A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage
Gully erosion is one of the most destructive geomorphological processes on relatively flat surfaces. This is exacerbated in the Arctic regions, where gullies are referred to as thermo-erosion gullies because of their unique connection to permafrost. As the surface of the permafrost freezes and thaws...
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ftniku:oai:niku.brage.unit.no:11250/2979438 2023-05-15T14:56:52+02:00 A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage Nicu, Ionut Cristi Tanyas, Hakan Rubensdotter, Brita Lena Eleonor Fredin Lombardo, Luigi 2022 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2979438 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106105 eng eng urn:issn:0341-8162 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2979438 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106105 cristin:2001929 212 CATENA Kulturarv og klimaendringer Cultural heritage and climate change VDP::Naturgeografi: 455 VDP::Physical geography: 455 Peer reviewed Journal article 2022 ftniku https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106105 2022-02-23T23:43:19Z Gully erosion is one of the most destructive geomorphological processes on relatively flat surfaces. This is exacerbated in the Arctic regions, where gullies are referred to as thermo-erosion gullies because of their unique connection to permafrost. As the surface of the permafrost freezes and thaws, soil particles destabilize, inducing erosion along preferential incisions, giving rise to widespread thermo-erosion gullies. In this study, we present the first thermo-erosion gully inventory in the Svalbard region (Nordenskiöld Land). The inventory was created using a combination of available aerial photographs from 2009 to 2011, direct field observations and measurements. The spatial distribution of thermo-erosion gullies is then exploited to investigate potential threats to the Arctic cultural heritage (CH). Analyses of thermo-erosion gullies are increasingly important for artic administrations, which require more detailed hazard assessments as the effect of climate change becomes increasingly evident across these landscapes. The inventory is comprised of 810 thermo-erosion gullies in Nordenskiöld Land, most of which are located in close proximity to coastlines. We assess the inventory size statistics and correlation with terrain characteristics to investigate potential predisposing factors. No gullies occurs at elevations greater than 200 m a.s.l., but gullies occur up to a maximum steepness of 37 degrees and along the whole topographic profile and, looking at the potential threat to CH, we found 44 of these sites within a 100 m buffer from the gullies. This distance is the reference that local administrations use to prioritize actions and safeguard the existence of artic CH sites. In fact, a 100 m distance implies that future evolution of thermo-erosion gullies, especially enhanced by climate change may eventually erode away soil from the CH surroundings, threatening their stability and existence. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Nordenskiöld Land permafrost Svalbard Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU): Brage Arctic Nordenskiöld Land ENVELOPE(15.000,15.000,77.833,77.833) Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago CATENA 212 106105 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU): Brage |
op_collection_id |
ftniku |
language |
English |
topic |
Kulturarv og klimaendringer Cultural heritage and climate change VDP::Naturgeografi: 455 VDP::Physical geography: 455 |
spellingShingle |
Kulturarv og klimaendringer Cultural heritage and climate change VDP::Naturgeografi: 455 VDP::Physical geography: 455 Nicu, Ionut Cristi Tanyas, Hakan Rubensdotter, Brita Lena Eleonor Fredin Lombardo, Luigi A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage |
topic_facet |
Kulturarv og klimaendringer Cultural heritage and climate change VDP::Naturgeografi: 455 VDP::Physical geography: 455 |
description |
Gully erosion is one of the most destructive geomorphological processes on relatively flat surfaces. This is exacerbated in the Arctic regions, where gullies are referred to as thermo-erosion gullies because of their unique connection to permafrost. As the surface of the permafrost freezes and thaws, soil particles destabilize, inducing erosion along preferential incisions, giving rise to widespread thermo-erosion gullies. In this study, we present the first thermo-erosion gully inventory in the Svalbard region (Nordenskiöld Land). The inventory was created using a combination of available aerial photographs from 2009 to 2011, direct field observations and measurements. The spatial distribution of thermo-erosion gullies is then exploited to investigate potential threats to the Arctic cultural heritage (CH). Analyses of thermo-erosion gullies are increasingly important for artic administrations, which require more detailed hazard assessments as the effect of climate change becomes increasingly evident across these landscapes. The inventory is comprised of 810 thermo-erosion gullies in Nordenskiöld Land, most of which are located in close proximity to coastlines. We assess the inventory size statistics and correlation with terrain characteristics to investigate potential predisposing factors. No gullies occurs at elevations greater than 200 m a.s.l., but gullies occur up to a maximum steepness of 37 degrees and along the whole topographic profile and, looking at the potential threat to CH, we found 44 of these sites within a 100 m buffer from the gullies. This distance is the reference that local administrations use to prioritize actions and safeguard the existence of artic CH sites. In fact, a 100 m distance implies that future evolution of thermo-erosion gullies, especially enhanced by climate change may eventually erode away soil from the CH surroundings, threatening their stability and existence. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nicu, Ionut Cristi Tanyas, Hakan Rubensdotter, Brita Lena Eleonor Fredin Lombardo, Luigi |
author_facet |
Nicu, Ionut Cristi Tanyas, Hakan Rubensdotter, Brita Lena Eleonor Fredin Lombardo, Luigi |
author_sort |
Nicu, Ionut Cristi |
title |
A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage |
title_short |
A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage |
title_full |
A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage |
title_fullStr |
A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage |
title_full_unstemmed |
A glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in Svalbard archipelago and their implications for Arctic cultural heritage |
title_sort |
glimpse into the northernmost thermo-erosion gullies in svalbard archipelago and their implications for arctic cultural heritage |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2979438 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106105 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(15.000,15.000,77.833,77.833) |
geographic |
Arctic Nordenskiöld Land Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nordenskiöld Land Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Nordenskiöld Land permafrost Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Nordenskiöld Land permafrost Svalbard |
op_source |
212 CATENA |
op_relation |
urn:issn:0341-8162 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2979438 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106105 cristin:2001929 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106105 |
container_title |
CATENA |
container_volume |
212 |
container_start_page |
106105 |
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1766328932483727360 |