Permafrost Terrain Stability and Thermokarst Monitoring: - Arctic LCC

observed in lakes, with as little as 2 percent of the basin affected by thermokarst. These
effects persisted for decades after slump development had ceased.
76. Kokelj, S.V., Lantz, T.C., Kanigan, J., Smith, S.L., and Coutts, R., 2009, Origin and
polycyclic behaviour of tundra thaw slumps, Mackenzie Delta region, Northwest
Territories, Canada: Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, v. 20, no. 2, p. 173–184.
This study addresses the effect of retrogressive thaw slumps on tundra landscapes and talik
formation. The difference in temperatures on virgin tundra and on retrogressive thaw slump
scars was measured, and this information was used to inform a two-dimensional numerical
model of heat flow and talik formation in lakes. Simulations were compared to digital aerial
photography that had been analyzed to identify slump age and evidence of polycyclic
behavior (overlapping slumps of multiple ages). Slumps were determined to greatly increase
heat flow into the ground (owing to removal of the surface organic cover) and also to
promote winter snow accumulation, which inhibits ground heat loss. Together, these
processes act to warm and potentially to thaw permafrost. Feedbacks between slumping,
talik enlargement, and thaw subsidence may drive polycyclic retrogressive thaw slumping.
77. Kokelj, S.V., Zajdlik, B., and Thompson, M.S., 2009, The impacts of thawing
permafrost on the chemistry of lakes across the subarctic boreal‐tundra transition,
Mackenzie Delta region, Canada: Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, v. 20, no. 2,
p. 185–199.
This paper compares lake water chemistry for 39 lakes that have not been affected by
thermokarst with 24 lakes that have been affected by thermokarst. Higher concentrations of
major ions and clearer water (but no change in dissolved organic carbon) were noted in the
thermokarst lakes. Significant correlations were made between the percentage of the basin
affected by thermokarst and lake ionic load. In unaltered lakes, water ionic strength was
most affected by fire-induced active-layer deepening. The type of surface deposits was
determined to have the greatest control on lake dissolved organic carbon (DOC), with the
highest DOC concentrations and color in undisturbed lakes with lacustrine catchments.
Environmental factors, including surficial geology and nearness to tree line or coast, were
subordinate to the main driver of water-quality variation, which was permafrost degradation.
78. Kozlenko, N., and Jeffries, M.O., 2000, Bathymetric mapping of shallow water in thaw
lakes on the North Slope of Alaska with spaceborne imaging radar: Arctic, v. 53, no. 3,
p. 306–316.
This paper demonstrates methodology that can be used to create bathymetric maps of
shallow lakes on the North Slope of Alaska using spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
imaging. This technique only works for lakes or depths within lakes that are shallower than
the maximum growth of winter ice in a given year. A time series of SAR imagery was
analyzed to define lake-bottom contours that transitioned from floating-ice to grounded-ice
conditions during the winter, and was compared to an ice-growth model. The techniques
only resulted in modest agreement between the bathymetry maps created with the SAR
technique and the standard bathymetric maps acquired by sonar during the summer.
79. Lacelle, D., Bjornson, J., and Lauriol, B., 2009, Climatic and geomorphic factors
affecting contemporary (1950–2004) activity of retrogressive thaw slumps on the
Aklavik Plateau, Richardson Mountains, NWT, Canada: Permafrost and Periglacial
Processes, v. 21, no. 1, p. 1–15.
This paper uses aerial photography to identify retrogressive thaw slumps on the Aklavik
Plateau, in the Northwest Territories. The steps in the initiation and the morphology of the
features are discussed, and the initiation and presence are compared to climate factors. Thaw
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