TY - THES A1 - Obu, Jaroslav T1 - Effect of mass wasting on soil organic carbon storage and coastal erosion in permafrost environments T1 - Einfluss von Hangbewegungen auf Kohlenstoffspeicher und Küstenerosion in Permafrostgebieten N2 - Accelerated permafrost thaw under the warming Arctic climate can have a significant impact on Arctic landscapes. Areas underlain by permafrost store high amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC). Permafrost disturbances may contribute to increased release of carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere. Coastal erosion, amplified through a decrease in Arctic sea-ice extent, may also mobilise SOC from permafrost. Large expanses of permafrost affected land are characterised by intense mass-wasting processes such as solifluction, active-layer detachments and retrogressive thaw slumping. Our aim is to assess the influence of mass wasting on SOC storage and coastal erosion. We studied SOC storage on Herschel Island by analysing active-layer and permafrost samples, and compared non-disturbed sites to those characterised by mass wasting. Mass-wasting sites showed decreased SOC storage and material compaction, whereas sites characterised by material accumulation showed increased storage. The SOC storage on Herschel Island is also significantly correlated to catenary position and other slope characteristics. We estimated SOC storage on Herschel Island to be 34.8 kg C m-2. This is comparable to similar environments in northwest Canada and Alaska. Coastal erosion was analysed using high resolution digital elevation models (DEMs). Two LIDAR scanning of the Yukon Coast were done in 2012 and 2013. Two DEMs with 1 m horizontal resolution were generated and used to analyse elevation changes along the coast. The results indicate considerable spatial variability in short-term coastline erosion and progradation. The high variability was related to the presence of mass-wasting processes. Erosion and deposition extremes were recorded where the retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) activity was most pronounced. Released sediment can be transported by longshore drift and affects not only the coastal processes in situ but also along adjacent coasts. We also calculated volumetric coastal erosion for Herschel Island by comparing a stereo-photogrammetrically derived DEM from 2004 with LIDAR DEMs. We compared this volumetric erosion to planimetric erosion, which was based on coastlines digitised from satellite imagery. We found a complex relationship between planimetric and volumetric coastal erosion, which we attribute to frequent occurrence of mass-wasting processes along the coasts. Our results suggest that volumetric erosion corresponds better with environmental forcing and is more suitable for the estimation of organic carbon fluxes than planimetric erosion. Mass wasting can decrease SOC storage by several mechanisms. Increased aeration following disturbance may increase microbial activity, which accelerates organic matter decomposition. New hydrological conditions that follow the mass wasting event can cause leaching of freshly exposed material. Organic rich material can also be directly removed into the sea or into a lake. On the other hand the accumulation of mobilised material can result in increased SOC storage. Mass-wasting related accumulations of mobilised material can significantly impact coastal erosion in situ or along the adjacent coast by longshore drift. Therefore, the coastline movement observations cannot completely resolve the actual sediment loss due to these temporary accumulations. The predicted increase of mass-wasting activity in the course of Arctic warming may increase SOC mobilisation and coastal erosion induced carbon fluxes. N2 - Die Erwärmung des arktischen Klimas beschleunigt das Tauen des Permafrosts. Das kann einen erheblichen Einfluss auf arktische Landschaften haben. Permafrostböden speichern große Mengen Kohlenstoff, der aufgrund von Umlagerungsprozessen wie beispielsweise Massenversatz mobilisiert und als Kohlendioxid oder Methan