Article
Environmental Sciences
Mark J. Lara, Yaping Chen, Benjamin M. Jones
Summary: The study analyzed the drivers of gradual and catastrophic lake drainage in northern Alaska over 45 years using Landsat observations. Results showed that drivers of gradual drainage were mainly related to lake morphology and temperature, while catastrophic drainage was associated with thawing season length and precipitation.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Elise G. Devoie, James R. Craig, Mason Dominico, Olivia Carpino, Ryan F. Connon, Ashley C. A. Rudy, William L. Quinton
Summary: The study found that in discontinuous permafrost peatlands, thaw rates are faster compared to other regions, and vertical heat conduction and advective heat transfer play crucial roles in the thawing process. Additionally, geothermal gradient and groundwater flow may also contribute to permafrost thaw. Analyzing the functions of taliks in different landscapes can provide insights into the subsurface permafrost structure.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Richard E. Fewster, Paul J. Morris, Graeme T. Swindles, Ruza F. Ivanovic, Claire C. Treat, Miriam C. Jones
Summary: Vegetation shifts in circum-Arctic permafrost peatlands have important consequences for carbon budgets and permafrost thaw. Shrub and tree growth in these peatlands remain unquantified. We investigate vegetation composition using plant macrofossil records and find increasing woody vegetation alongside declining herbaceous vegetation. Shrubification is most pronounced where permafrost coverage is discontinuous. Shrub expansion and decline have occurred across the pan-Arctic since 200 years BP, indicating complex ecological responses to climate warming and permafrost degradation.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
S. R. James, B. J. Minsley, J. W. McFarland, E. S. Euskirchen, C. W. Edgar, M. P. Waldrop
Summary: This study used geophysical and biogeochemical instruments to investigate subsurface processes in thermokarst environments, revealing phenomena such as higher unfrozen water content, high methane concentrations, and the presence of talik zones in permafrost soils near bog edges.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Xianmin Ke, Wei Wang, Wenfeng Huang, Fujun Niu, Zeyong Gao
Summary: Thermokarst lakes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have a significant impact on permafrost degradation and regional hydrological processes. Through-taliks play a crucial role in strengthening the connection between groundwater and lakes, altering groundwater circulation patterns. The acceleration of permafrost degradation is mainly attributed to thermal conduction and convection processes.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Zhizhong Sun, Shujuan Zhang, Guoyu Li, Guilong Wu, Yongzhi Liu
Summary: Thermokarst lakes are widely distributed in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. Monitoring at a small alpine thermokarst lake in the Beiluhe Basin revealed the presence of permafrost beneath and around the lake, with thickening supra-permafrost taliks beneath the lake over time. Ground temperatures were higher beneath the lake compared to around it, with greater temperature increasing rates beneath the lake as well. The differences in ground temperatures between the lake bottom and natural ground surface are important for understanding thermal patterns beneath and around thermokarst lakes.
PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
M. T. Jorgenson, M. Z. Kanevskiy, J. C. Jorgenson, A. Liljedahl, Y. Shur, H. Epstein, K. Kent, C. G. Griffin, R. Daanen, M. Boldenow, K. Orndahl, C. Witharana, B. M. Jones
Summary: Ice-wedge degradation in the Arctic tundra is rapidly transforming the ecosystem, affecting microtopography, hydrology, soils, ground ice, and vegetation. The degradation has major implications for arctic land cover, tundra productivity, lake expansion and drainage, soil-carbon balance, trace-gas emissions, and wildlife populations.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Eleanor L. Jones, Andrew J. Hodson, Kelly R. Redeker, Hanne H. Christiansen, Steve F. Thornton, Jade Rogers
Summary: This study compares the dominant biogeochemical processes in high-centered and low-centered polygons in Arctic wetlands. It finds that the degradation of polygons leads to changes in the redox chemistry, including decreased iron and sulfate reduction and decreased preservation of their products.
PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mark Torre Jorgenson, Mikhail Kanevskiy, Carl Roland, Kenneth Hill, David Schirokauer, Sarah Stehn, Britta Schroeder, Yuri Shur
Summary: The study found that extreme seasonal weather, ecological succession, fire, and a legacy of earlier geomorphic processes all affect the formation and degradation of permafrost, creating a highly patchy mosaic of ecotypes within boreal peatland ecosystems with widely varying ecological trajectories.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Liam Heffernan, Vincent E. J. Jassey, Maya Frederickson, M. Derek MacKenzie, David Olefeldt
Summary: The study found that deep peat layers have very low potential enzyme activities, with no differences between young and mature bogs. Peat quality at depth was highly humified in both young and mature bogs. Near-surface peat in young bogs showed significantly higher potential enzyme activities compared to mature bogs, influenced by differences in peat quality derived from different Sphagnum species.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mathias Ulrich, Loeka L. Jongejans, Guido Grosse, Birgit Schneider, Thomas Opel, Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander N. Fedorov, Lutz Schirrmeister, Torben Windirsch, Julia Wiedmann, Jens Strauss
Summary: This study analyzed the geochemistry, sedimentology, and stratigraphy of thawed and frozen deposits in Central Yakutia to reconstruct the formation of Yedoma Ice Complex. The results showed varying sedimentation processes and mineral weathering under different environmental conditions, with syngenetic permafrost aggradation and degradation over time. The proxies used in this study are crucial for understanding the environmental conditions during Yedoma formation and degradation processes.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Donald A. Walker, Martha K. Raynolds, Mikhail Z. Kanevskiy, Yuri S. Shur, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Benjamin M. Jones, Marcel Buchhorn, M. Torre Jorgenson, Jozef Sibik, Amy L. Breen, Anja Kade, Emily Watson-Cook, Georgy Matyshak, Helena Bergstedt, Anna K. Liljedahl, Ronald P. Daanen, Billy Connor, Dmitry Nicolsky, Jana L. Peirce
Summary: Environmental impact assessments for new Arctic infrastructure often neglect the long-term cumulative effects of climate change and infrastructure on landforms and vegetation in ice-rich permafrost areas. A case study in Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska, examined climate and road-related changes in ice-wedge polygons over a period of 71 years. The study found that climate-related changes included increased thermokarst ponds, changes in ice-wedge-polygon morphology, snow distribution, thaw depths, dominant vegetation types, and shrub abundance. Road dust and flooding also had notable impacts on plant-community structure and permafrost degradation.
Article
Ecology
Mikhail Kanevskiy, Yuri Shur, D. A. (Skip) Walker, Torre Jorgenson, Martha K. Raynolds, Jana L. Peirce, Benjamin M. Jones, Marcel Buchhorn, Georgiy Matyshak, Helena Bergstedt, Amy L. Breen, Billy Connor, Ronald Daanen, Anna Liljedahl, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Emily Watson-Cook
Summary: The vulnerability of ice wedges strongly depends on the structure and thickness of soil layers above them. Compared to undisturbed areas, ice wedges near roads had thinner protective intermediate layers and a higher proportion of missing layers. Despite the influence of infrastructure, ice-wedge degradation is reversible, leading to increased ground temperatures but not thaw depths. Ice wedges in cold permafrost areas can stabilize despite the accumulation of snow and water.
Article
Fisheries
Jennifer B. Korosi, Kristen A. Coleman, Grace N. Hoskin, Amanda J. Little, Emily M. Stewart, Joshua R. Thienpont
Summary: This article emphasizes the importance of geographic context in understanding the impact of permafrost thaw on northern freshwater biodiversity. It explores how paleolimnology can characterize the changing geographic template of warming thermokarst landscapes and its implications for biodiversity. The article suggests integrating research in thermokarst lake paleolimnology with hypothesis-testing frameworks used by permafrost hydrologists and biogeochemists, as well as with the Freshwater Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program. It also advocates for knowledge co-production with northern Indigenous communities. Considering the geographic context in choosing study sites is highlighted as crucial in representing diverse thermokarst landscapes and accounting for fine-scale differences in limnological settings that influence ecosystem response to thermokarst stressors.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Larisa Nazarova, Nadezhda G. Razjigaeva, Larisa A. Ganzey, Tatiana R. Makarova, Marina S. Lyashevskaya, Boris K. Biskaborn, Philipp Hoelzmann, Larisa V. Golovatyuk, Bernhard Diekmann
Summary: This study reconstructs Holocene palaeoenvironmental and climatic changes in the Kuril Islands using lake sediment analysis, and finds evidence of sea level fluctuations.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Alexander I. Kizyakov, Sebastian Wetterich, Frank Guenther, Thomas Opel, Loeka L. Jongejans, Jeremy Courtin, Hanno Meyer, Andrei G. Shepelev, Igor I. Syromyatnikov, Alexander N. Fedorov, Mikhail V. Zimin, Guido Grosse
Summary: Thaw slumps are clear indicators of permafrost degradation, and the Batagay megaslump is the largest known thaw slump on Earth. Research has shown that the morphology of thaw slumps is closely related to the structure and properties of permafrost.
