The shifting mosaic of ice-wedge degradation and stabilization in response to infrastructure and climate change, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska, USA1

We studied processes of ice-wedge degradation and stabilization at three sites adjacent to road infrastructure in the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska, USA. We examined climatic, environmental, and subsurface conditions and evaluated vulnerability of ice wedges to thermokarst in undisturbed and road-aff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic Science
Main Authors: Mikhail Kanevskiy, Yuri Shur, D.A. (Skip) Walker, Torre Jorgenson, Martha K. Raynolds, Jana L. Peirce, Benjamin M. Jones, Marcel Buchhorn, Georgiy Matyshak, Helena Bergstedt, Amy L. Breen, Billy Connor, Ronald Daanen, Anna Liljedahl, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Emily Watson-Cook
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
French
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2022
Subjects:
permafrost
thermokarst
ground ice
cryostratigraphy
active layer
transient layer
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Environmental engineering
TA170-171
Arctic
Ice
Prudhoe Bay
Thermokarst
wedge*
Alaska
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0024
https://doaj.org/article/3b6f4357c8b1435c9c48d495919faff0
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Summary:We studied processes of ice-wedge degradation and stabilization at three sites adjacent to road infrastructure in the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska, USA. We examined climatic, environmental, and subsurface conditions and evaluated vulnerability of ice wedges to thermokarst in undisturbed and road-affected areas. Vulnerability of ice wedges strongly depends on the structure and thickness of soil layers above ice wedges, including the active, transient, and intermediate layers. In comparison with the undisturbed area, sites adjacent to the roads had smaller average thicknesses of the protective intermediate layer (4 cm vs. 9 cm), and this layer was absent above almost 60% of ice wedges (vs. ∼45% in undisturbed areas). Despite the strong influence of infrastructure, ice-wedge degradation is a reversible process. Deepening of troughs during ice-wedge degradation leads to a substantial increase in mean annual ground temperatures but not in thaw depths. Thus, stabilization of ice wedges in the areas of cold continuous permafrost can occur despite accumulation of snow and water in the troughs. Although thermokarst is usually more severe in flooded areas, higher plant productivity, more litter, and mineral material (including road dust) accumulating in the troughs contribute to formation of the intermediate layer, which protects ice wedges from further melting.

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