz Langer, Stephan Lange, Fabio Cresto Aleina, Annett Bartsch, Anne Morgenstern, Guido Grosse, Benjamin Jones, A. Britta K. Sannel, Ylva Sjöberg, Frank Günther, Christian Andresen, Alexandra Veremeeva, Prajna R. Lindgren, Frédéric Bouchard, Mark J. Lara, Daniel Fortier, Simon Charbonneau, Tarmo A. Virtanen, Gustaf Hugelius, Juri Palmtag, Matthias B. Siewert, William J. Riley, Charles D. Koven, and Julia Boike
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 317–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-317-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-317-2017, 2017
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Waterbodies are abundant in Arctic permafrost lowlands. Most waterbodies are ponds with a surface area smaller than 100 x 100 m. The Permafrost Region Pond and Lake Database (PeRL) for the first time maps ponds as small as 10 x 10 m. PeRL maps can be used to document changes both by comparing them to historical and future imagery. The distribution of waterbodies in the Arctic is important to know in order to manage resources in the Arctic and to improve climate predictions in the Arctic.
Barbara Widhalm, Annett Bartsch, Marina Leibman, and Artem Khomutov
The Cryosphere, 11, 483–496, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-483-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-483-2017, 2017
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The active layer above the permafrost, which seasonally thaws during summer, is an important parameter for monitoring the state of permafrost. Its thickness is typically measured locally. The relationship between active-layer thickness (ALT) and X-band SAR backscatter of TerraSAR-X has been investigated in order to explore the possibility of delineating ALT with continuous and larger spatial coverage.
Annett Bartsch, Barbara Widhalm, Peter Kuhry, Gustaf Hugelius, Juri Palmtag, and Matthias Benjamin Siewert
Biogeosciences, 13, 5453–5470, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5453-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5453-2016, 2016
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A new approach for the estimation of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools north of the tree line has been developed based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the ENVISAT satellite. It can be shown that measurements of C-band SAR under frozen conditions represent vegetation and surface structure properties which relate to soil properties, specifically SOC. The approach provides the first spatially consistent account of soil organic carbon across the Arctic.
Klaus Haslinger and Annett Bartsch
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 1211–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1211-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1211-2016, 2016
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Gridded fields of daily max. and min. temperatures for the Austrian domain are used to calculate ET0 based on a re-calibrated Hargreaves method. Newly derived, station-based calibration parameters, with Penman–Monteith ET0 as a reference, show a distinct altitude and seasonal dependence. Theses features are used to interpolate the new calibration values in space and time onto the temperature grids. The ET0 is then calculated based on the entire gridded temperature data starting back in 1961.
I. Gouttevin, A. Bartsch, G. Krinner, and V. Naeimi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-10-11241-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-10-11241-2013, 2013
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Related subject area
Discipline: Frozen ground | Subject: Arctic (e.g. Greenland)
Validation of pan-Arctic soil temperatures in modern reanalysis and data assimilation systems
Characterization of atmospheric methane release in the outer Mackenzie River delta from biogenic and thermogenic sources
Accelerated mobilization of organic carbon from retrogressive thaw slumps on the northern Taymyr Peninsula
The importance of freeze–thaw cycles for lateral tracer transport in ice-wedge polygons
The cryostratigraphy of the Yedoma cliff of Sobo-Sise Island (Lena delta) reveals permafrost dynamics in the central Laptev Sea coastal region during the last 52 kyr
Thermokarst lake inception and development in syngenetic ice-wedge polygon terrain during a cooling climatic trend, Bylot Island (Nunavut), eastern Canadian Arctic
The current state and 125 kyr history of permafrost on the Kara Sea shelf: modeling constraints
Estimation of subsurface porosities and thermal conductivities of polygonal tundra by coupled inversion of electrical resistivity, temperature, and moisture content data
A distributed temperature profiling method for assessing spatial variability in ground temperatures in a discontinuous permafrost region of Alaska
New insights into the environmental factors controlling the ground thermal regime across the Northern Hemisphere: a comparison between permafrost and non-permafrost areas
Tyler C. Herrington, Christopher G. Fletcher, and Heather Kropp
The Cryosphere, 18, 1835–1861, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1835-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1835-2024, 2024
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Here we validate soil temperatures from eight reanalysis products across the pan-Arctic and compare their performance to a newly calculated ensemble mean soil temperature product. We find that most product soil temperatures have a relatively large RMSE of 2–9 K. It is found that the ensemble mean product outperforms individual reanalysis products. Therefore, we recommend the ensemble mean soil temperature product for the validation of climate models and for input to hydrological models.
Daniel Wesley, Scott Dallimore, Roger MacLeod, Torsten Sachs, and David Risk
The Cryosphere, 17, 5283–5297, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5283-2023, 2023
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The Mackenzie River delta (MRD) is an ecosystem with high rates of methane production from biologic and geologic sources, but little research has been done to determine how often geologic or biogenic methane is emitted to the atmosphere. Stable carbon isotope analysis was used to identify the source of CH4 at several sites. Stable carbon isotope (δ13C-CH4) signatures ranged from −42 to −88 ‰ δ13C-CH4, indicating that CH4 emission in the MRD is caused by biologic and geologic sources.
