Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors
An increase in retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) activity has been observed in the Arctic in recent decades. However, a gap exists between observations in high Arctic polar desert regions where mean annual ground temperatures are as cold as −16.5 °C and vegetation coverage is sparse. In this study, we...
Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd https://doaj.org/article/5f3faf3356d54188bfc92d9ba32b7585 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5f3faf3356d54188bfc92d9ba32b7585 2023-09-05T13:16:24+02:00 Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors Melissa K Ward Jones Wayne H Pollard Benjamin M Jones 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd https://doaj.org/article/5f3faf3356d54188bfc92d9ba32b7585 EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/5f3faf3356d54188bfc92d9ba32b7585 Environmental Research Letters, Vol 14, Iss 5, p 055006 (2019) permafrost thermokarst retrogressive thaw slumps landscape change Eureka sound lowlands high arctic Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd 2023-08-13T00:37:25Z An increase in retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) activity has been observed in the Arctic in recent decades. However, a gap exists between observations in high Arctic polar desert regions where mean annual ground temperatures are as cold as −16.5 °C and vegetation coverage is sparse. In this study, we present a ∼30 year record of annual RTS observations (frequency and distribution) from 1989 to 2018 within the Eureka Sound Lowlands, Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands. Record summer warmth in 2011 and 2012 promoted rapid RTS initialization, increasing active slumps from 100 in a given year or less to over 200 regionally and promoting RTS initiation in previously unaffected terrain. Differential GPS and remote sensing observations of 12 RTSs initiated during this period (2011–2018) provided a mean headwall retreat rate for all RTSs of 6.2 m yr ^−1 and for specific RTSs up to 26.7 m yr ^−1 . To better understand the dynamics of climate and terrain factors controlling RTS headwall retreat rates we explored RTS interactions by correlating headwall retreat with climate factors (thawing degree days, annual rainfall and annual snowfall) and terrain factors (aspect and slope). Our findings indicate a sensitivity of cold permafrost in the high Arctic to climate-driven thermokarst initiation, but the decoupling of RTS dynamics from climate appears to occur over time for individual RTS as terrain factors take on a greater role controlling headwall retreat. Detailed observations of thermokarst development in a high Arctic polar desert permafrost setting are important as it demonstrates the sensitivity of this system to changes in summer temperatures and highlight differences to changes occurring in other Arctic permafrost regions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Eureka Sound permafrost polar desert Thermokarst Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Eureka ENVELOPE(-85.940,-85.940,79.990,79.990) Eureka Sound ENVELOPE(-84.999,-84.999,79.002,79.002) Heiberg ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) Environmental Research Letters 14 5 055006 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
permafrost thermokarst retrogressive thaw slumps landscape change Eureka sound lowlands high arctic Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
permafrost thermokarst retrogressive thaw slumps landscape change Eureka sound lowlands high arctic Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Melissa K Ward Jones Wayne H Pollard Benjamin M Jones Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors |
topic_facet |
permafrost thermokarst retrogressive thaw slumps landscape change Eureka sound lowlands high arctic Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
An increase in retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) activity has been observed in the Arctic in recent decades. However, a gap exists between observations in high Arctic polar desert regions where mean annual ground temperatures are as cold as −16.5 °C and vegetation coverage is sparse. In this study, we present a ∼30 year record of annual RTS observations (frequency and distribution) from 1989 to 2018 within the Eureka Sound Lowlands, Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands. Record summer warmth in 2011 and 2012 promoted rapid RTS initialization, increasing active slumps from 100 in a given year or less to over 200 regionally and promoting RTS initiation in previously unaffected terrain. Differential GPS and remote sensing observations of 12 RTSs initiated during this period (2011–2018) provided a mean headwall retreat rate for all RTSs of 6.2 m yr ^−1 and for specific RTSs up to 26.7 m yr ^−1 . To better understand the dynamics of climate and terrain factors controlling RTS headwall retreat rates we explored RTS interactions by correlating headwall retreat with climate factors (thawing degree days, annual rainfall and annual snowfall) and terrain factors (aspect and slope). Our findings indicate a sensitivity of cold permafrost in the high Arctic to climate-driven thermokarst initiation, but the decoupling of RTS dynamics from climate appears to occur over time for individual RTS as terrain factors take on a greater role controlling headwall retreat. Detailed observations of thermokarst development in a high Arctic polar desert permafrost setting are important as it demonstrates the sensitivity of this system to changes in summer temperatures and highlight differences to changes occurring in other Arctic permafrost regions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Melissa K Ward Jones Wayne H Pollard Benjamin M Jones |
author_facet |
Melissa K Ward Jones Wayne H Pollard Benjamin M Jones |
author_sort |
Melissa K Ward Jones |
title |
Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors |
title_short |
Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors |
title_full |
Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors |
title_fullStr |
Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the Canadian high Arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors |
title_sort |
rapid initialization of retrogressive thaw slumps in the canadian high arctic and their response to climate and terrain factors |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd https://doaj.org/article/5f3faf3356d54188bfc92d9ba32b7585 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-85.940,-85.940,79.990,79.990) ENVELOPE(-84.999,-84.999,79.002,79.002) ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) |
geographic |
Arctic Eureka Eureka Sound Heiberg |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Eureka Eureka Sound Heiberg |
genre |
Arctic Eureka Sound permafrost polar desert Thermokarst |
genre_facet |
Arctic Eureka Sound permafrost polar desert Thermokarst |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 14, Iss 5, p 055006 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/5f3faf3356d54188bfc92d9ba32b7585 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab12fd |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
055006 |
_version_ |
1776198002606604288 |