Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes
Beaded streams are widespread in permafrost regions and are considered a common thermokarst landform. However, little is known about their distribution, how and under what conditions they form, and how their intriguing morphology translates to ecosystem functions and habitat. Here we report on a cir...
Published in: | Biogeosciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-29-2015 https://doaj.org/article/5fc0ea2b59b74485874bb0af9e98de03 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5fc0ea2b59b74485874bb0af9e98de03 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5fc0ea2b59b74485874bb0af9e98de03 2023-05-15T14:56:35+02:00 Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes C. D. Arp M. S. Whitman B. M. Jones G. Grosse B. V. Gaglioti K. C. Heim 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-29-2015 https://doaj.org/article/5fc0ea2b59b74485874bb0af9e98de03 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/29/2015/bg-12-29-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-12-29-2015 https://doaj.org/article/5fc0ea2b59b74485874bb0af9e98de03 Biogeosciences, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 29-47 (2015) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-29-2015 2022-12-31T13:14:14Z Beaded streams are widespread in permafrost regions and are considered a common thermokarst landform. However, little is known about their distribution, how and under what conditions they form, and how their intriguing morphology translates to ecosystem functions and habitat. Here we report on a circum-Arctic survey of beaded streams and a watershed-scale analysis in northern Alaska using remote sensing and field studies. We mapped over 400 channel networks with beaded morphology throughout the continuous permafrost zone of northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia and found the highest abundance associated with medium to high ground-ice content permafrost in moderately sloping terrain. In one Arctic coastal plain watershed, beaded streams accounted for half of the drainage density, occurring primarily as low-order channels initiating from lakes and drained lake basins. Beaded streams predictably transition to alluvial channels with increasing drainage area and decreasing channel slope, although this transition is modified by local controls on water and sediment delivery. The comparisons of one beaded channel using repeat photography between 1948 and 2013 indicate a relatively stable landform, and 14 C dating of basal sediments suggest channel formation may be as early as the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Contemporary processes, such as deep snow accumulation in riparian zones, effectively insulate channel ice and allows for perennial liquid water below most beaded stream pools. Because of this, mean annual temperatures in pool beds are greater than 2 °C, leading to the development of perennial thaw bulbs or taliks underlying these thermokarst features that range from 0.7 to 1.6 m. In the summer, some pools thermally stratify, which reduces permafrost thaw and maintains cold-water habitats. Snowmelt-generated peak flows decrease rapidly by two or more orders of magnitude to summer low flows with slow reach-scale velocity distributions ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 m s −1 , yet channel runs still move water rapidly ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Canada Biogeosciences 12 1 29 47 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 C. D. Arp M. S. Whitman B. M. Jones G. Grosse B. V. Gaglioti K. C. Heim Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Beaded streams are widespread in permafrost regions and are considered a common thermokarst landform. However, little is known about their distribution, how and under what conditions they form, and how their intriguing morphology translates to ecosystem functions and habitat. Here we report on a circum-Arctic survey of beaded streams and a watershed-scale analysis in northern Alaska using remote sensing and field studies. We mapped over 400 channel networks with beaded morphology throughout the continuous permafrost zone of northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia and found the highest abundance associated with medium to high ground-ice content permafrost in moderately sloping terrain. In one Arctic coastal plain watershed, beaded streams accounted for half of the drainage density, occurring primarily as low-order channels initiating from lakes and drained lake basins. Beaded streams predictably transition to alluvial channels with increasing drainage area and decreasing channel slope, although this transition is modified by local controls on water and sediment delivery. The comparisons of one beaded channel using repeat photography between 1948 and 2013 indicate a relatively stable landform, and 14 C dating of basal sediments suggest channel formation may be as early as the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Contemporary processes, such as deep snow accumulation in riparian zones, effectively insulate channel ice and allows for perennial liquid water below most beaded stream pools. Because of this, mean annual temperatures in pool beds are greater than 2 °C, leading to the development of perennial thaw bulbs or taliks underlying these thermokarst features that range from 0.7 to 1.6 m. In the summer, some pools thermally stratify, which reduces permafrost thaw and maintains cold-water habitats. Snowmelt-generated peak flows decrease rapidly by two or more orders of magnitude to summer low flows with slow reach-scale velocity distributions ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 m s −1 , yet channel runs still move water rapidly ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
C. D. Arp M. S. Whitman B. M. Jones G. Grosse B. V. Gaglioti K. C. Heim |
author_facet |
C. D. Arp M. S. Whitman B. M. Jones G. Grosse B. V. Gaglioti K. C. Heim |
author_sort |
C. D. Arp |
title |
Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes |
title_short |
Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes |
title_full |
Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes |
title_fullStr |
Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in Arctic permafrost landscapes |
title_sort |
distribution and biophysical processes of beaded streams in arctic permafrost landscapes |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-29-2015 https://doaj.org/article/5fc0ea2b59b74485874bb0af9e98de03 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada |
genre |
Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Alaska |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 29-47 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/29/2015/bg-12-29-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-12-29-2015 https://doaj.org/article/5fc0ea2b59b74485874bb0af9e98de03 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-29-2015 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
29 |
op_container_end_page |
47 |
_version_ |
1766328669674930176 |