Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1825-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-1825-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 May 2025
Research article |
| 12 May 2025
| 12 May 2025
Multiple modes of shoreline change along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea observed using ICESat-2 altimetry and satellite imagery
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Adrian A. Borsa
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Eric J. Anderson
Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
Hydrologic Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
Claire C. Masteller
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA
Roger J. Michaelides
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA
Matthew R. Siegfried
Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
Hydrologic Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
Adam P. Young
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
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Nicolas B. Sartore, Till J. W. Wagner, Matthew R. Siegfried, Nimish Pujara, and Lucas K. Zoet
The Cryosphere, 19, 249–265, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-249-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-249-2025, 2025
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We investigate how waves may erode the front of Antarctica's largest ice shelf, Ross Ice Shelf, and how this results in bending forces that can cause deformation of the near-front shelf and trigger intermediate-scale calving (with icebergs of lengths ∼ 100 m). We compare satellite observations to theoretical estimates of erosion and ice shelf bending in order to better understand the processes underlying this type of calving and its role in the overall ice shelf mass flux.
Claire C. Masteller, Joel P. L. Johnson, Dieter Rickenmann, and Jens M. Turowski
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3250, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3250, 2024
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This paper presents a novel model that predicts the how gravel riverbeds may evolve in response to differences in the frequency and severity of flood events. We test our model using a 23-year long record of river flow and gravel transport from the Swiss Prealps. We find that our model reliably captures yearly patterns in gravel transport in this setting. Our new model is a major advance towards better predictions of river erosion that account for the flood history of a gravel bed river.
Robert G. Bingham, Julien A. Bodart, Marie G. P. Cavitte, Ailsa Chung, Rebecca J. Sanderson, Johannes C. R. Sutter, Olaf Eisen, Nanna B. Karlsson, Joseph A. MacGregor, Neil Ross, Duncan A. Young, David W. Ashmore, Andreas Born, Winnie Chu, Xiangbin Cui, Reinhard Drews, Steven Franke, Vikram Goel, John W. Goodge, A. Clara J. Henry, Antoine Hermant, Benjamin H. Hills, Nicholas Holschuh, Michelle R. Koutnik, Gwendolyn J.-M. C. Leysinger Vieli, Emma J. Mackie, Elisa Mantelli, Carlos Martín, Felix S. L. Ng, Falk M. Oraschewski, Felipe Napoleoni, Frédéric Parrenin, Sergey V. Popov, Therese Rieckh, Rebecca Schlegel, Dustin M. Schroeder, Martin J. Siegert, Xueyuan Tang, Thomas O. Teisberg, Kate Winter, Shuai Yan, Harry Davis, Christine F. Dow, Tyler J. Fudge, Tom A. Jordan, Bernd Kulessa, Kenichi Matsuoka, Clara J. Nyqvist, Maryam Rahnemoonfar, Matthew R. Siegfried, Shivangini Singh, Verjan Višnjević, Rodrigo Zamora, and Alexandra Zuhr
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2593, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2593, 2024
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The ice sheets covering Antarctica have built up over millenia through successive snowfall events which become buried and preserved as internal surfaces of equal age detectable with ice-penetrating radar. This paper describes an international initiative to work together on this archival data to build a comprehensive 3-D picture of how old the ice is everywhere across Antarctica, and how this will be used to reconstruct past and predict future ice and climate behaviour.
Riley Culberg, Roger J. Michaelides, and Julie Z. Miller
The Cryosphere, 18, 2531–2555, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2531-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2531-2024, 2024
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Ice slabs enhance meltwater runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Therefore, it is important to understand their extent and change in extent over time. We present a new method for detecting ice slabs in satellite radar data, which we use to map ice slabs at 500 m resolution across the entire ice sheet in winter 2016–2017. Our results provide better spatial coverage and resolution than previous maps from airborne radar and lay the groundwork for long-term monitoring of ice slabs from space.
Hossein Hosseiny, Claire C. Masteller, Jedidiah E. Dale, and Colin B. Phillips
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 681–693, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-681-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-681-2023, 2023
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It is of great importance to engineers and geomorphologists to predict the rate of bed load in rivers. In this contribution, we used a large dataset of measured data and developed an artificial neural network (ANN), a machine learning algorithm, for bed load prediction. The ANN model predicted the bed load flux close to measured values and better than the ones obtained from four standard bed load models with varying degrees of complexity.
Stanley G. Benjamin, Tatiana G. Smirnova, Eric P. James, Eric J. Anderson, Ayumi Fujisaki-Manome, John G. W. Kelley, Greg E. Mann, Andrew D. Gronewold, Philip Chu, and Sean G. T. Kelley
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 6659–6676, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-6659-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-6659-2022, 2022
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Application of 1-D lake models coupled within earth-system prediction models will improve accuracy but requires accurate initialization of lake temperatures. Here, we describe a lake initialization method by cycling within a weather prediction model to constrain lake temperature evolution. We compared these lake temperature values with other estimates and found much reduced errors (down to 1-2 K). The lake cycling initialization is now applied to two operational US NOAA weather models.
