Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada
The Peel Plateau, NT, Canada, is underlain by warm continuous permafrost where changes in soil moisture, snow conditions, and shrub density have increased ground temperatures next to the Dempster Highway. In this study, ground temperatures, snow, and thaw depth were monitored before and after tall s...
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2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0032 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/AS-2022-0032 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2022-0032 2023-12-17T10:22:42+01:00 Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada Cameron, Emily A Lantz, Trevor C Kokelj, Steven V. 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0032 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/AS-2022-0032 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Arctic Science ISSN 2368-7460 General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science journal-article 2023 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0032 2023-11-19T13:39:24Z The Peel Plateau, NT, Canada, is underlain by warm continuous permafrost where changes in soil moisture, snow conditions, and shrub density have increased ground temperatures next to the Dempster Highway. In this study, ground temperatures, snow, and thaw depth were monitored before and after tall shrub removal (2014). A snow survey after tall shrub removal indicated that snow depth decreased by a third and lowered winter ground temperatures when compared with control tall shrub sites. The response of ground temperatures to shrub removal depended on soil type. The site with organic soils had cooler winter temperatures and no apparent change in summer temperatures following shrub removal. At sites with mineral soil, moderate winter ground cooling insufficiently counteracted increases in summer ground heat flux caused by canopy removal. Given the predominance of mineral soil along the Dempster, these observations suggest tall shrub removal is not a viable short-term permafrost management strategy. Additionally, the perpendicular orientation of the Highway to predominant winter winds stimulates snow drift formation and predisposes the site to warmer permafrost temperatures, altered hydrology, and tall shrub proliferation. Subsequent research should explore effectiveness of tall shrub removal at sites with colder winter conditions or different snow accumulation patterns. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic permafrost Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canada Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science |
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General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science Cameron, Emily A Lantz, Trevor C Kokelj, Steven V. Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences General Environmental Science |
description |
The Peel Plateau, NT, Canada, is underlain by warm continuous permafrost where changes in soil moisture, snow conditions, and shrub density have increased ground temperatures next to the Dempster Highway. In this study, ground temperatures, snow, and thaw depth were monitored before and after tall shrub removal (2014). A snow survey after tall shrub removal indicated that snow depth decreased by a third and lowered winter ground temperatures when compared with control tall shrub sites. The response of ground temperatures to shrub removal depended on soil type. The site with organic soils had cooler winter temperatures and no apparent change in summer temperatures following shrub removal. At sites with mineral soil, moderate winter ground cooling insufficiently counteracted increases in summer ground heat flux caused by canopy removal. Given the predominance of mineral soil along the Dempster, these observations suggest tall shrub removal is not a viable short-term permafrost management strategy. Additionally, the perpendicular orientation of the Highway to predominant winter winds stimulates snow drift formation and predisposes the site to warmer permafrost temperatures, altered hydrology, and tall shrub proliferation. Subsequent research should explore effectiveness of tall shrub removal at sites with colder winter conditions or different snow accumulation patterns. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cameron, Emily A Lantz, Trevor C Kokelj, Steven V. |
author_facet |
Cameron, Emily A Lantz, Trevor C Kokelj, Steven V. |
author_sort |
Cameron, Emily A |
title |
Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada |
title_short |
Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada |
title_full |
Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the Dempster Highway, NT, Canada |
title_sort |
impacts of shrub removal on snow and near-surface thermal conditions in permafrost terrain adjacent to the dempster highway, nt, canada |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0032 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/AS-2022-0032 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Arctic permafrost |
genre_facet |
Arctic permafrost |
op_source |
Arctic Science ISSN 2368-7460 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0032 |
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Arctic Science |
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1785551435642961920 |