Snow accumulation, albedo and melt patterns following road construction on permafrost, Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway, Canada ...

• Main Authors: Hammar, Jennika, Grünberg, Inge, Kokelj, Steven V., Van Der Sluijs, Jurjen, Boike, Julia
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 2023
• Subjects: 550 Geowissenschaften; Northwest Territories; Canada; Tuktoyaktuk; Inuvik; Valley Creek; Trail Valley Creek; permafrost
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18452/28669; https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/29283

Roads constructed on permafrost can have a significant impact on the surrounding environment, potentially inducing permafrost degradation. These impacts arise from factors such as snow accumulation near the road, which affects the soil's thermal and hydrological regime, and road dust that decreases the snow's albedo, altering the timing of snowmelt. However, our current understanding of the magnitude and the spatial extent of these effects is limited. In this study we addressed this gap by using remote sensing techniques to assess the spatial effect of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) in Northwest Territories, Canada, on snow accumulation, snow albedo and snowmelt patterns. With a new, high resolution snow depth raster from airborne laser scanning, we quantified the snow accumulation at road segments in the Trail Valley Creek area using digital elevation model differencing. We found increased snow accumulation up to 36 m from the road center. The magnitude of this snow accumulation was influenced by ...