Editorial Material
Geography, Physical
Dmitry A. Subetto, Yelena Bezrukova, Larisa B. Nazarova, Andrey P. Fedotov
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Review
Geography, Physical
Julian Murton, Thomas Opel, Sebastian Wetterich, Kseniia Ashastina, Grigoriy Savvinov, Petr Danilov, Vasily Boeskorov
Summary: The Batagay megaslump in northern Yakutia, Russia, is the largest retrogressive thaw slump in the world. It reveals Ice Age permafrost deposits and has yielded fossils of Pleistocene and Holocene mammals. The megaslump has developed over several decades, and its growth is influenced by headwall ablation and thermal erosion. Ultimately, it is expected to stabilize and form an irregular terrain characterized by sandy ridges and sand-filled depressions.
PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Larisa Nazarova, Liudmila Syrykh, Ivan Grekov, Tatiana Sapelko, Andrey B. Krasheninnikov, Nadia Solovieva
Summary: This study investigated subfossil chironomid remains in surface sediments of 98 lakes from nine subregions in Northwestern Russia. It found that the mean July air temperature, distance from the tree line, water depth, pH, and altitude were the major factors influencing chironomid distribution. A chironomid-based inference model for reconstructing the mean July air temperature was developed, and it can be applied in paleoclimatic studies in the East of Northern Eurasia.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
S. K. Krivonogov, A. N. Zhdanova, P. A. Solotchin, A. Y. Kazansky, V. V. Chegis, Z. Liu, M. Song, S. V. Zhilich, N. A. Rudaya, X. Cao, O. V. Palagushkina, L. B. Nazarova, L. S. Syrykh
Summary: The largest endorheic lake in Siberia, Lake Chany, is found to be very young, dating back no more than 3.6 thousand years ago. The lake originally started as a swampy landscape before transforming into a shallow lake 3.6 thousand years ago, eventually reaching its modern depth of 6.5 meters in the last millennium. The research also provides insights into the regional vegetation and climate change in the West-Siberian forest-steppe and steppe over the past 4 thousand years.
GEOSCIENCE FRONTIERS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander I. Kizyakov, Thomas Opel, Hendrik Grotheer, Gesine Mollenhauer, Michael Fritz
Summary: Glacial legacies preserved in permafrost, such as buried glacial ice, are of concern in the Western Canadian Arctic. The collapse of permafrost due to melting ground ice predetermines the postglacial landscape evolution in this region. A study on Herschel Island examines previous data and applies stable-isotope and dissolved organic carbon analyses, as well as radiocarbon dating, to understand the formation and evolution of different types of ground ice.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jade Falardeau, Anne de Vernal, Bianca Frechette, Claude Hillaire-Marcel, Philippe Archambault, Michael Fritz, Colin P. Gallagher, George Tanski
Summary: This study used a 50-year-long microfaunal record to examine the environmental responses of the southern Canadian coastal Beaufort Sea to climate change. The results show that changes in microfaunal communities were associated with salinity, bottom water conditions, and water turbidity. This study highlights the importance of understanding the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kerstin Brembach, Andrey Pleskachevsky, Hugues Lantuit
Summary: The Arctic is undergoing significant climate change, resulting in increased air temperatures and higher wave heights, which in turn have negative impacts on local economies and ecosystems. This study utilizes remote sensing data to overcome the limitations of existing wave height data in the Arctic and provides valuable insights into the spatial and temporal patterns of wave heights, as well as their links to local coastal processes.
