Articles | Volume 16, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1-2022
© Author(s) 2022. 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-16-1-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 Jan 2022
Research article |
| 03 Jan 2022
| 03 Jan 2022
Assessing volumetric change distributions and scaling relations of retrogressive thaw slumps across the Arctic
Philipp Bernhard
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Simon Zwieback
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Nora Bergner
Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Irena Hajnsek
Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Microwaves and Radar Institute, German Aerospace Center (DLR) e.V., 82234 Weßling, Germany
Related authors
Shiyi Li, Lanqing Huang, Philipp Bernhard, and Irena Hajnsek
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-942, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-942, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work presented an improved method for seasonal wet snow mapping in Karakoram. SAR and topographic data were effectively integrated for robust wet snow classification in complex mountainous terrain. Applying the method to large scale Sentinel-1 imagery, we have generated wet snow maps covering the three major water basins in Karakraom over four years (2017–2021). Critical snow variables were further derived from the maps and provided valuable insights on regional snow melting dynamics.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Lanqing Huang and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 18, 3117–3140, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3117-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3117-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar can measure the total freeboard of sea ice but can be biased when radar signals penetrate snow and ice. We develop a new method to retrieve the total freeboard and analyze the regional variation of total freeboard and roughness in the Weddell and Ross seas. We also investigate the statistical behavior of the total freeboard for diverse ice types. The findings enhance the understanding of Antarctic sea ice topography and its dynamics in a changing climate.
Shiyi Li, Lanqing Huang, Philipp Bernhard, and Irena Hajnsek
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-942, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-942, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work presented an improved method for seasonal wet snow mapping in Karakoram. SAR and topographic data were effectively integrated for robust wet snow classification in complex mountainous terrain. Applying the method to large scale Sentinel-1 imagery, we have generated wet snow maps covering the three major water basins in Karakraom over four years (2017–2021). Critical snow variables were further derived from the maps and provided valuable insights on regional snow melting dynamics.
Joanmarie Del Vecchio, Emma R. Lathrop, Julian B. Dann, Christian G. Andresen, Adam D. Collins, Michael M. Fratkin, Simon Zwieback, Rachel C. Glade, and Joel C. Rowland
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 227–245, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-227-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-227-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In cold regions of the Earth, thawing permafrost can change the landscape, impact ecosystems, and lead to the release of greenhouse gases. In this study we used many observational tools to better understand how sediment moves on permafrost hillslopes. Some topographic change conforms to our understanding of slope stability and sediment transport as developed in temperate landscapes, but much of what we observed needs further explanation by permafrost-specific geomorphic models.
Marcel Stefko, Silvan Leinss, Othmar Frey, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 16, 2859–2879, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2859-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2859-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The coherent backscatter opposition effect can enhance the intensity of radar backscatter from dry snow by up to a factor of 2. Despite widespread use of radar backscatter data by snow scientists, this effect has received notably little attention. For the first time, we characterize this effect for the Earth's snow cover with bistatic radar experiments from ground and from space. We are also able to retrieve scattering and absorbing lengths of snow at Ku- and X-band frequencies.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Lanqing Huang, Georg Fischer, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 15, 5323–5344, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5323-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5323-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows an elevation difference between the radar interferometric measurements and the optical measurements from a coordinated campaign over the snow-covered deformed sea ice in the western Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The objective is to correct the penetration bias of microwaves and to generate a precise sea ice topographic map, including the snow depth on top. Excellent performance for sea ice topographic retrieval is achieved with the proposed model and the developed retrieval scheme.
Simon Zwieback and Franz J. Meyer
The Cryosphere, 15, 2041–2055, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2041-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2041-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Thawing of ice-rich permafrost leads to subsidence and slumping, which can compromise Arctic infrastructure. However, we lack fine-scale maps of permafrost ground ice, chiefly because it is usually invisible at the surface. We show that subsidence at the end of summer serves as a
fingerprintwith which near-surface permafrost ground ice can be identified. As this can be done with satellite data, this method may help improve ground ice maps and thus sustainably steward the Arctic.
Inge Grünberg, Evan J. Wilcox, Simon Zwieback, Philip Marsh, and Julia Boike
Biogeosciences, 17, 4261–4279, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4261-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4261-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Based on topsoil temperature data for different vegetation types at a low Arctic tundra site, we found large small-scale variability. Winter temperatures were strongly influenced by vegetation through its effects on snow. Summer temperatures were similar below most vegetation types and not consistently related to late summer permafrost thaw depth. Given that vegetation type defines the relationship between winter and summer soil temperature and thaw depth, it controls permafrost vulnerability.
