This dataset contains information on cryostratigraphy and ground-ice content of the upper permafrost, which was based on the results of 22 field trips in 2018-2023. Field studies were performed in various regions of Alaska and Canadian Arctic including the following study areas: Utqiagvik (former Barrow), Teshekpuk Lake, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Toolik Lake, Jago River, Itkillik River, Anaktuvuk River, Fairbanks, Dalton Highway, Glennallen, Point Lay, Bylot Island (Canada), Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk (Canada). Cryostratigraphy of the upper permafrost was studied mainly in coastal and riverbank exposures and frozen cores obtained from drilling with the SIPRE corer. Permafrost exposures and cores were described and photographed in the field, and obtained soil samples were delivered to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for additional descriptions and analyses. Ice contents of frozen soils (including gravimetric and volumetric moisture content, excess-ice content) were measured. The dataset includes cryostratigraphic descriptions, gravimetric (GMC) and volumetric (VMC) moisture content, excess-ice content (EIC), electrical conductivity (EC) and photographs of the permafrost exposures and frozen cores obtained from boreholes.
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Saline permafrost degradation below a shallow thermokarst lake in northern Alaska, 2008-2023
This dataset supports the findings of the research paper submitted to the journal Geophysical Research Letters that documents the rapid thaw of saline permafrost below a shallow thermokarst lake near Utqiagvik, Alaska. The lake, East Twin Lake, is located in the Barrow Environmental Observatory. We conducted repeat drilling-based surveys at East Twin Lake in the Barrow Environmental Observatory near Utqiagvik, Alaska between 2008 and 2023. These field data were integrated with transient electromagnetic (TEM) near-surface geophysics soundings in 2016 and 2022 and analysis of a time-series of wintertime Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite imagery from 2015 to 2023 to assess changes in lake and sub-lake properties. Finally, we assessed the impact of thawing saline permafrost on shore erosion by quantifying a regime shift in the lateral expansion rate of East Twin Lake between 1948 and 2022. The datasets consist of a CSV file with the point measurements from the drilling campaign, processed TEM data along with the script, a table of SAR backscatter values extracted for three lakes, and a table with lake expansion rates for East Twin Lake.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10473684
- Publisher / Repository:
- NSF Arctic Data Center
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- ["Arctic","Geophysics","Remote Sensing","Saline Permafrost","Thermokarst Lakes"]
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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This dataset contains information on cryostratigraphy and ground-ice content of the upper permafrost , which was based on the results of field work in the Utqiagvik (former Barrow, Western Coastal Plain [CPW]), Teshekpuk Lake (Central Coastal Plain [CPC]), Inigok (Sand Sea [SS] and Loess Belt [LB]), Oumalik (LB), and Atqasuk (LB) study areas, northern Alaska (April 16 - May 2, 2019). Cryostratigraphy was studied mainly in drained-lakes basins (DLB); several boreholes were drilled at the primary surface of the Arctic Coastal Plain (CPC and SS) and yedoma surface (LB). A total of 28 boreholes were drilled through the frozen active layer and the upper permafrost, 19 of them were drilled in DLB, 6 – at the main surface near weather stations, and 3 – in the Pik dunes area. Permafrost drilling was performed with the SIPRE corer. Entire cores were described and photographed in the field, and more than 33 meters of frozen cores were delivered to the University of Alaska Fairbanks cold room for additional descriptions and analyses (carbon-14, ice content). During the lab study of the cores, more than 200 samples were taken for evaluation of ice content (including gravimetric and volumetric moisture content, excess-ice content) of frozen soils. The dataset includes cryostratigraphic descriptions, ice-content values, and photographs of the frozen cores obtained from 28 boreholes.more » « less
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Abstract Permafrost warming and degradation is well documented across the Arctic. However, observation‐ and model‐based studies typically consider thaw to occur at 0°C, neglecting the widespread occurrence of saline permafrost in coastal plain regions. In this study, we document rapid saline permafrost thaw below a shallow arctic lake. Over the 15‐year period, the lakebed subsided by 0.6 m as ice‐rich, saline permafrost thawed. Repeat transient electromagnetic measurements show that near‐surface bulk sediment electrical conductivity increased by 198% between 2016 and 2022. Analysis of wintertime Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite imagery indicates a transition from a bedfast to a floating ice lake with brackish water due to saline permafrost thaw. The regime shift likely contributed to the 65% increase in thermokarst lake lateral expansion rates. Our results indicate that thawing saline permafrost may be contributing to an increase in landscape change rates in the Arctic faster than anticipated.
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