Article
Ecology
Nele Lehmann, Hugues Lantuit, Michael Ernst Boettcher, Jens Hartmann, Antje Eulenburg, Helmuth Thomas
Summary: The weathering rate of carbonate minerals is much higher than for silicate minerals, and small amounts of carbonate minerals can control dissolved weathering loads in silicate-dominated catchments. Misattribution of weathering sources can lead to incorrect conclusions about CO2 fixation. This study aimed to identify weathering sources and their impact on CO2 fixation in a degrading permafrost landscape in northern Norway.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Boehmer, Manuel Chevalier, Raphael Hebert, Anne Dallmeyer, Chenzhi Li, Xianyong Cao, Odile Peyron, Larisa Nazarova, Elena Y. Novenko, Jungjae Park, Natalia A. Rudaya, Frank Schluetz, Lyudmila S. Shumilovskikh, Pavel E. Tarasov, Yongbo Wang, Ruilin Wen, Qinghai Xu, Zhuo Zheng
Summary: A poor spatial coverage of climate reconstructions, especially in Asia, may contribute to the mismatch between model and proxy data in Holocene climate change. This study explores the latitudinal and regional trends in temperature and precipitation based on pollen-based reconstructions, revealing distinct patterns and regional differences.
CLIMATE OF THE PAST
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Boehmer, Chenzhi Li, Manuel Chevalier, Raphael Hebert, Anne Dallmeyer, Xianyong Cao, Nancy H. Bigelow, Larisa Nazarova, Elena Y. Novenko, Jungjae Park, Odile Peyron, Natalia A. Rudaya, Frank Schluetz, Lyudmila S. Shumilovskikh, Pavel E. Tarasov, Yongbo Wang, Ruilin Wen, Qinghai Xu, Zhuo Zheng
Summary: In this study, LegacyClimate 1.0 dataset is described, which reconstructs the mean July temperature (T-July), mean annual temperature (T-ann), and annual precipitation (P-ann) using 2594 fossil pollen records from the Northern Hemisphere throughout the Holocene period. Two reconstruction methods, the modern analog technique (MAT) and weighted averaging partial least squares regression (WA-PLS), show similar spatial and temporal patterns. To improve the accuracy of the reconstructions, customized reconstructions using modern pollen data are provided to reduce the impact of precipitation on temperature reconstruction, and vice versa. The dataset is useful for synthesis studies, evaluating climate models, and improving the models themselves.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Martine Lizotte, Bennet Juhls, Atsushi Matsuoka, Philippe Massicotte, Gaelle Mevel, David Obie James Anikina, Sofia Antonova, Guislain Becu, Marine Beguin, Simon Belanger, Thomas Bosse-Demers, Lisa Broeder, Flavienne Bruyant, Gwenaelle Chaillou, Jerome Comte, Raoul-Marie Couture, Emmanuel Devred, Gabriele Deslongchamps, Thibaud Dezutter, Miles Dillon, David Doxaran, Aude Flamand, Frank Fell, Joannie Ferland, Marie-Helene Forget, Michael Fritz, Thomas J. Gordon, Caroline Guilmette, Andrea Hilborn, Rachel Hussherr, Charlotte Irish, Fabien Joux, Lauren Kipp, Audrey Laberge-Carignan, Hugues Lantuit, Edouard Leymarie, Antonio Mannino, Juliette Maury, Paul Overduin, Laurent Oziel, Colin Stedmon, Crystal Thomas, Lucas Tisserand, Jean-Eric Tremblay, Jorien Vonk, Dustin Whalen, Marcel Babin
Summary: Climate warming in the Arctic is expected to change the distribution and dynamics of carbon in frozen grounds. Thawing permafrost in the Mackenzie River watershed releases organic matter into the Arctic Ocean, but its fate remains poorly understood. Field expeditions were conducted to study this process in the Mackenzie Delta region and southern Beaufort Sea, with the collaboration of local communities and the measurement of various physical, chemical, and biological variables.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2023)