Simon Zwieback, Andreas Colliander, Michael H. Cosh, José Martínez-Fernández, Heather McNairn, Patrick J. Starks, Marc Thibeault, and Aaron Berg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4473–4489, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4473-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4473-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite soil moisture products can provide critical information on incipient droughts and the interplay between vegetation and water availability. However, time-variant systematic errors in the soil moisture products may impede their usefulness. Using a novel statistical approach, we detect such errors (associated with changing vegetation) in the SMAP soil moisture product. The vegetation-associated biases impede drought detection and the quantification of vegetation–water interactions.
Simon Zwieback, Steven V. Kokelj, Frank Günther, Julia Boike, Guido Grosse, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 12, 549–564, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-549-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-549-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We analyse elevation losses at thaw slumps, at which icy sediments are exposed. As ice requires a large amount of energy to melt, one would expect that mass wasting is governed by the available energy. However, we observe very little mass wasting in June, despite the ample energy supply. Also, in summer, mass wasting is not always energy limited. This highlights the importance of other processes, such as the formation of a protective veneer, in shaping mass wasting at sub-seasonal scales.
Vanessa Round, Silvan Leinss, Matthias Huss, Christoph Haemmig, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 11, 723–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-723-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-723-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Recent surging of Kyagar Glacier (Karakoram) caused a hazardous ice-dammed lake to form and burst in 2015 and 2016. We use remotely sensed glacier surface velocities and surface elevation to observe dramatic changes in speed and mass distribution during the surge. The surge was hydrologically controlled with rapid summer onset and dramatic termination following lake outburst. Since the surge, the potential outburst hazard has remained high, and continued remote monitoring is crucial.
Silvan Leinss, Henning Löwe, Martin Proksch, Juha Lemmetyinen, Andreas Wiesmann, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 10, 1771–1797, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1771-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1771-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Four years of anisotropy measurements of seasonal snow are presented in the paper. The anisotropy was measured every 4 h with a ground-based polarimetric radar. An electromagnetic model has been developed to measured the anisotropy with radar instruments from ground and from space. The anisotropic permittivity was derived with Maxwell–Garnett-type mixing formulas which are shown to be equivalent to series expansions of the permittivity tensor based on spatial correlation function of snow.
Related subject area
Discipline: Frozen ground | Subject: Remote Sensing
Multitemporal UAV lidar detects seasonal heave and subsidence on palsas
Land cover succession for recently drained lakes in permafrost on the Yamal Peninsula, Western Siberia
Toward long-term monitoring of regional permafrost thaw with satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar
Benchmarking passive microwave satellite derived freeze/thaw datasets
Allometric scaling of retrogressive thaw slumps
Brief communication: Identification of tundra topsoil frozen/thawed state from SMAP and GCOM-W1 radiometer measurements using the spectral gradient method
Bedfast and floating-ice dynamics of thermokarst lakes using a temporal deep-learning mapping approach: case study of the Old Crow Flats, Yukon, Canada
Contribution of ground ice melting to the expansion of Selin Co (lake) on the Tibetan Plateau
Incorporating InSAR kinematics into rock glacier inventories: insights from 11 regions worldwide
Top-of-permafrost ground ice indicated by remotely sensed late-season subsidence
Inventory and changes of rock glacier creep speeds in Ile Alatau and Kungöy Ala-Too, northern Tien Shan, since the 1950s
The catastrophic thermokarst lake drainage events of 2018 in northwestern Alaska: fast-forward into the future
Global Positioning System interferometric reflectometry (GPS-IR) measurements of ground surface elevation changes in permafrost areas in northern Canada
InSAR time series analysis of seasonal surface displacement dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau
Rapid retreat of permafrost coastline observed with aerial drone photogrammetry
Brief communication: Rapid machine-learning-based extraction and measurement of ice wedge polygons in high-resolution digital elevation models
Sensitivity of active-layer freezing process to snow cover in Arctic Alaska
An estimate of ice wedge volume for a High Arctic polar desert environment, Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island
Cas Renette, Mats Olvmo, Sofia Thorsson, Björn Holmer, and Heather Reese
The Cryosphere, 18, 5465–5480, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5465-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used a drone to monitor seasonal changes in the height of subarctic permafrost mounds (palsas). With five drone flights in 1 year, we found a seasonal fluctuation of ca. 15 cm as a result of freeze–thaw cycles. On one mound, a large area sank down between each flight as a result of permafrost thaw. The approach of using repeated high-resolution scans from such a drone is unique for such environments and highlights its effectiveness in capturing the subtle dynamics of permafrost landscapes.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Taha Sadeghi Chorsi, Franz J. Meyer, and Timothy H. Dixon
The Cryosphere, 18, 3723–3740, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3723-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3723-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The active layer thaws and freezes seasonally. The annual freeze–thaw cycle of the active layer causes significant surface height changes due to the volume difference between ice and liquid water. We estimate the subsidence rate and active-layer thickness (ALT) for part of northern Alaska for summer 2017 to 2022 using interferometric synthetic aperture radar and lidar. ALT estimates range from ~20 cm to larger than 150 cm in area. Subsidence rate varies between close points (2–18 mm per month).
