Accumulation of Excess Ground Ice in an Age Sequence of Drained Thermokarst Lake Basins, Arctic Alaska

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Bockheim ◽  
K. M. Hinkel
Keyword(s):  
Ground Ice ◽  
Thermokarst Lake ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
Age Sequence ◽  
Lake Basins

scholarly journals Seasonal thaw settlement at drained thermokarst lake basins, Arctic Alaska

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 815-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Liu ◽  
K. Schaefer ◽  
A. Gusmeroli ◽  
G. Grosse ◽  
B. M. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Deformation ◽  
Active Layer Thickness ◽  
Surface Dynamics ◽  
Thermokarst Lake ◽  
The North ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
Thaw Settlement ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Lake Basins

Abstract. Drained thermokarst lake basins (DTLBs) are ubiquitous landforms on Arctic tundra lowland. Their dynamic states are seldom investigated, despite their importance for landscape stability, hydrology, nutrient fluxes, and carbon cycling. Here we report results based on high-resolution Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements using space-borne data for a study area located on the North Slope of Alaska near Prudhoe Bay, where we focus on the seasonal thaw settlement within DTLBs, averaged between 2006 and 2010. The majority (14) of the 18 DTLBs in the study area exhibited seasonal thaw settlement of 3–4 cm. However, four of the DTLBs examined exceeded 4 cm of thaw settlement, with one basin experiencing up to 12 cm. Combining the InSAR observations with the in situ active layer thickness measured using ground penetrating radar and mechanical probing, we calculated thaw strain, an index of thaw settlement strength along a transect across the basin that underwent large thaw settlement. We found thaw strains of 10–35% at the basin center, suggesting the seasonal melting of ground ice as a possible mechanism for the large settlement. These findings emphasize the dynamic nature of permafrost landforms, demonstrate the capability of the InSAR technique to remotely monitor surface deformation of individual DTLBs, and illustrate the combination of ground-based and remote sensing observations to estimate thaw strain. Our study highlights the need for better description of the spatial heterogeneity of landscape-scale processes for regional assessment of surface dynamics on Arctic coastal lowlands.

scholarly journals Seasonal thaw settlement at drained thermokarst lake basins, Arctic Alaska

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 5793-5822
Author(s):  
L. Liu ◽  
K. Schaefer ◽  
A. Gusmeroli ◽  
G. Grosse ◽  
B. M. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Deformation ◽  
Active Layer Thickness ◽  
Surface Dynamics ◽  
Thermokarst Lake ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
Thaw Settlement ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Prudhoe Bay ◽  
Lake Basins

Abstract. Drained thermokarst lake basins (DTLBs) are ubiquitous landforms on arctic tundra lowlands, but their present-day dynamic states are seldom investigated. Here we report results based on high-resolution Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements using space-borne data for a study area located near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska where we focus on the seasonal thaw settlement within DTLBs, averaged between 2006 and 2010. The majority (14) of the 18 DTLBs in the study area analyzed exhibited seasonal thaw settlement of 3–4 cm. However, four of the DTLBs analyzed exceeded 4 cm of thaw settlement, with one basin experiencing up to 12 cm. Combining the InSAR observations with the in situ active layer thickness measured using ground penetrating radar and mechanical probing, we calculated thaw strain, an index of thaw settlement strength along a transect across the basin that underwent large thaw settlement. We found thaw strains of 10–35% at the basin center, suggesting the seasonal melting of ground ice as a possible mechanism for the large settlement. These findings emphasize the dynamic nature of permafrost landforms, demonstrate the capability of the InSAR technique to remotely monitor surface deformation of individual DTLBs, and illustrate the combination of ground-based and remote sensing observations to estimate thaw strain. Our study highlights the need for better description of the spatial heterogeneity of landscape-scale processes for regional assessment of surface dynamics on arctic coastal lowlands.

scholarly journals Peat accumulation in drained thermokarst lake basins in continuous, ice-rich permafrost, northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska

2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (G2) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam C. Jones ◽  
Guido Grosse ◽  
Benjamin M. Jones ◽  
Katey Walter Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Peat Accumulation ◽  
Thermokarst Lake ◽  
Seward Peninsula ◽  
Lake Basins

Methane turnover and environmental change from Holocene lipid biomarker records in a thermokarst lake in Arctic Alaska

The Holocene ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 1766-1777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Elvert ◽  
John W Pohlman ◽  
Kevin W Becker ◽  
Benjamin Gaglioti ◽  
Kai-Uwe Hinrichs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Thermokarst Lake ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
Lipid Biomarker

A first approximation of the volume of ground ice, Richards Island, Pleistocene Mackenzie delta, Northwest Territories, Canada

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Pollard ◽  
H. M. French
Keyword(s):  
Data Bank ◽  
Topographic Maps ◽  
Mackenzie Delta ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Geotechnical Data ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
First Approximation ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
Morphometric Analyses ◽  
Using Data

Using data contained in the Mackenzie Valley Geotechnical Data Bank together with data derived from morphometric analyses of topographic maps and air photographs, the volume of ground ice present in the upper 10 m of Richards Island is calculated to be 10.27 km3. Pore and segregated ice constitute over 80% of the total ice volume. Wedge ice constitutes between 12 and 16% of total ice volume in the upper 4.5 m, and approximately 36% of all excess ice. In the upper 1–2 m, wedge ice may exceed 50% of earth materials. Pingo ice is insignificant in terms of its contribution to total ice volumes. Excess ice constitutes 14% of the upper 10 m of permafrost; it follows that thawing of this layer of permafrost may lead to an average subsidence of 1.4 m.The results of this study are probably typical of other areas of the Pleistocene Mackenzie delta. There is also general agreement with data obtained from arctic Alaska.

Holocene pore‐ice δ 18 O and δ 2 H records from drained thermokarst lake basins in the Old Crow Flats, Yukon, Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-508
Author(s):  
Sasiri Bandara ◽  
Duane Froese ◽  
Trevor J. Porter ◽  
Fabrice Calmels
Keyword(s):  
Thermokarst Lake ◽  
Old Crow Flats ◽  
Lake Basins

scholarly journals Archaeal and bacterial communities across a chronosequence of drained lake basins in arctic alaska

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kao-Kniffin ◽  
B.J. Woodcroft ◽  
S.M. Carver ◽  
J.G. Bockheim ◽  
J. Handelsman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
Lake Basins
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document