Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region
Ice-rich permafrost thaws as a result of Arctic warming, and the land surface collapses to form characteristic thermokarst landscapes. Thermokarst landscapes can bring instability to the permafrost layer, affecting regional geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology and may further lead to permafrost deg...
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:82d7d80d9cbe4752bc3abc8d011491ca 2023-05-15T14:51:10+02:00 Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region Yating Chen Aobo Liu Xiao Cheng 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.34133/2022/9765087 https://doaj.org/article/82d7d80d9cbe4752bc3abc8d011491ca EN eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) http://dx.doi.org/10.34133/2022/9765087 https://doaj.org/toc/2694-1589 2694-1589 doi:10.34133/2022/9765087 https://doaj.org/article/82d7d80d9cbe4752bc3abc8d011491ca Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol 2022 (2022) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Physical geography GB3-5030 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.34133/2022/9765087 2022-12-31T03:24:26Z Ice-rich permafrost thaws as a result of Arctic warming, and the land surface collapses to form characteristic thermokarst landscapes. Thermokarst landscapes can bring instability to the permafrost layer, affecting regional geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology and may further lead to permafrost degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Field observations in permafrost regions are often limited, while satellite imagery provides a valuable record of land surface dynamics. Currently, continuous monitoring of regional-scale thermokarst landscape dynamics and disturbances remains a challenging task. In this study, we combined the Theil–Sen estimator with the LandTrendr algorithm to create a process flow for monitoring thermokarst landscape dynamics in Arctic permafrost region on the Google Earth Engine platform. A robust linear trend analysis of the Landsat Tasseled Cap index time series based on the Theil–Sen estimator and Mann–Kendall test showed the overall trends in greenness, wetness, and brightness in northern Alaska over the past 20 years. Six types of disturbances that occur in thermokarst landscape were demonstrated and highlighted, including long-term processes (thermokarst lake expansion, shoreline retreat, and river erosion) and short-term events (thermokarst lake drainage, wildfires, and abrupt vegetation change). These disturbances are widespread throughout the Arctic permafrost region and represent hotspots of abrupt permafrost thaw in a warming context, which would destabilize fragile thermokarst landscapes rich in soil organic carbon and affect the ecological carbon balance. The cases we present provide a basis for understanding and quantifying specific disturbance analyses that will facilitate the integration of thermokarst processes into climate models. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Kendall ENVELOPE(-59.828,-59.828,-63.497,-63.497) Journal of Remote Sensing 2022 1 17 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Physical geography GB3-5030 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Physical geography GB3-5030 Yating Chen Aobo Liu Xiao Cheng Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Physical geography GB3-5030 |
description |
Ice-rich permafrost thaws as a result of Arctic warming, and the land surface collapses to form characteristic thermokarst landscapes. Thermokarst landscapes can bring instability to the permafrost layer, affecting regional geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology and may further lead to permafrost degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Field observations in permafrost regions are often limited, while satellite imagery provides a valuable record of land surface dynamics. Currently, continuous monitoring of regional-scale thermokarst landscape dynamics and disturbances remains a challenging task. In this study, we combined the Theil–Sen estimator with the LandTrendr algorithm to create a process flow for monitoring thermokarst landscape dynamics in Arctic permafrost region on the Google Earth Engine platform. A robust linear trend analysis of the Landsat Tasseled Cap index time series based on the Theil–Sen estimator and Mann–Kendall test showed the overall trends in greenness, wetness, and brightness in northern Alaska over the past 20 years. Six types of disturbances that occur in thermokarst landscape were demonstrated and highlighted, including long-term processes (thermokarst lake expansion, shoreline retreat, and river erosion) and short-term events (thermokarst lake drainage, wildfires, and abrupt vegetation change). These disturbances are widespread throughout the Arctic permafrost region and represent hotspots of abrupt permafrost thaw in a warming context, which would destabilize fragile thermokarst landscapes rich in soil organic carbon and affect the ecological carbon balance. The cases we present provide a basis for understanding and quantifying specific disturbance analyses that will facilitate the integration of thermokarst processes into climate models. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Yating Chen Aobo Liu Xiao Cheng |
author_facet |
Yating Chen Aobo Liu Xiao Cheng |
author_sort |
Yating Chen |
title |
Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region |
title_short |
Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region |
title_full |
Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region |
title_fullStr |
Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Region |
title_sort |
landsat-based monitoring of landscape dynamics in arctic permafrost region |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.34133/2022/9765087 https://doaj.org/article/82d7d80d9cbe4752bc3abc8d011491ca |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-59.828,-59.828,-63.497,-63.497) |
geographic |
Arctic Kendall |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Kendall |
genre |
Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Alaska |
op_source |
Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol 2022 (2022) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.34133/2022/9765087 https://doaj.org/toc/2694-1589 2694-1589 doi:10.34133/2022/9765087 https://doaj.org/article/82d7d80d9cbe4752bc3abc8d011491ca |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.34133/2022/9765087 |
container_title |
Journal of Remote Sensing |
container_volume |
2022 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
17 |
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1766322231144611840 |