Annett Bartsch, Xaver Muri, Markus Hetzenecker, Kimmo Rautiainen, Helena Bergstedt, Jan Wuite, Thomas Nagler, and Dmitry Nicolsky
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2518, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2518, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a robust freeze/thaw detection approach, applying a constant threshold on 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 seasons, in particular during spring and autumn transition.
Jurjen van der Sluijs, Steven V. Kokelj, and Jon F. Tunnicliffe
The Cryosphere, 17, 4511–4533, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4511-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4511-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
There is an urgent need to obtain size and erosion estimates of climate-driven landslides, such as retrogressive thaw slumps. We evaluated surface interpolation techniques to estimate slump erosional volumes and developed a new inventory method by which the size and activity of these landslides are tracked through time. Models between slump area and volume reveal non-linear intensification, whereby model coefficients improve our understanding of how permafrost landscapes may evolve over time.
Konstantin Muzalevskiy, Zdenek Ruzicka, Alexandre Roy, Michael Loranty, and Alexander Vasiliev
The Cryosphere, 17, 4155–4164, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4155-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4155-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A new all-weather method for determining the frozen/thawed (FT) state of soils in the Arctic region based on satellite data was proposed. The method is based on multifrequency measurement of brightness temperatures by the SMAP and GCOM-W1/AMSR2 satellites. The created method was tested at sites in Canada, Finland, Russia, and the USA, based on climatic weather station data. The proposed method identifies the FT state of Arctic soils with better accuracy than existing methods.
Maria Shaposhnikova, Claude Duguay, and Pascale Roy-Léveillée
The Cryosphere, 17, 1697–1721, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1697-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1697-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We explore lake ice in the Old Crow Flats, Yukon, Canada, using a novel approach that employs radar imagery and deep learning. Results indicate an 11 % increase in the fraction of lake ice that grounds between 1992/1993 and 2020/2021. We believe this is caused by widespread lake drainage and fluctuations in water level and snow depth. This transition is likely to have implications for permafrost beneath the lakes, with a potential impact on methane ebullition and the regional carbon budget.
Lingxiao Wang, Lin Zhao, Huayun Zhou, Shibo Liu, Erji Du, Defu Zou, Guangyue Liu, Yao Xiao, Guojie Hu, Chong Wang, Zhe Sun, Zhibin Li, Yongping Qiao, Tonghua Wu, Chengye Li, and Xubing Li
The Cryosphere, 16, 2745–2767, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2745-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2745-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Selin Co has exhibited the greatest increase in water storage among all the lakes on the Tibetan Plateau in the past decades. This study presents the first attempt to quantify the water contribution of ground ice melting to the expansion of Selin Co by evaluating the ground surface deformation since terrain surface settlement provides a
windowto detect the subsurface ground ice melting. Results reveal that ground ice meltwater contributed ~ 12 % of the lake volume increase during 2017–2020.
Aldo Bertone, Chloé Barboux, Xavier Bodin, Tobias Bolch, Francesco Brardinoni, Rafael Caduff, Hanne H. Christiansen, Margaret M. Darrow, Reynald Delaloye, Bernd Etzelmüller, Ole Humlum, Christophe Lambiel, Karianne S. Lilleøren, Volkmar Mair, Gabriel Pellegrinon, Line Rouyet, Lucas Ruiz, and Tazio Strozzi
The Cryosphere, 16, 2769–2792, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2769-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2769-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present the guidelines developed by the IPA Action Group and within the ESA Permafrost CCI project to include InSAR-based kinematic information in rock glacier inventories. Nine operators applied these guidelines to 11 regions worldwide; more than 3600 rock glaciers are classified according to their kinematics. We test and demonstrate the feasibility of applying common rules to produce homogeneous kinematic inventories at global scale, useful for hydrological and climate change purposes.