Philipp Bernhard, Simon Zwieback, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 16, 2819–2835, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2819-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2819-2022, 2022
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With climate change, Arctic hillslopes above ice-rich permafrost are vulnerable to enhanced carbon mobilization. In this work elevation change estimates generated from satellite observations reveal a substantial acceleration of carbon mobilization on the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia between 2010 and 2021. The strong increase occurring in 2020 coincided with a severe Siberian heatwave and highlights that carbon mobilization can respond sharply and non-linearly to increasing temperatures.
Elchin E. Jafarov, Daniil Svyatsky, Brent Newman, Dylan Harp, David Moulton, and Cathy Wilson
The Cryosphere, 16, 851–862, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-851-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-851-2022, 2022
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Recent research indicates the importance of lateral transport of dissolved carbon in the polygonal tundra, suggesting that the freeze-up period could further promote lateral carbon transport. We conducted subsurface tracer simulations on high-, flat-, and low-centered polygons to test the importance of the freeze–thaw cycle and freeze-up time for tracer mobility. Our findings illustrate the impact of hydraulic and thermal gradients on tracer mobility, as well as of the freeze-up time.
Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander Kizyakov, Michael Fritz, Juliane Wolter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Hanno Meyer, Matthias Fuchs, Aleksei Aksenov, Heidrun Matthes, Lutz Schirrmeister, and Thomas Opel
The Cryosphere, 14, 4525–4551, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, 2020
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In the present study, we analysed geochemical and sedimentological properties of relict permafrost and ground ice exposed at the Sobo-Sise Yedoma cliff in the eastern Lena delta in NE Siberia. We obtained insight into permafrost aggradation and degradation over the last approximately 52 000 years and the climatic and morphodynamic controls on regional-scale permafrost dynamics of the central Laptev Sea coastal region.
Frédéric Bouchard, Daniel Fortier, Michel Paquette, Vincent Boucher, Reinhard Pienitz, and Isabelle Laurion
The Cryosphere, 14, 2607–2627, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020, 2020
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We combine lake mapping, landscape observations and sediment core analyses to document the evolution of a thermokarst (thaw) lake in the Canadian Arctic over the last millennia. We conclude that temperature is not the only driver of thermokarst development, as the lake likely started to form during a cooler period around 2000 years ago. The lake is now located in frozen layers with an organic carbon content that is an order of magnitude higher than the usually reported values across the Arctic.
Anatoliy Gavrilov, Vladimir Pavlov, Alexandr Fridenberg, Mikhail Boldyrev, Vanda Khilimonyuk, Elena Pizhankova, Sergey Buldovich, Natalia Kosevich, Ali Alyautdinov, Mariia Ogienko, Alexander Roslyakov, Maria Cherbunina, and Evgeniy Ospennikov
The Cryosphere, 14, 1857–1873, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1857-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1857-2020, 2020
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The geocryological study of the Arctic shelf remains insufficient for economic activity. The article presents a study of its evolution by methods of math modeling of heat transfer in rocks. As a result, a model of the evolution and current state of the cryolithozone of the Kara shelf was created based on ideas about the history of its geocryological development over the past 125 kyr. The modeling results are correlated to the available field data and are presented as a geocryological map.
Elchin E. Jafarov, Dylan R. Harp, Ethan T. Coon, Baptiste Dafflon, Anh Phuong Tran, Adam L. Atchley, Youzuo Lin, and Cathy J. Wilson
The Cryosphere, 14, 77–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-77-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-77-2020, 2020
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Improved subsurface parameterization and benchmarking data are needed to reduce current uncertainty in predicting permafrost response to a warming climate. We developed a subsurface parameter estimation framework that can be used to estimate soil properties where subsurface data are available. We utilize diverse geophysical datasets such as electrical resistance data, soil moisture data, and soil temperature data to recover soil porosity and soil thermal conductivity.
Emmanuel Léger, Baptiste Dafflon, Yves Robert, Craig Ulrich, John E. Peterson, Sébastien C. Biraud, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, and Susan S. Hubbard
The Cryosphere, 13, 2853–2867, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2853-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2853-2019, 2019
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We propose a new strategy called distributed temperature profiling (DTP) for improving the estimation of soil thermal properties through the use of an unprecedented number of laterally and vertically distributed temperature measurements. We tested a DTP system prototype by moving it sequentially across a discontinuous permafrost environment. The DTP enabled high-resolution identification of near-surface permafrost location and covariability with topography, vegetation, and soil properties.
Olli Karjalainen, Miska Luoto, Juha Aalto, and Jan Hjort
The Cryosphere, 13, 693–707, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-693-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-693-2019, 2019
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Using a statistical modelling framework, we examined the environmental factors controlling ground thermal regimes inside and outside the Northern Hemisphere permafrost domain. We found that climatic factors were paramount in both regions, but with varying relative importance and effect size. The relationships were often non-linear, especially in permafrost conditions. Our results suggest that these non-linearities should be accounted for in future ground thermal models at the hemisphere scale.
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Short summary
Knowledge about permafrost extent is required with respect to climate change. We used borehole temperature records from across the Arctic for the assessment of surface status information (frozen or unfrozen) derived from space-borne microwave sensors for permafrost extent mapping. The comparison to mean annual ground temperature (MAGT) at the coldest sensor depth revealed that not only extent but also temperature can be obtained from C-band-derived surface state with a residual error of 2.22 °C.
Knowledge about permafrost extent is required with respect to climate change. We used borehole...
