TY - JOUR A1 - Radosavljevic, Boris A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Pollard, Wayne A1 - Overduin, Pier Paul A1 - Couture, Nicole A1 - Sachs, Torsten A1 - Helm, Veit A1 - Fritz, Michael T1 - Erosion and Flooding-Threats to Coastal Infrastructure in the Arctic: A Case Study from Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, Canada JF - Estuaries and coasts : journal of the Estuarine Research Federation N2 - Arctic coastal infrastructure and cultural and archeological sites are increasingly vulnerable to erosion and flooding due to amplified warming of the Arctic, sea level rise, lengthening of open water periods, and a predicted increase in frequency of major storms. Mitigating these hazards necessitates decision-making tools at an appropriate scale. The objectives of this paper are to provide such a tool by assessing potential erosion and flood hazards at Herschel Island, a UNESCO World Heritage candidate site. This study focused on Simpson Point and the adjacent coastal sections because of their archeological, historical, and cultural significance. Shoreline movement was analyzed using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) after digitizing shorelines from 1952, 1970, 2000, and 2011. For purposes of this analysis, the coast was divided in seven coastal reaches (CRs) reflecting different morphologies and/or exposures. Using linear regression rates obtained from these data, projections of shoreline position were made for 20 and 50 years into the future. Flood hazard was assessed using a least cost path analysis based on a high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) dataset and current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sea level estimates. Widespread erosion characterizes the study area. The rate of shoreline movement in different periods of the study ranges from -5.5 to 2.7 mI double dagger a(-1) (mean -0.6 mI double dagger a(-1)). Mean coastal retreat decreased from -0.6 mI double dagger a(-1) to -0.5 mI double dagger a(-1), for 1952-1970 and 1970-2000, respectively, and increased to -1.3 mI double dagger a(-1) in the period 2000-2011. Ice-rich coastal sections most exposed to wave attack exhibited the highest rates of coastal retreat. The geohazard map combines shoreline projections and flood hazard analyses to show that most of the spit area has extreme or very high flood hazard potential, and some buildings are vulnerable to coastal erosion. This study demonstrates that transgressive forcing may provide ample sediment for the expansion of depositional landforms, while growing more susceptible to overwash and flooding. KW - Arctic KW - Coastal erosion KW - UNESCO KW - Vulnerability mapping KW - Permafrost coasts Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-0046-0 SN - 1559-2723 SN - 1559-2731 VL - 39 SP - 900 EP - 915 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fritz, Michael A1 - Wolter, Juliane A1 - Rudaya, Natalia A1 - Palagushkina, Olga A1 - Nazarova, Larisa B. A1 - Obu, Jaroslav A1 - Rethemeyer, Janet A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Wetterich, Sebastian T1 - Holocene ice-wedge polygon development in northern Yukon permafrost peatlands (Canada) JF - Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal N2 - Ice-wedge polygon (IWP) peatlands in the Arctic and Subarctic are extremely vulnerable to climatic and environmental change. We present the results of a multidisciplinary paleoenvironmental study on IWPs in the northern Yukon, Canada. High-resolution laboratory analyses were carried out on a permafrost core and the overlying seasonally thawed (active) layer, from an IWP located in a drained lake basin on Herschel Island. In relation to 14 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates spanning the last 5000 years, we report sedimentary data including grain size distribution and biogeochemical parameters (organic carbon, nitrogen, C/N ratio, delta C-13), stable water isotopes (delta O-18, delta D), as well as fossil pollen, plant macrofossil and diatom assemblages. Three sediment units (SUS) correspond to the main stages of deposition (1) in a thermokarst lake (SW : 4950 to 3950 cal yrs BP), (2) during transition from lacustrine to palustrine conditions after lake drainage (SU2: 3950 to 3120 cal yrs BP), and (3) in palustrine conditions of the IWP field that developed after drainage (SU3: 3120 cal yrs BP to 2012 CE). The lacustrine phase (pre 3950 cal yrs BP) is characterized by planktonic-benthic and pioneer diatom species indicating circumneutral waters, and very few plant macrofossils. The pollen record has captured a regional signal of relatively stable vegetation composition and climate for the lacustrine stage of the record until 3950 cal yrs BP. Palustrine conditions with benthic and acidophilic diatom species characterize the peaty shallow-water environments of the low-centered IWP. The transition from lacustrine to