Simon Zwieback and Franz J. Meyer
The Cryosphere, 15, 2041–2055, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2041-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2041-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Thawing of ice-rich permafrost leads to subsidence and slumping, which can compromise Arctic infrastructure. However, we lack fine-scale maps of permafrost ground ice, chiefly because it is usually invisible at the surface. We show that subsidence at the end of summer serves as a
fingerprintwith which near-surface permafrost ground ice can be identified. As this can be done with satellite data, this method may help improve ground ice maps and thus sustainably steward the Arctic.
Andreas Kääb, Tazio Strozzi, Tobias Bolch, Rafael Caduff, Håkon Trefall, Markus Stoffel, and Alexander Kokarev
The Cryosphere, 15, 927–949, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-927-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-927-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present a map of rock glacier motion over parts of the northern Tien Shan and time series of surface speed for six of them over almost 70 years.
This is by far the most detailed investigation of this kind available for central Asia.
We detect a 2- to 4-fold increase in rock glacier motion between the 1950s and present, which we attribute to atmospheric warming.
Relative to the shrinking glaciers in the region, this implies increased importance of periglacial sediment transport.
Ingmar Nitze, Sarah W. Cooley, Claude R. Duguay, Benjamin M. Jones, and Guido Grosse
The Cryosphere, 14, 4279–4297, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4279-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4279-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In summer 2018, northwestern Alaska was affected by widespread lake drainage which strongly exceeded previous observations. We analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns with remote sensing observations, weather data and lake-ice simulations. The preceding fall and winter season was the second warmest and wettest on record, causing the destabilization of permafrost and elevated water levels which likely led to widespread and rapid lake drainage during or right after ice breakup.
Jiahua Zhang, Lin Liu, and Yufeng Hu
The Cryosphere, 14, 1875–1888, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1875-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1875-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Ground surface in permafrost areas undergoes uplift and subsides seasonally due to freezing–thawing active layer. Surface elevation change serves as an indicator of frozen-ground dynamics. In this study, we identify 12 GPS stations across the Canadian Arctic, which are useful for measuring elevation changes by using reflected GPS signals. Measurements span from several years to over a decade and at daily intervals and help to reveal frozen ground dynamics at various temporal and spatial scales.
Eike Reinosch, Johannes Buckel, Jie Dong, Markus Gerke, Jussi Baade, and Björn Riedel
The Cryosphere, 14, 1633–1650, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1633-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1633-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this research we present the results of our satellite analysis of a permafrost landscape and periglacial landforms in mountainous regions on the Tibetan Plateau. We study seasonal and multiannual surface displacement processes, such as the freezing and thawing of the ground, seasonally accelerated sliding on steep slopes, and continuous permafrost creep. This study is the first step of our goal to create an inventory of actively moving landforms within the Nyainqêntanglha range.
Andrew M. Cunliffe, George Tanski, Boris Radosavljevic, William F. Palmer, Torsten Sachs, Hugues Lantuit, Jeffrey T. Kerby, and Isla H. Myers-Smith
The Cryosphere, 13, 1513–1528, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1513-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1513-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Episodic changes of permafrost coastlines are poorly understood in the Arctic. By using drones, satellite images, and historic photos we surveyed a permafrost coastline on Qikiqtaruk – Herschel Island. We observed short-term coastline retreat of 14.5 m per year (2016–2017), exceeding long-term average rates of 2.2 m per year (1952–2017). Our study highlights the value of these tools to assess understudied episodic changes of eroding permafrost coastlines in the context of a warming Arctic.
Charles J. Abolt, Michael H. Young, Adam L. Atchley, and Cathy J. Wilson
The Cryosphere, 13, 237–245, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-237-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-237-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a workflow that uses a machine-learning algorithm known as a convolutional neural network (CNN) to rapidly delineate ice wedge polygons in high-resolution topographic datasets. Our workflow permits thorough assessments of polygonal microtopography at the kilometer scale or greater, which can improve understanding of landscape hydrology and carbon budgets. We demonstrate that a single CNN can be trained to delineate polygons with high accuracy in diverse tundra settings.