Zuzanna M. Swirad and Adam P. Young
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1499–1512, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1499-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1499-2022, 2022
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Cliff base and top lines that delimit coastal cliff faces are usually manually digitized based on maps, aerial photographs, terrain models, etc. However, manual mapping is time consuming and depends on the mapper's decisions and skills. To increase the objectivity and efficiency of cliff mapping, we developed CliffDelineaTool, an algorithm that identifies cliff base and top positions along cross-shore transects using elevation and slope characteristics.
Huw J. Horgan, Laurine van Haastrecht, Richard B. Alley, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Lucas H. Beem, Knut Christianson, Atsuhiro Muto, and Matthew R. Siegfried
The Cryosphere, 15, 1863–1880, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1863-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1863-2021, 2021
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The grounding zone marks the transition from a grounded ice sheet to a floating ice shelf. Like Earth's coastlines, the grounding zone is home to interactions between the ocean, fresh water, and geology but also has added complexity and importance due to the overriding ice. Here we use seismic surveying – sending sound waves down through the ice – to image the grounding zone of Whillans Ice Stream in West Antarctica and learn more about the nature of this important transition zone.
Sasha P. Carter, Helen A. Fricker, and Matthew R. Siegfried
The Cryosphere, 11, 381–405, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-381-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-381-2017, 2017
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We use a new process-scale model for the drainage of active subglacial lakes in Antarctica that considers channel incision into the soft sedimentary bed. Compared to models with ice-incised channels, our model better reproduces magnitudes and recurrence intervals of active subglacial lake fill–drain cycles derived from satellite altimetry observations.
S. P. Carter, H. A. Fricker, and M. R. Siegfried
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-9-2053-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-9-2053-2015, 2015
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We develop a model that simulated the observed filling and draining of active subglacial lakes in Antarctica that suggests the may occurs by the erosion of channels into deformable subglacial sediments, that then deform shut as lake level declines. This contrasts with ice dammed alpine lakes which drain by channels incised into ice. If active subglacial lakes require deformable sediments to fill and drain as observed, then classic radar-based methods of lake detection may fail to find them.
A. A. Borsa, G. Moholdt, H. A. Fricker, and K. M. Brunt
The Cryosphere, 8, 345–357, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-345-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-345-2014, 2014
T. O. Holt, N. F. Glasser, D. J. Quincey, and M. R. Siegfried
The Cryosphere, 7, 797–816, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-797-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-797-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Discipline: Frozen ground | Subject: Remote Sensing
InSAR-derived seasonal subsidence reflects spatial soil moisture patterns in Arctic lowland permafrost regions
Benchmarking passive-microwave-satellite-derived freeze–thaw datasets
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
Detection and reconstruction of rock glaciers kinematic over 24 years (2000–2024) from Landsat imagery
Toward long-term monitoring of regional permafrost thaw with satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar
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
Assessing volumetric change distributions and scaling relations of retrogressive thaw slumps across the Arctic
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
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.
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
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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
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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.
Diego Cusicanqui, Pascal Lacroix, Xavier Bodin, Benjamin Aubrey Robson, Andreas Kääb, and Shelley MacDonell
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2393, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2393, 2024
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This study presents for the first time a robust methodological approach to detect and analyse rock glacier kinematics using 24 years of Landsat 7/8 imagery. Within a small region in the semi-arid andes, 382 movements were monitored showing an average velocity of 0.3 ± 0.07 m yr-1, with rock glaciers moving faster. We highlight the value of integrating optical imagery and radar interferometry supporting monitoring of rock glacier kinematics, using available medium-resolution optical imagery.
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
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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).
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
Philipp Bernhard, Simon Zwieback, Nora Bergner, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 16, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1-2022, 2022
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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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Aré, F. E.: Thermal abrasion of sea coasts (part I), Polar Geogr. Geol., 12, 1, https://doi.org/10.1080/10889378809377343, 1988. a, b, c
Baranskaya, A., Novikova, A., Shabanova, N., Belova, N., Maznev, S., Ogorodov, S., and Jones, B. M.: The Role of Thermal Denudation in Erosion of Ice-Rich Permafrost Coasts in an Enclosed Bay (Gulf of Kruzenstern, Western Yamal, Russia), Front. Earth Sci., 8, 566227, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.566227, 2021. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i
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Short summary
We measure shoreline change across a 7 km stretch of coastline on the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast between 2019 and 2022 using multispectral imagery from Planet and satellite altimetry from ICESat-2. We find that shoreline change rates are high and variable and that different shoreline types show distinct patterns of change in shoreline position and topography. We discuss how the observed changes may be driven by both time-varying ocean and air conditions and spatial variations in morphology.
We measure shoreline change across a 7 km stretch of coastline on the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast...
