Articles | Volume 19, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3991-2025
© 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-19-3991-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Sep 2025
Research article |
| 23 Sep 2025
| 23 Sep 2025
Comparing thaw probing, electrical resistivity tomography, and airborne lidar to quantify lateral and vertical thaw in rapidly degrading boreal permafrost
Thomas A. Douglas
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska 99703, United States
M. Torre Jorgenson
Alaska Ecoscience, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709, United States
Taylor Sullivan
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska 99703, United States
Caiyun Zhang
Department of Geosciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United States
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Short summary
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NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) conducted airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) surveys of over 120 000 km2 in Alaska and northwestern Canada during 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. This paper summarizes those results and provides links to details on ~ 80 individual flight lines. This paper is presented as a guide to enable interested readers to fully explore the ABoVE L- and P-band SAR data.
Kevin R. Barry, Thomas C. J. Hill, Marina Nieto-Caballero, Thomas A. Douglas, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, Paul J. DeMott, and Jessie M. Creamean
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15783–15793, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15783-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15783-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are important for the climate due to their influence on cloud properties. To understand potential land-based sources of them in the Arctic, we carried out a survey near the northernmost point of Alaska, a landscape connected to the permafrost (thermokarst). Permafrost contained high concentrations of INPs, with the largest values near the coast. The thermokarst lakes were found to emit INPs, and the water contained elevated concentrations.
Thomas A. Douglas, Christopher A. Hiemstra, John E. Anderson, Robyn A. Barbato, Kevin L. Bjella, Elias J. Deeb, Arthur B. Gelvin, Patricia E. Nelsen, Stephen D. Newman, Stephanie P. Saari, and Anna M. Wagner
The Cryosphere, 15, 3555–3575, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3555-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3555-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Permafrost is actively degrading across high latitudes due to climate warming. We combined thousands of end-of-summer active layer measurements, permafrost temperatures, geophysical surveys, deep borehole drilling, and repeat airborne lidar to quantify permafrost warming and thawing at sites across central Alaska. We calculate the mass of permafrost soil carbon potentially exposed to thaw over the past 7 years (0.44 Pg) is similar to the yearly carbon dioxide emissions of Australia.
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Short summary
Permafrost thaw across Earth's high latitudes is leading to dramatic changes in vegetation and hydrology. We undertook a two-decade-long study on the Tanana Flats near Fairbanks, Alaska, to measure permafrost thaw and associated ground surface subsidence via field-based and remote-sensing techniques. The study identified strengths and limitations of the three methods we used to quantify permafrost thaw degradation.
Permafrost thaw across Earth's high latitudes is leading to dramatic changes in vegetation and...