Yonghong Yi, John S. Kimball, Richard H. Chen, Mahta Moghaddam, and Charles E. Miller
The Cryosphere, 13, 197–218, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-197-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-197-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
To better understand active-layer freezing process and its climate sensitivity, we developed a new 1 km snow data set for permafrost modeling and used the model simulations with multiple new in situ and P-band radar data sets to characterize the soil freeze onset and duration of zero curtain in Arctic Alaska. Results show that zero curtains of upper soils are primarily affected by early snow cover accumulation, while zero curtains of deeper soils are more closely related to maximum thaw depth.
Claire Bernard-Grand'Maison and Wayne Pollard
The Cryosphere, 12, 3589–3604, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3589-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3589-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides a first approximation of the volume of ice in ice wedges, a ground-ice feature in permafrost for a High Arctic polar desert region. We demonstrate that Geographical Information System analyses can be used on satellite images to estimate ice wedge volume. We estimate that 3.81 % of the top 5.9 m of permafrost could be ice-wedge ice on the Fosheim Peninsula. In response to climate change, melting ice wedges will result in widespread terrain disturbance in this region.
Cited articles
Bachmann, M., Borla Tridon, D., Martone, M., Sica, F., Buckreuss, S., and
Zink, M.: How to update a global DEM – acquisition concepts for TanDEM-X and
Tandem-L, in: Proceedings of the European Conference on Synthetic Aperture
Radar, Aachen, Germany, 4–7 June 2018, 1–5, 2018. a
Bak, P. and Tang, C.: Earthquakes as a self-organized critical phenomenon,
J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 94, 15635–15637, 1989. a
Balser, A. W., Jones, J. B., and Gens, R.: Timing of retrogressive thaw slump
initiation in the Noatak Basin, northwest Alaska, USA, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 119, 1106–1120, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JF002889, 2014. a
Bennett, G., Molnar, P., Eisenbeiss, H., and McArdell, B.: Erosional power in
the Swiss Alps: characterization of slope failure in the Illgraben, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 37, 1627–1640, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3263,
2012. a
Bernhard, P.: Dataset for Assessing volumetric change distributions and scaling relations of thaw slumps across the Arctic, ETH Zurich [data set], https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000482449, 2021. a
Bernhard, P., Zwieback, S., Leinss, S., and Hajnsek, I.: Mapping
Retrogressive Thaw Slumps Using Single-Pass TanDEM-X Observations, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl., 13, 3263–3280, https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2020.3000648, 2020. a, b, c, d
Boggs, P. T. and Rogers, J. E.: Orthogonal Distance Regression, Statistical
analysis of measurement error models and applications: proceedings of the
AMS-IMS-SIAM joint summer research conference held June 10–16, 1989, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA, 112,
186, 1990. a
Brown, J., Ferrians, O., Heginbottom, J. A., and Melnikov, E.: Circum-Arctic
Map of Permafrost and Ground-Ice Conditions, Version 2, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Boulder, Colorado, USA, https://doi.org/10.7265/skbg-kf16, 2002. a, b, c
Burn, C. R. and Lewkowicz, A.: Canadian landform examples-17 retrogressive thaw
slumps, Can. Geogr., 34, 273–276, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.1990.tb01092.x, 1990. a
Burn, C. R., Michel, F. A., and Smith, M. W.: Stratigraphic, isotopic, and
mineralogical evidence for an early Holocene thaw unconformity at Mayo, Yukon
Territory, Can. J. Earth Sci., 23, 794–803,
https://doi.org/10.1139/e86-081, 1986. a
Clauset, A., Shalizi, C. R., and Newman, M. E.: Power-law distributions in
empirical data, SIAM Rev., 51, 661–703, 2009. a
Dai, C., Jones, M., Howat, I., Liljedahl, A., Lewkowicz, A., and Freymueller, J.: Using ArcticDEM to identify and quantify pan-Arctic retrogressive thaw slump activity, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-12142, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12142, 2020. a
European Space Agency (ESA): Copernicus Open Access Hub, ESA [data set], available at: https://scihub.copernicus.eu, last access: 22 December 2021. a
