Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions
Abstract. Ice-wedge polygons are common features of lowland tundra in the continuous permafrost zone and prone to rapid degradation through melting of ground ice. There are many interrelated processes involved in ice-wedge thermokarst and it is a major challenge to quantify their influence on the st...
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Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-03960505 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 |
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ftunivnantes:oai:HAL:hal-03960505v1 2023-05-15T16:36:50+02:00 Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions Nitzbon, Jan Langer, Moritz Westermann, Sebastian Martin, Léo Aas, Kjetil Schanke Boike, Julia Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Partenaires INRAE Humboldt University Of Berlin University of Oslo (UiO) Department of Geosciences Oslo Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Oslo University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO) 2019 https://hal.science/hal-03960505 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 en eng HAL CCSD Copernicus info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 hal-03960505 https://hal.science/hal-03960505 doi:10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 ISSN: 1994-0424 EISSN: 1994-0416 The Cryosphere https://hal.science/hal-03960505 The Cryosphere, 2019, 13 (4), pp.1089-1123. ⟨10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019⟩ [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2019 ftunivnantes https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 2023-01-31T23:52:38Z Abstract. Ice-wedge polygons are common features of lowland tundra in the continuous permafrost zone and prone to rapid degradation through melting of ground ice. There are many interrelated processes involved in ice-wedge thermokarst and it is a major challenge to quantify their influence on the stability of the permafrost underlying the landscape. In this study we used a numerical modelling approach to investigate the degradation of ice wedges with a focus on the influence of hydrological conditions. Our study area was Samoylov Island in the Lena River delta of northern Siberia, for which we had in situ measurements to evaluate the model. The tailored version of the CryoGrid 3 land surface model was capable of simulating the changing microtopography of polygonal tundra and also regarded lateral fluxes of heat, water, and snow. We demonstrated that the approach is capable of simulating ice-wedge degradation and the associated transition from a low-centred to a high-centred polygonal microtopography. The model simulations showed ice-wedge degradation under recent climatic conditions of the study area, irrespective of hydrological conditions. However, we found that wetter conditions lead to an earlier onset of degradation and cause more rapid ground subsidence. We set our findings in correspondence to observed types of ice-wedge polygons in the study area and hypothesized on remaining discrepancies between modelled and observed ice-wedge thermokarst activity. Our quantitative approach provides a valuable complement to previous, more qualitative and conceptual, descriptions of the possible pathways of ice-wedge polygon evolution. We concluded that our study is a blueprint for investigating thermokarst landforms and marks a step forward in understanding the complex interrelationships between various processes shaping ice-rich permafrost landscapes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice lena river permafrost The Cryosphere Thermokarst Tundra wedge* Siberia Université de Nantes: HAL-UNIV-NANTES The Cryosphere 13 4 1089 1123 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Université de Nantes: HAL-UNIV-NANTES |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnantes |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
[SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences Nitzbon, Jan Langer, Moritz Westermann, Sebastian Martin, Léo Aas, Kjetil Schanke Boike, Julia Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions |
topic_facet |
[SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences |
description |
Abstract. Ice-wedge polygons are common features of lowland tundra in the continuous permafrost zone and prone to rapid degradation through melting of ground ice. There are many interrelated processes involved in ice-wedge thermokarst and it is a major challenge to quantify their influence on the stability of the permafrost underlying the landscape. In this study we used a numerical modelling approach to investigate the degradation of ice wedges with a focus on the influence of hydrological conditions. Our study area was Samoylov Island in the Lena River delta of northern Siberia, for which we had in situ measurements to evaluate the model. The tailored version of the CryoGrid 3 land surface model was capable of simulating the changing microtopography of polygonal tundra and also regarded lateral fluxes of heat, water, and snow. We demonstrated that the approach is capable of simulating ice-wedge degradation and the associated transition from a low-centred to a high-centred polygonal microtopography. The model simulations showed ice-wedge degradation under recent climatic conditions of the study area, irrespective of hydrological conditions. However, we found that wetter conditions lead to an earlier onset of degradation and cause more rapid ground subsidence. We set our findings in correspondence to observed types of ice-wedge polygons in the study area and hypothesized on remaining discrepancies between modelled and observed ice-wedge thermokarst activity. Our quantitative approach provides a valuable complement to previous, more qualitative and conceptual, descriptions of the possible pathways of ice-wedge polygon evolution. We concluded that our study is a blueprint for investigating thermokarst landforms and marks a step forward in understanding the complex interrelationships between various processes shaping ice-rich permafrost landscapes. |
author2 |
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Partenaires INRAE Humboldt University Of Berlin University of Oslo (UiO) Department of Geosciences Oslo Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Oslo University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nitzbon, Jan Langer, Moritz Westermann, Sebastian Martin, Léo Aas, Kjetil Schanke Boike, Julia |
author_facet |
Nitzbon, Jan Langer, Moritz Westermann, Sebastian Martin, Léo Aas, Kjetil Schanke Boike, Julia |
author_sort |
Nitzbon, Jan |
title |
Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions |
title_short |
Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions |
title_full |
Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions |
title_fullStr |
Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions |
title_sort |
pathways of ice-wedge degradation in polygonal tundra under different hydrological conditions |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-03960505 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 |
genre |
Ice lena river permafrost The Cryosphere Thermokarst Tundra wedge* Siberia |
genre_facet |
Ice lena river permafrost The Cryosphere Thermokarst Tundra wedge* Siberia |
op_source |
ISSN: 1994-0424 EISSN: 1994-0416 The Cryosphere https://hal.science/hal-03960505 The Cryosphere, 2019, 13 (4), pp.1089-1123. ⟨10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 hal-03960505 https://hal.science/hal-03960505 doi:10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1089 |
op_container_end_page |
1123 |
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1766027151555952640 |