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| Titel |
Seasonal thaw settlement at drained thermokarst lake basins, Arctic Alaska |
| VerfasserIn |
L. Liu, K. Schaefer, A. Gusmeroli, G. Grosse, B. M. Jones, T. Zhang, A. D. Parsekian, H. A. Zebker |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1994-0416
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: The Cryosphere ; 8, no. 3 ; Nr. 8, no. 3 (2014-05-05), S.815-826 |
| Datensatznummer |
250116148
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/tc-8-815-2014.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Drained thermokarst lake basins (DTLBs) are ubiquitous landforms on Arctic
tundra lowland. Their dynamic states are seldom
investigated, despite their importance for landscape stability,
hydrology, nutrient fluxes, and carbon cycling.
Here we report results based on high-resolution
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements using
space-borne data for a study area located on the North Slope of Alaska near Prudhoe Bay, where we
focus on the seasonal thaw settlement within DTLBs, averaged between 2006
and 2010. The majority (14) of the 18 DTLBs in the study area
exhibited seasonal thaw settlement of 3–4 cm. However, four of the DTLBs
examined exceeded 4 cm of thaw settlement, with one basin experiencing up to
12 cm. Combining the InSAR observations with the in situ active layer
thickness measured using ground penetrating radar and mechanical probing, we
calculated thaw strain, an index of thaw settlement strength along
a transect across the basin that underwent large thaw settlement. We found
thaw strains of 10–35% at the basin center, suggesting the seasonal
melting of ground ice as a possible mechanism for the large settlement.
These findings emphasize the dynamic nature of permafrost landforms,
demonstrate the capability of the InSAR technique to remotely monitor
surface deformation of individual DTLBs, and illustrate the combination of
ground-based and remote sensing observations to estimate thaw strain. Our
study highlights the need for better description of the spatial
heterogeneity of landscape-scale processes for regional assessment of
surface dynamics on Arctic coastal lowlands. |
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