Fritz, T., Rossi, C., Yague-Martinez, N., Rodriguez-Gonzalez, F., Lachaise, M.,
and Breit, H.: Interferometric processing of TanDEM-X data, in: 2011 Int. Geosci. Remote Se., Vancouver, BC, Canada, 24–29 July 2011, 2428–2431,
https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS.2011.6049701, 2011. a
German Space Agency (DLR): DLR EOWEB GeoPortal, DLR [data set], available at: https://eoweb.dlr.de, last access: 22 December 2021. a
Gooseff, M. N., Balser, A., Bowden, W. B., and Jones, J. B.: Effects of
hillslope thermokarst in northern Alaska, Eos, 90, 29–30, 2009. a
Grosse, G., Harden, J., Turetsky, M., McGuire, A. D., Camill, P., Tarnocai, C.,
Frolking, S., Schuur, E. A., Jorgenson, T., Marchenko, S., Romanovsky, V.,
Wickland, K. P., French, N., Waldrop, M., Bourgeau-Chavez, L., and Striegl,
R. G.: Vulnerability of high-latitude soil organic carbon in North America
to disturbance, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 116, G4,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JG001507, 2011. a
Jones, M. K. W., Pollard, W. H., and Jones, B. M.: Rapid initialization of
retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to
climate and terrain factors, Environ. Res. Lett., 14, 055006, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd
2019. a, b, c
Kang-tsung, C. and Bor-wen, T.: The Effect of DEM Resolution on Slope and
Aspect Mapping, Cartogr. and Geogr. Inform., 18, 69–77,
https://doi.org/10.1559/152304091783805626, 1991. a
Kaplan, G. and Avdan, U.: Object-based water body extraction model using
Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, Eur. J. Remote Sens., 50, 1, https://doi.org/10.1080/22797254.2017.1297540, 2017. a
Kaufman, D., Ager, T., Anderson, N., Anderson, P., Andrews, J., Bartlein, P.,
Brubaker, L., Coats, L., Cwynar, L., Duvall, M., Dyke, A., Edwards, M.,
Eisner, W., Gajewski, K., Geirsdóttir, A., Hu, F., Jennings, A., Kaplan, M.,
Kerwin, M., Lozhkin, A., MacDonald, G., Miller, G., Mock, C., Oswald, W.,
Otto-Bliesner, B., Porinchu, D., Rühland, K., Smol, J., Steig, E., and
Wolfe, B.: Holocene thermal maximum in the western Arctic (0–180∘ W),
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 23, 529–560,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.09.007, 2004. a
Klar, A., Aharonov, E., Kalderon-Asael, B., and Katz, O.: Analytical and
observational relations between landslide volume and surface area, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 116, F2, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JF001604, 2011. a, b
Kokelj, S. V. and Jorgenson, M. T.: Advances in thermokarst research,
Permafrost Periglac., 24, 108–119, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1779,
2013. a
Kokelj, S. V., Lantz, T. C., Kanigan, J., Smith, S. L., and Coutts, R.: Origin
and polycyclic behaviour of tundra thaw slumps, Mackenzie Delta region,
Northwest Territories, Canada, Permafrost Periglac., 20,
173–184, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.642, 2009. a, b, c
Kokelj, S. V., Lantz, T. C., Tunnicliffe, J., Segal, R., and Lacelle, D.:
Climate-driven thaw of permafrost preserved glacial landscapes, northwestern
Canada, Geology, 45, 371–374, https://doi.org/10.1130/G38626.1, 2017. a, b
Kokelj, S. V., Kokoszka, J., van der Sluijs, J., Rudy, A. C. A., Tunnicliffe, J., Shakil, S., Tank, S. E., and Zolkos, S.: Thaw-driven mass wasting couples slopes with downstream systems, and effects propagate through Arctic drainage networks, The Cryosphere, 15, 3059–3081, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3059-2021, 2021. a
Krieger, G., Moreira, A., Fiedler, H., Hajnsek, I., Werner, M., Younis, M., and
Zink, M.: TanDEM-X: A satellite formation for high-resolution SAR
interferometry, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 45, 3317–3340, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2007.900693, 2007. a
Lacelle, D., Bjornson, J., Lauriol, B., Clark, I., and Troutet, Y.:
Segregated-intrusive ice of subglacial meltwater origin in retrogressive
thaw flow headwalls, Richardson Mountains, NWT, Canada, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 23, 681–696, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.09.005, 2004. a
Lacelle, D., Bjornson, J., and Lauriol, B.: Climatic and geomorphic factors
affecting contemporary (1950–2004) activity of retrogressive thaw slumps on
the Aklavik plateau, Richardson mountains, NWT, Canada, Permafrost
Periglac., 21, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.666, 2010. a, b
