Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology
Ice wedges are common features of the subsurface in permafrost regions. They develop by repeated frost cracking and ice vein growth over hundreds to thousands of years. Ice-wedge formation causes the archetypal polygonal patterns seen in tundra across the Arctic landscape. Here we use field and remo...
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Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/40355/ https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.47421 |
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ftawi:oai:epic.awi.de:40355 2023-05-15T14:27:43+02:00 Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology Liljedahl, Anna K. Boike, Julia Daanen, Ronald P. Fedorov, Alexander N. Frost, Gerald V. Grosse, Guido Hinzman, Larry D. Iijma, Yoshihiro Jorgenson, Janet C. Matveyeva, Nadya Necsoiu, Marius Raynolds, Martha K. Romanovsky, Vladimir E. Schulla, Jörg Tape, Ken D. Walker, Donald A. Wilson, Cathy J. Yabuki, Hironori Zona, Donatella 2016-02-14 https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/40355/ https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.47421 unknown Liljedahl, A. K. , Boike, J. orcid:0000-0002-5875-2112 , Daanen, R. P. , Fedorov, A. N. , Frost, G. V. , Grosse, G. orcid:0000-0001-5895-2141 , Hinzman, L. D. , Iijma, Y. , Jorgenson, J. C. , Matveyeva, N. , Necsoiu, M. , Raynolds, M. K. , Romanovsky, V. E. , Schulla, J. , Tape, K. D. , Walker, D. A. , Wilson, C. J. , Yabuki, H. and Zona, D. (2016) Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology , Nature Geoscience . doi:10.1038/ngeo2674 <https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674> , hdl:10013/epic.47421 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess EPIC3Nature Geoscience, ISSN: 1752-0894 Article isiRev info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2016 ftawi https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674 2021-12-24T15:41:21Z Ice wedges are common features of the subsurface in permafrost regions. They develop by repeated frost cracking and ice vein growth over hundreds to thousands of years. Ice-wedge formation causes the archetypal polygonal patterns seen in tundra across the Arctic landscape. Here we use field and remote sensing observations to document polygon succession due to ice-wedge degradation and trough development in ten Arctic localities over sub-decadal timescales. Initial thaw drains polygon centres and forms disconnected troughs that hold isolated ponds. Continued ice-wedge melting leads to increased trough connectivity and an overall draining of the landscape. We find that melting at the tops of ice wedges over recent decades and subsequent decimetre-scale ground subsidence is a widespread Arctic phenomenon. Although permafrost temperatures have been increasing gradually, we find that ice-wedge degradation is occurring on sub-decadal timescales. Our hydrological model simulations show that advanced ice-wedge degradation can significantly alter the water balance of lowland tundra by reducing inundation and increasing runoff, in particular due to changes in snow distribution as troughs form. We predict that ice-wedge degradation and the hydrological changes associated with the resulting differential ground subsidence will expand and amplify in rapidly warming permafrost regions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ice permafrost Tundra wedge* Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) Arctic Nature Geoscience 9 4 312 318 |
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Open Polar |
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Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) |
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ftawi |
language |
unknown |
description |
Ice wedges are common features of the subsurface in permafrost regions. They develop by repeated frost cracking and ice vein growth over hundreds to thousands of years. Ice-wedge formation causes the archetypal polygonal patterns seen in tundra across the Arctic landscape. Here we use field and remote sensing observations to document polygon succession due to ice-wedge degradation and trough development in ten Arctic localities over sub-decadal timescales. Initial thaw drains polygon centres and forms disconnected troughs that hold isolated ponds. Continued ice-wedge melting leads to increased trough connectivity and an overall draining of the landscape. We find that melting at the tops of ice wedges over recent decades and subsequent decimetre-scale ground subsidence is a widespread Arctic phenomenon. Although permafrost temperatures have been increasing gradually, we find that ice-wedge degradation is occurring on sub-decadal timescales. Our hydrological model simulations show that advanced ice-wedge degradation can significantly alter the water balance of lowland tundra by reducing inundation and increasing runoff, in particular due to changes in snow distribution as troughs form. We predict that ice-wedge degradation and the hydrological changes associated with the resulting differential ground subsidence will expand and amplify in rapidly warming permafrost regions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Liljedahl, Anna K. Boike, Julia Daanen, Ronald P. Fedorov, Alexander N. Frost, Gerald V. Grosse, Guido Hinzman, Larry D. Iijma, Yoshihiro Jorgenson, Janet C. Matveyeva, Nadya Necsoiu, Marius Raynolds, Martha K. Romanovsky, Vladimir E. Schulla, Jörg Tape, Ken D. Walker, Donald A. Wilson, Cathy J. Yabuki, Hironori Zona, Donatella |
spellingShingle |
Liljedahl, Anna K. Boike, Julia Daanen, Ronald P. Fedorov, Alexander N. Frost, Gerald V. Grosse, Guido Hinzman, Larry D. Iijma, Yoshihiro Jorgenson, Janet C. Matveyeva, Nadya Necsoiu, Marius Raynolds, Martha K. Romanovsky, Vladimir E. Schulla, Jörg Tape, Ken D. Walker, Donald A. Wilson, Cathy J. Yabuki, Hironori Zona, Donatella Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology |
author_facet |
Liljedahl, Anna K. Boike, Julia Daanen, Ronald P. Fedorov, Alexander N. Frost, Gerald V. Grosse, Guido Hinzman, Larry D. Iijma, Yoshihiro Jorgenson, Janet C. Matveyeva, Nadya Necsoiu, Marius Raynolds, Martha K. Romanovsky, Vladimir E. Schulla, Jörg Tape, Ken D. Walker, Donald A. Wilson, Cathy J. Yabuki, Hironori Zona, Donatella |
author_sort |
Liljedahl, Anna K. |
title |
Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology |
title_short |
Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology |
title_full |
Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology |
title_fullStr |
Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology |
title_sort |
pan-arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/40355/ https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.47421 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ice permafrost Tundra wedge* |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ice permafrost Tundra wedge* |
op_source |
EPIC3Nature Geoscience, ISSN: 1752-0894 |
op_relation |
Liljedahl, A. K. , Boike, J. orcid:0000-0002-5875-2112 , Daanen, R. P. , Fedorov, A. N. , Frost, G. V. , Grosse, G. orcid:0000-0001-5895-2141 , Hinzman, L. D. , Iijma, Y. , Jorgenson, J. C. , Matveyeva, N. , Necsoiu, M. , Raynolds, M. K. , Romanovsky, V. E. , Schulla, J. , Tape, K. D. , Walker, D. A. , Wilson, C. J. , Yabuki, H. and Zona, D. (2016) Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology , Nature Geoscience . doi:10.1038/ngeo2674 <https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674> , hdl:10013/epic.47421 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674 |
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Nature Geoscience |
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9 |
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4 |
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312 |
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318 |
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