“Thawtrendr”: Characterizing spatial and temporal patterns of thermokarst and carbon dynamics from regional to pan-Arctic scale using remote sensing and ecosystem modeling

Santonu Goswami, Environmental Sciences Division, ORNL, goswamis@ornl.gov (Presenter)
Daniel Hayes, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, hayesdj@ornl.gov
Michael Joseph Hughes, University of Tennessee, jhughes@utk.edu
Guido Grosse, University of Alaska at Fairbanks, ggrosse@gi.alaska.edu
Benjamin Jones, USGS Alaska Science Center, bjones@usgs.gov
Victoria Sloan, Environmental Sciences Division, ORNL, sloanvl@ornl.gov
Richard J Norby, Environmental Sciences Division, ORNL, norbyrj@ornl.gov

The increased thawing of permafrost due to climate warming accelerates soil microbial decomposition of the frozen carbon pool, creating a positive feedback to climate. The thawing of ice-rich permafrost drives land surface dynamics called thermokarst characterized by irregular surfaces of marshy hollows and small hummocks across the Arctic landscape. The development of these thermokarst or thermoerosional features depends on local permafrost conditions, hydrology, geomorphology, vegetation, and climate, but their degree of dependence are not well understood across scales. Current inventories of thermokarst processes exist at local scale but poor understanding of these processes at regional scale makes it difficult to quantify their impacts on the pan-Arctic scale carbon budget. Developing abilities to characterize the dependence of thermokarst processes on various environmental factors as well as being able to quantify these processes across scales will help us to better understand their feedback to the pan-Arctic carbon dynamics with reduced uncertainties. Developing an approach to characterize these processes over multiple spatial and temporal scales across the pan-Arctic using remote sensing and ecosystem models can help us achieve this goal.

Here we describe a proposed system, “Thawtrendr”, which integrates satellite remote sensing and ecosystem models to characterize spatial and temporal distribution of thermokarst and carbon dynamics from local to pan-Arctic scales. Our goals are to develop:

• inventories of thermokarst processes

• improved understanding of their relations to various environmental conditions

at local to pan-Arctic scale by using a combination of field observations, satellite remote sensing and ecosystem models. Extrapolation to the pan-Arctic scale will be done based on our understanding of regionalized permafrost classification scheme as described in the permafrost regionalization map (PeRM). This project will use resources and knowledge gained through a DOE-funded early career project and in close collaboration with the NSF Vulnerability of Permafrost RCN as well as other on-going projects.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Poster Session 1-B   (Tue 4:30 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Related Activity or Previously Funded TE Activity

Poster Location ID: 39