An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia
Rapid permafrost degradation is observed in northern regions as a result of climate change and expanding economic development. Associated increases in active layer depth lead to thermokarst development, resulting in irregular surface topography. In Central Yakutia, significant areas of the land surf...
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MDPI AG
2023
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6e4dec3def00455db756ce01bb08e90f 2023-05-15T16:36:56+02:00 An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia Aleksandr Zhirkov Maksim Sivtsev Vasylii Lytkin Anatolii Kirillin Antoine Séjourné Zhi Wen 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010197 https://doaj.org/article/6e4dec3def00455db756ce01bb08e90f EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/1/197 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-445X doi:10.3390/land12010197 2073-445X https://doaj.org/article/6e4dec3def00455db756ce01bb08e90f Land, Vol 12, Iss 197, p 197 (2023) permafrost ice-rich sediments thermokarst yedoma (ice complex) active layer transition layer Agriculture S article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010197 2023-01-22T01:27:14Z Rapid permafrost degradation is observed in northern regions as a result of climate change and expanding economic development. Associated increases in active layer depth lead to thermokarst development, resulting in irregular surface topography. In Central Yakutia, significant areas of the land surface have been deteriorated by thermokarst; however, no mitigation or land rehabilitation efforts are undertaken. This paper presents the results of numerical modeling of the thermal response of permafrost to changes in the active layer hydrothermal regime using field data from the village of Amga, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and mathematical analysis. The results suggest that restoring a thick ice-enriched layer will require increasing the pre-winter soil moisture contents in order to increase the effective heat capacity of the active layer. Snow removal or compaction during the winter is recommended to maximize permafrost cooling. The thickness of the restored transition layer varies from 0.3 to 1.3 m depending on soil moisture contents in the active layer. The modeling results demonstrate that damaged lands can be restored through a set of measures to lower the subsurface temperatures. A combination of the insulating layer (forest vegetation) and the high heat capacity layer (transition layer) in the atmosphere–ground system would be more effective in providing stable geocryological conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost Republic of Sakha Sakha Thermokarst Yakutia Siberia Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Sakha Land 12 1 197 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
permafrost ice-rich sediments thermokarst yedoma (ice complex) active layer transition layer Agriculture S |
spellingShingle |
permafrost ice-rich sediments thermokarst yedoma (ice complex) active layer transition layer Agriculture S Aleksandr Zhirkov Maksim Sivtsev Vasylii Lytkin Anatolii Kirillin Antoine Séjourné Zhi Wen An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia |
topic_facet |
permafrost ice-rich sediments thermokarst yedoma (ice complex) active layer transition layer Agriculture S |
description |
Rapid permafrost degradation is observed in northern regions as a result of climate change and expanding economic development. Associated increases in active layer depth lead to thermokarst development, resulting in irregular surface topography. In Central Yakutia, significant areas of the land surface have been deteriorated by thermokarst; however, no mitigation or land rehabilitation efforts are undertaken. This paper presents the results of numerical modeling of the thermal response of permafrost to changes in the active layer hydrothermal regime using field data from the village of Amga, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and mathematical analysis. The results suggest that restoring a thick ice-enriched layer will require increasing the pre-winter soil moisture contents in order to increase the effective heat capacity of the active layer. Snow removal or compaction during the winter is recommended to maximize permafrost cooling. The thickness of the restored transition layer varies from 0.3 to 1.3 m depending on soil moisture contents in the active layer. The modeling results demonstrate that damaged lands can be restored through a set of measures to lower the subsurface temperatures. A combination of the insulating layer (forest vegetation) and the high heat capacity layer (transition layer) in the atmosphere–ground system would be more effective in providing stable geocryological conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aleksandr Zhirkov Maksim Sivtsev Vasylii Lytkin Anatolii Kirillin Antoine Séjourné Zhi Wen |
author_facet |
Aleksandr Zhirkov Maksim Sivtsev Vasylii Lytkin Anatolii Kirillin Antoine Séjourné Zhi Wen |
author_sort |
Aleksandr Zhirkov |
title |
An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia |
title_short |
An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia |
title_full |
An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia |
title_fullStr |
An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia |
title_full_unstemmed |
An Assessment of the Possibility of Restoration and Protection of Territories Disturbed by Thermokarst in Central Yakutia, Eastern Siberia |
title_sort |
assessment of the possibility of restoration and protection of territories disturbed by thermokarst in central yakutia, eastern siberia |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010197 https://doaj.org/article/6e4dec3def00455db756ce01bb08e90f |
geographic |
Sakha |
geographic_facet |
Sakha |
genre |
Ice permafrost Republic of Sakha Sakha Thermokarst Yakutia Siberia |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost Republic of Sakha Sakha Thermokarst Yakutia Siberia |
op_source |
Land, Vol 12, Iss 197, p 197 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/1/197 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-445X doi:10.3390/land12010197 2073-445X https://doaj.org/article/6e4dec3def00455db756ce01bb08e90f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010197 |
container_title |
Land |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
197 |
_version_ |
1766027252295794688 |