Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning
Abstract Developing spatially explicit permafrost datasets and climate assessments at scales relevant to northern communities is increasingly important as land users and decision makers incorporate changing permafrost conditions in community and adaptation planning. This need is particularly strong...
Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b/pdf |
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crioppubl:10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b 2024-09-09T20:00:09+00:00 Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning Gibson, C Cottenie, K Gingras-Hill, T Kokelj, S V Baltzer, J L Chasmer, L Turetsky, M R Climate Change Preparedness Program, Environmental and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories National Science and Engineering Research Council 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b/pdf unknown IOP Publishing http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://iopscience.iop.org/info/page/text-and-data-mining Environmental Research Letters volume 16, issue 5, page 055022 ISSN 1748-9326 journal-article 2021 crioppubl https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b 2024-07-29T04:15:13Z Abstract Developing spatially explicit permafrost datasets and climate assessments at scales relevant to northern communities is increasingly important as land users and decision makers incorporate changing permafrost conditions in community and adaptation planning. This need is particularly strong within the discontinuous permafrost zone of the Northwest Territories (NWT) Canada where permafrost peatlands are undergoing rapid thaw due to a warming climate. Current data products for predicting landscapes at risk of thaw are generally built at circumpolar scales and do not lend themselves well to fine-scale regional interpretations. Here, we present a new permafrost vulnerability dataset that assesses the degree of permafrost thaw within peatlands across a 750 km latitudinal gradient in the NWT. This updated dataset provides spatially explicit estimates of where peatland thermokarst potential exists, thus making it much more suitable for local, regional or community usage. Within southern peatland complexes, we show that permafrost thaw affects up to 70% of the peatland area and that thaw is strongly mediated by both latitude and elevation, with widespread thaw occuring particularly at low elevations. At the northern end of our latitudinal gradient, peatland permafrost remains climate-protected with relatively little thaw. Collectively these results demonstrate the importance of scale in permafrost analyses and mapping if research is to support northern communities and decision makers in a changing climate. This study offers a more scale-appropriate approach to support community adaptative planning under scenarios of continued warming and widespread permafrost thaw. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Territories permafrost Thermokarst IOP Publishing Canada Northwest Territories Environmental Research Letters 16 5 055022 |
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Abstract Developing spatially explicit permafrost datasets and climate assessments at scales relevant to northern communities is increasingly important as land users and decision makers incorporate changing permafrost conditions in community and adaptation planning. This need is particularly strong within the discontinuous permafrost zone of the Northwest Territories (NWT) Canada where permafrost peatlands are undergoing rapid thaw due to a warming climate. Current data products for predicting landscapes at risk of thaw are generally built at circumpolar scales and do not lend themselves well to fine-scale regional interpretations. Here, we present a new permafrost vulnerability dataset that assesses the degree of permafrost thaw within peatlands across a 750 km latitudinal gradient in the NWT. This updated dataset provides spatially explicit estimates of where peatland thermokarst potential exists, thus making it much more suitable for local, regional or community usage. Within southern peatland complexes, we show that permafrost thaw affects up to 70% of the peatland area and that thaw is strongly mediated by both latitude and elevation, with widespread thaw occuring particularly at low elevations. At the northern end of our latitudinal gradient, peatland permafrost remains climate-protected with relatively little thaw. Collectively these results demonstrate the importance of scale in permafrost analyses and mapping if research is to support northern communities and decision makers in a changing climate. This study offers a more scale-appropriate approach to support community adaptative planning under scenarios of continued warming and widespread permafrost thaw. |
author2 |
Climate Change Preparedness Program, Environmental and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories National Science and Engineering Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gibson, C Cottenie, K Gingras-Hill, T Kokelj, S V Baltzer, J L Chasmer, L Turetsky, M R |
spellingShingle |
Gibson, C Cottenie, K Gingras-Hill, T Kokelj, S V Baltzer, J L Chasmer, L Turetsky, M R Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
author_facet |
Gibson, C Cottenie, K Gingras-Hill, T Kokelj, S V Baltzer, J L Chasmer, L Turetsky, M R |
author_sort |
Gibson, C |
title |
Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
title_short |
Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
title_full |
Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
title_fullStr |
Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
title_sort |
mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b/pdf |
geographic |
Canada Northwest Territories |
geographic_facet |
Canada Northwest Territories |
genre |
Northwest Territories permafrost Thermokarst |
genre_facet |
Northwest Territories permafrost Thermokarst |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters volume 16, issue 5, page 055022 ISSN 1748-9326 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://iopscience.iop.org/info/page/text-and-data-mining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
055022 |
_version_ |
1809931279191244800 |