palustrine conditions was accompanied by acidification and rapid revegetation of the lake bottom within about 100 years. Since the palustrine phase we consider the pollen record as a local vegetation proxy dominated by the plant communities growing in the IWP. Ice-wedge cracking in water-saturated sediments started immediately after lake drainage at about 3950 cal yrs BP and led to the formation of an IWP mire. Permafrost aggradation through downward closed-system freezing of the lake talik is indicated by the stable water isotope record. The originally submerged IWP center underwent gradual drying during the past 2000 years. This study highlights the sensitivity of permafrost landscapes to climate and environmental change throughout the Holocene. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Permafrost peatlands KW - Arctic KW - Thermokarst KW - Talik KW - Ice-wedge polygon KW - Pollen KW - Diatoms KW - Plant macrofossils KW - Stable water isotopes KW - Deuterium excess Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.02.008 SN - 0277-3791 VL - 147 SP - 279 EP - 297 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fritz, Michael A1 - Opel, Thomas A1 - Tanski, George A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Meyer, H. A1 - Eulenburg, A. A1 - Lantuit, Hugues T1 - Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in Arctic ground ice JF - The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union N2 - Thermal permafrost degradation and coastal erosion in the Arctic remobilize substantial amounts of organic carbon (OC) and nutrients which have accumulated in late Pleistocene and Holocene unconsolidated deposits. Permafrost vulnerability to thaw subsidence, collapsing coastlines and irreversible landscape change are largely due to the presence of large amounts of massive ground ice such as ice wedges. However, ground ice has not, until now, been considered to be a source of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and other elements which are important for ecosystems and carbon cycling. Here we show, using biogeochemical data from a large number of different ice bodies throughout the Arctic, that ice wedges have the greatest potential for DOC storage, with a maximum of 28.6 mg L-1 (mean: 9.6 mg L-1). Variation in DOC concentration is positively correlated with and explained by the concentrations and relative amounts of typically terrestrial cations such as Mg2+ and K+. DOC sequestration into ground ice was more effective during the late Pleistocene than during the Holocene, which can be explained by rapid sediment and OC accumulation, the prevalence of more easily degradable vegetation and immediate incorporation into permafrost. We assume that pristine snowmelt is able to leach considerable amounts of well-preserved and highly bioavailable DOC as well as other elements from surface sediments, which are rapidly frozen and stored in ground ice, especially in ice wedges, even before further degradation. We found that ice wedges in the Yedoma region represent a significant DOC (45.2 Tg) and DIC (33.6 Tg) pool in permafrost areas and a freshwater reservoir of 4200 km(2). This study underlines the need to discriminate between particulate OC and DOC to assess the availability and vulnerability of the permafrost car-bon pool for ecosystems and climate feedback upon mobilization. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-737-2015 SN - 1994-0416 SN - 1994-0424 VL - 9 IS - 2 SP - 737 EP - 752 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frank-Fahle, Beatrice A. A1 - Yergeau, Etienne A1 - Greer, Charles W. A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Wagner, Dirk T1 - Microbial functional potential and community composition in permafrost-affected soils of the NW canadian arctic JF - PLoS one N2 - Permafrost-affected soils are among the most obvious ecosystems in which current microbial controls on organic matter decomposition are changing as a result of global warming. Warmer conditions in polygonal tundra will lead to a deepening of the seasonal active layer, provoking changes in microbial processes and possibly resulting in exacerbated carbon degradation under increasing anoxic conditions. To identify current microbial assemblages in carbon rich, water saturated permafrost environments, four polygonal tundra sites were investigated on Herschel Island and the Yukon Coast, Western Canadian Arctic. Ion Torrent sequencing of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA amplicons revealed the presence of all major microbial soil groups and indicated a local, vertical heterogeneity of the polygonal tundra soil community with increasing depth. Microbial diversity was found to be highest in the surface layers, decreasing towards the permafrost table. Quantitative PCR analysis of functional genes involved in carbon and nitrogen-cycling revealed a high functional potential in the surface layers, decreasing with increasing active layer depth. We observed that soil properties driving microbial diversity and functional potential varied in each study site. These results highlight the small-scale heterogeneity of geomorphologically comparable sites, greatly restricting generalizations about the fate of permafrost-affected environments in a warming Arctic. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084761 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 1 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schaefer, Kevin A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Romanovsky, Vladimir E. A1 - Schuur, Edward A. G. A1 - Witt, Ronald T1 - The impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate JF - Environmental research letters N2 - Degrading permafrost can alter ecosystems, damage infrastructure, and release enough carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) to influence global climate. The permafrost carbon feedback (PCF) is the amplification of surface warming due to CO2 and CH4 emissions from thawing permafrost. An analysis of available estimates PCF strength and timing indicate 120 +/- 85 Gt of carbon emissions from thawing permafrost by 2100. This is equivalent to 5.7 +/- 4.0% of total anthropogenic emissions for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario and would increase global temperatures by 0.29 +/- 0.21 degrees C or 7.8 +/- 5.7%. For RCP4.5, the scenario closest to the 2 degrees C warming target for the climate change treaty, the range of cumulative emissions in 2100 from thawing permafrost decreases to between 27 and 100 Gt C with temperature increases between 0.05 and 0.15 degrees C, but the relative fraction of permafrost to total emissions increases to between 3% and 11%. Any substantial warming results in a committed, long-term carbon release from thawing permafrost with 60% of emissions occurring after 2100, indicating that not accounting for permafrost emissions risks overshooting the 2 degrees C warming target. Climate projections in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), and any emissions targets based on those projections, do not adequately account for emissions from thawing permafrost and the effects of the PCF on global climate. We recommend the IPCC commission a special assessment focusing on the PCF and its impact on global climate to supplement the AR5 in support of treaty negotiation. KW - permafrost carbon feedback KW - permafrost KW - global climate Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/8/085003 SN - 1748-9326 VL - 9 IS - 8 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fritz, Michael A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Wetterich, Sebastian A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - De Pascale, Gregory P. A1 - Pollard, Wayne H. A1 - Schirrmeister, Lutz T1 - Late glacial and holocene sedimentation, vegetation, and climate history from easternmost Beringia (northern Yukon Territory, Canada) JF - Quaternary research : an interdisciplinary journal N2 - Beringian climate and environmental history are poorly characterized at its easternmost edge. Lake sediments from the northern Yukon Territory have recorded sedimentation, vegetation, summer temperature and precipitation changes since similar to 16 cal ka BP. Herb-dominated tundra persisted until similar to 14.7 cal ka BP with mean July air temperatures <= 5 degrees C colder and annual precipitation 50 to 120 mm lower than today. Temperatures rapidly increased during the Bolling/Allerod interstadial towards modern conditions, favoring establishment of Betula-Salix shrub tundra. Pollen-inferred temperature reconstructions recorded a pronounced Younger Dryas stadial in east Beringia with a temperature drop of similar to 1.5 degrees C (similar to 2.5 to 3.0 degrees C below modern conditions) and low net precipitation (90 to 170 mm) but show little evidence of an early Holocene thermal maximum in the pollen record. Sustained low net precipitation and increased evaporation during early Holocene warming suggest a moisture-limited spread of vegetation and an obscured summer temperature maximum. Northern Yukon Holocene moisture availability increased in response to a retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet, postglacial sea level rise, and decreasing summer insolation that in turn led to establishment of Alnus-Berula shrub tundra from similar to 5 cal ka BP until present, and conversion of a continental climate into a coastal-maritime climate near the Beaufort Sea. KW - Trout Lake KW - Laurentide Ice Sheet KW - Younger Dryas KW - Holocene thermal maximum KW - Lake sediments KW - Pollen KW - Temperature reconstruction KW - Precipitation reconstruction KW - WAPLS KW - Modern analogue technique Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2012.07.007 SN - 0033-5894 VL - 78 IS - 3 SP - 549 EP - 560 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - THES A1 - Lantuit, Hugues T1 - The modification of arctic permafrost coastlines T1 - Die Veränderung der arktischen Permafrostküstenlinien N2 - The arctic region is undergoing the most rapid environmental change experienced on Earth, and the rate of change is expected to increase over the coming decades. Arctic coasts are particularly vulnerable because they lie at the interface between terrestrial systems dominated by permafrost and marine systems dominated by sea ice. An increased rise in sea level and degradation of sea-ice as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its most recent report and as observed recently in the Arctic will likely result in greater rates of coastal retreat. An increase in coastal erosion would result in dramatic increases in the volume of sediment, organic carbon and contaminants to the Arctic Ocean. These in turn have the potential to create dramatic changes in the geochemistry and biodiversity of the nearshore zone and affect the Arctic Ocean carbon cycle. To calculate estimates of organic carbon input from coastal erosion to the Arctic Ocean, current methods rely on the length of the coastline in the form of non self-similar line datasets. This thesis however emphasizes that using shorelines drawn at different scales can induce changes in the amount of sediment released by 30% in some cases. It proposes a substitute method of computations of erosion based on areas instead of lengths (i.e. buffers instead of shoreline lengths) which can be easily implemented at the circum-Arctic scale. Using this method, variations in quantities of eroded sediment are, on average, 70% less affected by scale changes and are therefore a more reliable method of calculation. Current estimates of coastal erosion rates in the Arctic are scarce and long-term datasets are a handful, which complicates assessment and prognosis of coastal processes, in particular the occurrence of coastal hazards. This thesis aims at filling the gap by providing the first long-term dataset (1951-2006) of coastal erosion on the Bykovsky Peninsula, North-East Siberia. This study shows that the coastline, which is made of ice-rich permafrost, retreated at a mean annual rate of 0.59 m/yr between 1951and 2006. Rates were highly variable: 97.0 % of the rates observed were less than 2 m/yr and 81.6% were less than 1m/yr. However, no significant trend in erosion could be recorded despite the study of five temporal subperiods within 1951-2006. The juxtaposition of wind records could not help to explain erosion records either and this thesis emphasizes the local controls on erosion, in particular the cryostratigraphy, the proximity of the Peninsula to the Lena River Delta freshwater plume and the local topographical constraints on swell development. On ice-rich coastal stretches of the Artic, the interaction of coastal dynamics and permafrost leads to the occurrence of spectacular “C-shaped” depressions termed retrogressive thaw slumps which can reach lengths of up to 650 m. On Herschel Island and at King Point (Yukon Coastal Plain, northern Canada), topographical, sedimentological and biogeochemical surveys were conducted to investigate the present and past activity of these landforms. In particular, undisturbed tundra areas were compared with zones of former slump activity, now stabilized and re-vegetated. This thesis shows that stabilized areas are drier and less prone to plant growth than undisturbed areas and feature fundamentally different geotechnical properties. Radiocarbon dating and topographical surveys indicated until up to 300 BP a likely period of dramatic slump activity on Herschel Island, similar to the one currently observed, which led to the creation of these surfaces. This thesis hypothesizes the occurrence of a ~250 years cycle of slump activity on the Herschel Island shoreline based on the surveyed topography and cryostratigraphy and anticipates higher frequency of slump activity in the future. The variety of processes described in this thesis highlights the changing nature of the intensity and frequency of physical processes acting upon the arctic coast. It also challenges current perceptions of the threats to existing industry and community infrastructure in the Arctic. The increasing presence of humans on Artic coasts coupled with the expected development of shipping will drive an increase in economical and industrial activity on these coasts which remains to be addressed scientifically. N2 - In der Arktis sind die derzeit stärksten Umweltänderungen weltweit zu beobachten, und es wird angenommen, dass sich deren Ausmaß sogar noch verstärken wird. Aufgrund ihrer Lage zwischen terrestrischen, von Permafrost geprägten Systemen und marinen, von Meereis geprägten Systemen, sind arktische Küstenregionen im Zuge dieses Wandels besonders sensibel. Ein verstärkter Meeresspiegelanstieg und der Rückgang des Meereises, wie vom letzten Bericht des Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) vorhergesagt und in letzter Zeit in der Arktis beobachtet, werden zu erhöhten Küstenrückzugsraten führen. Ein Anstieg der Küstenerosion würde zu einer drastischen Erhöhung von Sedimentfracht, organischem Kohlenstoff und von Schadstoffen im Arktischen Ozean führen. Durch diese wiederum drohen dramatische Änderungen in der Geochemie und Biodiversität der küstennahen Zone sowie Veränderungen im Kohlenstoffkreislauf des Arktischen Ozeans. Modelle zur Berechnung des Eintrags organischen Kohlenstoffs in den Arktischen Ozean infolge von Küstenerosion basieren auf der Länge der Küstenlinie in Form von „non self-similar“ Datensätzen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt jedoch, dass die Nutzung von Küstenlinien unterschiedlicher Maßstäbe Abweichungen in der berechneten Sedimentfracht von bis zu 30 % zur Folge haben kann. Es wird daher eine alternative Methode zur Berechnung von Erosionsraten vorgeschlagen, die auf Flächen, nicht auf Längenangaben basiert (z.B. Pufferzonen anstelle von Küstenlinien) und die auf einfache Art und Weise für die Zirkum-Arktis angewandt werden kann. Durch diese Methode ist die Variation der berechneten Erosionsmengen um durchschnittlich 70 % weniger von Maßstabsänderungen betroffen. Damit kann eine deutlich höhere Zuverlässigkeit in den Prognosen erreicht werden. Aktuelle Abschätzungen von Küstenerosionsraten in der Arktis sind spärlich und es gibt nur sehr wenige Langzeitdatensätze, so dass Einschätzungen und Prognosen zu Prozessen im Küstenbereich, insbesondere von dessen Gefährdung, schwierig sind. Die vorliegende Arbeit soll dazu beigetragen, diese Lücke zu schließen, indem der erste Langzeitdatensatz (1951-2006) zu Küstenerosionsraten auf der Bykovsky Halbinsel in Nordost-Sibirien bereitgestellt wird. Die Arbeit zeigt, dass die Küstenlinie auf der Bykovsky Halbinsel, die durch eisreichen Permafrost geprägt ist, im Zeitraum 1951-2006 um durchschnittlich 0,59 m pro Jahr zurückging. Die Rückzugsraten waren dabei äußerst variabel: 97 % aller ermittelten Raten betrugen weniger als 2 m und 81,6 % weniger als 1 m pro Jahr. Ein signifikanter Trend in den Erosionsraten konnte dabei jedoch trotz Analyse von fünf verschiedenen zeitlichen Epochen nicht festgestellt werden. Auch die Gegenüberstellung von Winddatensätzen kann die Erosionsraten nicht erklären. Deshalb stellt diese Arbeit die Bedeutung lokaler Kontrollmechanismen wie Kryostratigraphie, die Nähe der Bykovsky Halbinsel zum Lena-Delta und seinen Süßwasservorkommen sowie die lokale Topographie und deren Einfluss auf Wellengang und Wellenbildung heraus. Innerhalb eisreicher arktischer Küstenabschnitte führt die Interaktion zwischen Küstendynamik und Permafrost zur Ausprägung eindrucksvoller, „C-förmiger“ Depressionen, sogenannten regressiven auftaubedingten Rutschungen, die Längen von bis zu 650 m erreichen können. Auf Herschel Island und am King Point (Yukon Küste, Nordkanada) wurden topographische, sedimentologische und biogeochemische Aufnahmen durchgeführt, um die rezente und vergangene Dynamik dieser Landschaftsformen nachvollziehen zu können. Insbesondere wurden ungestörte Tundrenareale mit ehemals aktiven Rutschungszonen, die heute stabil und wiederbewachsen sind, verglichen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt, dass diese ehemaligen, heute stabilisierten Rutschungszonen trockenere und für Pflanzenwachstum weniger geeignete Standorte darstellen als ungestörte Bereiche und überdies fundamental andere geotechnische Eigenschaften aufweisen. Radiocarbon-Datierungen und topographische Aufnahmen weisen darauf hin, dass es auf Herschel Island und am King Point bis vor 300 Jahren eine Periode ausgeprägter, auftaubedingter Rutschungsaktivitäten ähnlich denen, die derzeit auf der Insel beobachtet werden können, gegeben haben muss, die zur Ausbildung dieser Oberflächenstrukturen geführt haben. Diese Arbeit stellt auf Grundlage der untersuchten Topographie und Kryostratigraphie die Hypothese auf, dass an der Küstenlinie von Herschel Island ein etwa 250-jähriger Zyklus von Rutschungsaktivitäten existiert und antizipiert eine höhere Frequenz im Auftreten dieser Rutschungsaktivitäten für die Zukunft. Die Vielfalt an Faktoren, die in dieser Arbeit beschrieben wurden, hebt die veränderte Intensität und Frequenz der auf arktische Küsten einwirkenden physikalischen Prozesse hervor. Dadurch werden auch aktuelle Auffassungen zur Bedrohung bestehender Industrie und Infrastruktur in der Arktis hinterfragt. Im Zusammenhang mit dem erwarteten Ausbau der Schifffahrt treibt der zunehmende anthropogene Einfluss die ökonomische und industrielle Entwicklung in arktischen Küstenregionen an, die Gegenstand einer wissenschaftlichen Betrachtung sein sollten. KW - Permafrost KW - Arktis KW - Küstenerosion KW - Thermokarst KW - permafrost KW - arctic KW - coastal erosion KW - thermokarst Y1 - 2008 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19732 ER -