The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska
The late Pleistocene Yedoma Ice Complex is an ice-rich and organic-bearing type of permafrost deposit widely distributed across Beringia and is assumed to be especially prone to deep degradation with warming temperature, which is a potential tipping point of the climate system. To better understand...
Published in: | E&G Quaternary Science Journal |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020 https://egqsj.copernicus.org/articles/69/33/2020/ |
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egqsj82107 2023-05-15T15:03:47+02:00 The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska Schirrmeister, Lutz Dietze, Elisabeth Matthes, Heidrun Grosse, Guido Strauss, Jens Laboor, Sebastian Ulrich, Mathias Kienast, Frank Wetterich, Sebastian 2020-05-25 info:eu-repo/semantics/application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020 https://egqsj.copernicus.org/articles/69/33/2020/ eng eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/338335 doi:10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020 https://egqsj.copernicus.org/articles/69/33/2020/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess eISSN: 2199-9090 info:eu-repo/semantics/Text 2020 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020 2020-07-20T16:22:09Z The late Pleistocene Yedoma Ice Complex is an ice-rich and organic-bearing type of permafrost deposit widely distributed across Beringia and is assumed to be especially prone to deep degradation with warming temperature, which is a potential tipping point of the climate system. To better understand Yedoma formation, its local characteristics, and its regional sedimentological composition, we compiled the grain-size distributions (GSDs) of 771 samples from 23 Yedoma locations across the Arctic; samples from sites located close together were pooled to form 17 study sites. In addition, we studied 160 samples from three non-Yedoma ice-wedge polygon and floodplain sites for the comparison of Yedoma samples with Holocene depositional environments. The multimodal GSDs indicate that a variety of sediment production, transport, and depositional processes were involved in Yedoma formation. To disentangle these processes, a robust endmember modeling analysis (rEMMA) was performed. Nine robust grain-size endmembers (rEMs) characterize Yedoma deposits across Beringia. The study sites of Yedoma deposits were finally classified using cluster analysis. The resulting four clusters consisted of two to five sites that are distributed randomly across northeastern Siberia and Alaska, suggesting that the differences are associated with rather local conditions. In contrast to prior studies suggesting a largely aeolian contribution to Yedoma sedimentation, the wide range of rEMs indicates that aeolian sedimentation processes cannot explain the entire variability found in GSDs of Yedoma deposits. Instead, Yedoma sedimentation is controlled by local conditions such as source rocks and weathering processes, nearby paleotopography, and diverse sediment transport processes. Our findings support the hypothesis of a polygenetic Yedoma origin involving alluvial, fluvial, and niveo-aeolian transport; accumulation in ponding waters; and in situ frost weathering as well as postdepositional processes of solifluction, cryoturbation, and pedogenesis. The characteristic rEM composition of the Yedoma clusters will help to improve how grain-size-dependent parameters in permafrost models and soil carbon budgets are considered. Our results show the characteristic properties of ice-rich Yedoma deposits in the terrestrial Arctic. Characterizing and quantifying site-specific past depositional processes is crucial for elucidating and understanding the trajectories of this unique kind of ice-rich permafrost in a warmer future. Other/Unknown Material Arctic Ice permafrost wedge* Alaska Beringia Siberia Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Arctic Remma ENVELOPE(13.910,13.910,66.011,66.011) E&G Quaternary Science Journal 69 1 33 53 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
The late Pleistocene Yedoma Ice Complex is an ice-rich and organic-bearing type of permafrost deposit widely distributed across Beringia and is assumed to be especially prone to deep degradation with warming temperature, which is a potential tipping point of the climate system. To better understand Yedoma formation, its local characteristics, and its regional sedimentological composition, we compiled the grain-size distributions (GSDs) of 771 samples from 23 Yedoma locations across the Arctic; samples from sites located close together were pooled to form 17 study sites. In addition, we studied 160 samples from three non-Yedoma ice-wedge polygon and floodplain sites for the comparison of Yedoma samples with Holocene depositional environments. The multimodal GSDs indicate that a variety of sediment production, transport, and depositional processes were involved in Yedoma formation. To disentangle these processes, a robust endmember modeling analysis (rEMMA) was performed. Nine robust grain-size endmembers (rEMs) characterize Yedoma deposits across Beringia. The study sites of Yedoma deposits were finally classified using cluster analysis. The resulting four clusters consisted of two to five sites that are distributed randomly across northeastern Siberia and Alaska, suggesting that the differences are associated with rather local conditions. In contrast to prior studies suggesting a largely aeolian contribution to Yedoma sedimentation, the wide range of rEMs indicates that aeolian sedimentation processes cannot explain the entire variability found in GSDs of Yedoma deposits. Instead, Yedoma sedimentation is controlled by local conditions such as source rocks and weathering processes, nearby paleotopography, and diverse sediment transport processes. Our findings support the hypothesis of a polygenetic Yedoma origin involving alluvial, fluvial, and niveo-aeolian transport; accumulation in ponding waters; and in situ frost weathering as well as postdepositional processes of solifluction, cryoturbation, and pedogenesis. The characteristic rEM composition of the Yedoma clusters will help to improve how grain-size-dependent parameters in permafrost models and soil carbon budgets are considered. Our results show the characteristic properties of ice-rich Yedoma deposits in the terrestrial Arctic. Characterizing and quantifying site-specific past depositional processes is crucial for elucidating and understanding the trajectories of this unique kind of ice-rich permafrost in a warmer future. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Schirrmeister, Lutz Dietze, Elisabeth Matthes, Heidrun Grosse, Guido Strauss, Jens Laboor, Sebastian Ulrich, Mathias Kienast, Frank Wetterich, Sebastian |
spellingShingle |
Schirrmeister, Lutz Dietze, Elisabeth Matthes, Heidrun Grosse, Guido Strauss, Jens Laboor, Sebastian Ulrich, Mathias Kienast, Frank Wetterich, Sebastian The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska |
author_facet |
Schirrmeister, Lutz Dietze, Elisabeth Matthes, Heidrun Grosse, Guido Strauss, Jens Laboor, Sebastian Ulrich, Mathias Kienast, Frank Wetterich, Sebastian |
author_sort |
Schirrmeister, Lutz |
title |
The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska |
title_short |
The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska |
title_full |
The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska |
title_fullStr |
The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
The genesis of Yedoma Ice Complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from Siberia and Alaska |
title_sort |
genesis of yedoma ice complex permafrost – grain-size endmember modeling analysis from siberia and alaska |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020 https://egqsj.copernicus.org/articles/69/33/2020/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.910,13.910,66.011,66.011) |
geographic |
Arctic Remma |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Remma |
genre |
Arctic Ice permafrost wedge* Alaska Beringia Siberia |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice permafrost wedge* Alaska Beringia Siberia |
op_source |
eISSN: 2199-9090 |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/338335 doi:10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020 https://egqsj.copernicus.org/articles/69/33/2020/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020 |
container_title |
E&G Quaternary Science Journal |
container_volume |
69 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
33 |
op_container_end_page |
53 |
_version_ |
1766335634803261440 |