Lacelle, D., Brooker, A., Fraser, R. H., and Kokelj, S. V.: Distribution and
growth of thaw slumps in the Richardson Mountains-Peel Plateau region,
northwestern Canada, Geomorphology, 235, 40–51,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.01.024, 2015. a, b
Lantuit, H. and Pollard, W. H.: Fifty years of coastal erosion and
retrogressive thaw slump activity on Herschel Island, southern Beaufort Sea,
Yukon Territory, Canada, Geomorphology, 95, 84–102,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.07.040, 2008. a, b
Lantuit, H., Pollard, W. H., Couture, N., Fritz, M., Schirrmeister, L., Meyer,
H., and Hubberten, H.-W.: Modern and Late Holocene Retrogressive Thaw Slump
Activity on the Yukon Coastal Plain and Herschel Island, Yukon Territory,
Canada, Permafrost Periglac., 23, 39–51,
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1731, 2012. a
Lantz, T. C. and Kokelj, S. V.: Increasing rates of retrogressive thaw slump
activity in the Mackenzie Delta region, N. W. T., Canada, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, 6, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032433, 2008. a, b
Lewkowicz, A. G.: Headwall retreat of ground-ice slumps, Banks Island,
Northwest Territories, Can. J. Earth Sci., 24, 6, https://doi.org/10.1139/e87-105, 1987a. a
Lewkowicz, A. G.: Nature and Importance of Thermokarst Processes, Sand Hills
Moraine, Banks Island, Canada, Geogr. Ann. A, 69, 321–327, https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.1987.11880218,
1987b. a
Lewkowicz, A. G. and Way, R. G.: Extremes of summer climate trigger thousands
of thermokarst landslides in a High Arctic environment, Nat. Commun., 10, 1, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09314-7, 2019. a, b
Malamud, B. D., Turcotte, D. L., Guzzetti, F., and Reichenbach, P.: Landslide
inventories and their statistical properties, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 29, 687–711, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1064, 2004. a
Markovsky, I. and Van Huffel, S.: Overview of total least-squares methods,
Signal Process., 87, 2283–2302, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sigpro.2007.04.004, 2007. a
Martone, M., Bräutigam, B., Rizzoli, P., Gonzalez, C., Bachmann, M., and
Krieger, G.: Coherence evaluation of TanDEM-X interferometric data, ISPRS J. Photogramm., 73, 21–29,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2012.06.006, 2012. a
McFeeters, S. K.: The use of the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) in
the delineation of open water features, Int. J. Remote Sens., 17, 7, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431169608948714, 1996. a
Millan, R., Dehecq, A., Trouvé, E., Gourmelen, N., and Berthier, E.: Elevation
changes and X-band ice and snow penetration inferred from TanDEM-X data of
the Mont-Blanc area, in: 2015 8th International Workshop on the Analysis of
Multitemporal Remote Sensing Images (Multi-Temp), Annecy, France, 22–24 July 2015, 1–4,
https://doi.org/10.1109/Multi-Temp.2015.7245753, 2015. a
Nesterova, N., Khomutov, A., Kalyukina, A., and Leibman, M.: The specificity
of thermal denudation feature distribution on Yamal and Gydan peninsulas
Russia, in: EGU General Assembly 2020 Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-746,
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-746, 2020. a, b
Nicu, I. C., Lombardo, L., and Rubensdotter, L.: Preliminary assessment of thaw
slump hazard to Arctic cultural heritage in Nordenskiöld Land, Svalbard,
Landslides, 18, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-021-01684-8, 2021. a
Nitze, I., Grosse, G., Jones, B. M., Arp, C. D., Ulrich, M., Fedorov, A., and
Veremeeva, A.: Landsat-based trend analysis of lake dynamics across Northern
Permafrost Regions, Remote Sens.-Basel, 9, 640, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9070640, 2017. a
Nitze, I., Grosse, G., Jones, B., Romanovsky, V., and Boike, J.: Remote
sensing quantifies widespread abundance of permafrost region disturbances
across the Arctic and Subarctic, Nat. Commun., 9, 1–11, 2018. a
Obu, J.: How Much of the Earth's Surface is Underlain by Permafrost?, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 126, e2021JF006123,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006123, 2021. a
Ohtani, K.: Bootstrapping R2 and adjusted R2 in regression analysis, Econ. Model., 17, 473–483, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-9993(99)00034-6, 2000. a
Parker, R., Hancox, G., Petley, D., Massey, C., Densmore, A., and Rosser, N.:
