Articles | Volume 15, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3059-2021
© Author(s) 2021. 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-15-3059-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
06 Jul 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 06 Jul 2021
| 06 Jul 2021
Thaw-driven mass wasting couples slopes with downstream systems, and effects propagate through Arctic drainage networks
Steven V. Kokelj
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2L9, Canada
Justin Kokoszka
Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2L9, Canada
Wilfrid Laurier University, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2P8, Canada
Jurjen van der Sluijs
Northwest Territories Centre for Geomatics, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2L9, Canada
Ashley C. A. Rudy
Northwest Territories Geological Survey, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2L9, Canada
Jon Tunnicliffe
School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, NZ
Sarah Shakil
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
Suzanne E. Tank
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
Scott Zolkos
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA 02540, USA
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Short summary
Climate-driven landslides are transforming glacially conditioned permafrost terrain, coupling slopes with aquatic systems, and triggering a cascade of downstream effects. Nonlinear intensification of thawing slopes is primarily affecting headwater systems where slope sediment yields overwhelm stream transport capacity. The propagation of effects across watershed scales indicates that western Arctic Canada will be an interconnected hotspot of thaw-driven change through the coming millennia.
Climate-driven landslides are transforming glacially conditioned permafrost terrain, coupling...
