Rapid and Gradual Permafrost Thaw: A Tale of Two Sites

TY - JOUR

T1 - Rapid and Gradual Permafrost Thaw

T2 - A Tale of Two Sites

AU - Minsley, B. J.

AU - Pastick, N. J.

AU - James, S. R.

AU - Brown, D. R.N.

AU - Wylie, B. K.

AU - Kass, M. A.

AU - Romanovsky, V. E.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

PY - 2022/11

Y1 - 2022/11

N2 - Warming temperatures and increasing disturbance by wildfire and extreme weather events is driving permafrost change across northern latitudes. The state of permafrost varies widely in space and time, depending on landscape, climate, hydrologic, and ecological factors. Despite its importance, few approaches commonly measure and monitor the changes in deep (>1 m) permafrost conditions with high spatial resolution. Here, we use electrical resistivity tomography surveys along two transects in interior Alaska previously disturbed by wildfire and more recently by warming temperatures and extreme precipitation. Long-term point observations of permafrost depth, temperature, and water content inform geophysical measurements which, in turn, are used to extrapolate interpretations over larger areas and with high spatial fidelity. We contrast gradual loss of recently formed permafrost driven by warmer temperatures and increased snowfall, with rapid permafrost loss driven by changes in air temperature, snow depth, and extreme summer precipitation in 2014.

AB - Warming temperatures and increasing disturbance by wildfire and extreme weather events is driving permafrost change across northern latitudes. The state of permafrost varies widely in space and time, depending on landscape, climate, hydrologic, and ecological factors. Despite its importance, few approaches commonly measure and monitor the changes in deep (>1 m) permafrost conditions with high spatial resolution. Here, we use electrical resistivity tomography surveys along two transects in interior Alaska previously disturbed by wildfire and more recently by warming temperatures and extreme precipitation. Long-term point observations of permafrost depth, temperature, and water content inform geophysical measurements which, in turn, are used to extrapolate interpretations over larger areas and with high spatial fidelity. We contrast gradual loss of recently formed permafrost driven by warmer temperatures and increased snowfall, with rapid permafrost loss driven by changes in air temperature, snow depth, and extreme summer precipitation in 2014.

KW - geophysics

KW - permafrost

KW - precipitation

KW - wildfire

U2 - 10.1029/2022GL100285

DO - 10.1029/2022GL100285

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85141937799

SN - 0094-8276

VL - 49

JO - Geophysical Research Letters

JF - Geophysical Research Letters

IS - 21

M1 - e2022GL100285

ER -