Spatial distributions of earthquake-induced landslides and hillslope
preconditioning in northwest South Island, New Zealand, Earth Surf. Dynam., 3, 501–525, 2015. a
Planet-Team: Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth, available at: https://api.planet.com (last access: 22 December 2021), 2018. a
Ramage, J. L., Irrgang, A. M., Herzschuh, U., Morgenstern, A., Couture, N., and
Lantuit, H.: Terrain Controls on the Occurrence of Coastal Retrogressive
Thaw Slumps along the Yukon Coast, Canada, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 122, 9, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JF004231, 2017. a, b
Rudy, A. C., Lamoureux, S. F., Kokelj, S. V., Smith, I. R., and England, J. H.:
Accelerating Thermokarst Transforms Ice-Cored Terrain Triggering a
Downstream Cascade to the Ocean, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 21,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074912, 2017. a
Schuur, E. A. G., McGuire, A. D., Schädel, C., Grosse, G., Harden, J. W.,
Hayes, D. J., Hugelius, G., Koven, C. D., Kuhry, P., Lawrence, D. M., Natali,
S. M., Olefeldt, D., Romanovsky, V. E., Schaefer, K., Turetsky, M. R., Treat,
C. C., and Vonk, J. E.: Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback,
Nature, 520, 171–179, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14338, 2015. a
Segal, R. A., Lantz, T. C., and Kokelj, S. V.: Acceleration of thaw slump
activity in glaciated landscapes of the Western Canadian Arctic,
Environ. Rese. Lett., 11, 034025,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/3/034025, 2016. a
Swanson, D. K. and Nolan, M.: Growth of retrogressive thaw slumps in the
Noatak Valley, Alaska, 2010–2016, measured by airborne photogrammetry,
Remote Sens., 10, 983, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10070983, 2018. a, b
Tanyaş, H., Allstadt, K. E., and van Westen, C. J.: An updated method for
estimating landslide-event magnitude, Earth Surf. Proc. Land.,
43, 1836–1847, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4359, 2018. a, b
Tebbens, S. F.: Landslide Scaling: A Review, Earth Space Sci., 7,
e2019EA000662, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EA000662,
2020. a, b
Turcotte, D. L.: Self-organized criticality, Rep. Prog. Phys.,
62, 1377–1429, 1999. a
Turetsky, M. R., Abbott, B. W., Jones, M. C., Anthony, K. W., Olefeldt, D., Schuur, E. A., Grosse, G., Kuhry, P., Hugelius, G., Koven, C., Lawrence, D. M., Gibson, C., Sannel, B., and McGuire, D.: Carbon
release through abrupt permafrost thaw, Nat. Geosci., 13, 138–143,
2020. a
Van der Sluijs, J., Kokelj, S. V., Fraser, R. H., Tunnicliffe, J., and Lacelle,
D.: Permafrost terrain dynamics and infrastructure impacts revealed by UAV
photogrammetry and thermal imaging, Remote Sens., 10, 1734, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10111734, 2018. a
Wang, B., Paudel, B., and Li, H.: Retrogression characteristics of landslides
in fine-grained permafrost soils, Mackenzie Valley, Canada, Landslides, 6,
121–127, 2009. a
Wang, B., Paudel, B., and Li, H.: Behaviour of retrogressive thaw slumps in
northern Canada – three-year monitoring results from 18 sites, Landslides,
13, 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0549-y, 2016. a
Werner, C., Wegmueller, U., Strozzi, T., and Wiesmann, A.: GAMMA SAR and
interferometric processing software, in: European Space Agency (Special
Publication) ESA SP, 461, 211–219, 2000. a
Zwieback, S., Kokelj, S. V., Günther, F., Boike, J., Grosse, G., and Hajnsek, I.: Sub-seasonal thaw slump mass wasting is not consistently energy limited at the landscape scale, The Cryosphere, 12, 549–564, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-549-2018, 2018. a, b
Zwieback, S., Boike, J., Marsh, P., and Berg, A.: Debris cover on thaw slumps
and its insulative role in a warming climate, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 45, 2631–2646, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4919, 2020. a
Short summary
We present an investigation of retrogressive thaw slumps in 10 study sites across the Arctic. These slumps have major impacts on hydrology and ecosystems and can also reinforce climate change by the mobilization of carbon. Using time series of digital elevation models, we found that thaw slump change rates follow a specific type of distribution that is known from landslides in more temperate landscapes and that the 2D area change is strongly related to the 3D volumetric change.
We present an investigation of retrogressive thaw slumps in 10 study sites across the Arctic....