freigesetzt werden kann. Der Kohlenstoff im Boden kann auch durch Küstenerosion mobilisiert werden, die durch den Rückgang des arktischen Meereises und höhere Meerwassertemperaturen künftig stark zunehmen wird. Große Teile der arktischen Permafrostgebiete werden durch intensive Massenversatzprozesse wie Solifluktion, Rutschungen in der saisonalen Auftauschicht (active layer detachments) und rückschreitende Taurutschungen (retrogressive thaw slumps) gekennzeichnet. Unser Ziel ist es, den Einfluss dieser Massenbewegungen auf Kohlenstoffspeicher und Küstenerosion zu bewerten. Wir haben Auftauschicht- und Permafrostproben untersucht, um den Kohlenstoffspeicher für Herschel Island zu ermitteln. Wir verglichen ungestörtes Terrain mit durch Massenversatz gekennzeichnetem Terrain. Letzteres zeigte verringerte Bodenkohlenstoffspeicher und Materialverdichtung. Durch Akkumulation organischen Materials gekennzeichnete Lagen zeigten eine Zunahme des Kohlenstoffpeichers. Der Bodenkohlenstoffspeicher auf Herschel Insel korreliert außerdem deutlich mit der Lage in Senken und der Hangneigung. Der Kohlenstoffspeicher im Boden von Herschel Island ist etwa so hoch wie in vergleichbaren Landschaften im Nordwesten Kanadas und Alaskas. Wir schätzen ihn auf 34,8 kg C m-2. Wir ermittelten Küstenerosionsraten mit hochauflösenden Digitalen Geländemodellen (DGM). Dazu benutzten wir zwei LIDAR Aufnahmen der Yukon Küste aus den Jahren 2012 und 2013. Zwei DGMs mit 1 m horizontaler Auflösung wurden erzeugt und verwendet, um die Höhenunterschiede entlang der Küste zu analysieren. Wir fanden eine erhebliche räumliche Variabilität in kurzfristigen Küstenerosionsraten. Wir erklärten die hohe Variabilität mit der räumlichen Heterogenität des Vorkommens von Massenversatzprozessen. Besonders die sogenannten retrogressive thaw slumps bewirkten extrem hohe Erosionsraten an einigen Küstenabschnitten. Durch Strandversetzung wird erodiertes Sediment die Küste entlang transportiert und beeinflusst so nicht nur lokale Küstenprozesse, sondern auch benachbarte Küstenabschnitte. Um die längerfristige Entwicklung der Küste einschätzen zu können, haben wir volumetrische Erosionsraten aus dem Vergleich eines stereophotogrammetrisch abgeleiteten DGM aus dem Jahr 2004 mit unseren LIDAR DGMs errechnet. Planimetrische Erosionsraten wurden anhand von digitalisierten Küstenlinien aus Satellitenbildern berechnet. So konnte auch der Einfluss von volumetrischer und planimetrischer Erosion eingeschätzt werden. Wir fanden komplexe Zusammenhänge zwischen planimetrischer und volumetrischer Küstenerosion, die wir auf das gehäufte Auftreten von Massenversatzprozessen entlang einiger Küstenabschnitte zurückführen. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass volumetrische Erosionsraten den beobachteten Umweltbedingungen besser entsprechen als planimetrische Erosionsraten und somit besser geeignet sind zur Einschätzung organischer Kohlenstoffflüsse in Permafrostgebieten entlang der arktischen Küsten. Massenversatz kann den Kohlenstoffspeicher im Boden mit verschiedenen Mechanismen verringern. Erhöhte Belüftung kann die mikrobielle Aktivität erhöhen, die den Abbau organischer Materie beschleunigt. Durch veränderte hydrologische Bedingungen nach Massenversatz können Stoffe aus der Auftauschicht ausgewaschen werden. Organikreiche Stoffe können auch direkt ins einem Meer in einen See erodiert werden. Andererseits kann die Akkumulation von umgelagertem Material zu einer Erhöhung des Bodenkohlenstoffspeichers an anderer Stelle führen. Die Akkumulation von Material aus Massenversatz kann erhebliche Auswirkungen auf die lokale Küstenerosion, durch Strandversetzung aber auch auf angrenzende Küstenabschnitte haben. Allein durch Beobachtung der Veränderung von Küstenlinien kann aufgrund solcher temporärer Ansammlungen die Einschätzung des tatsächlichen Sedimentverlustes pro Küstenabschnitt nicht präzise wiedergegeben werden. Im Zuge der prognostizierten Erwärmung der Arktis und der damit verbundene Zunahme von Massenversatzprozessen und Küstenerosion wird sich die Mobilisierung von Bodenkohlenstoff aus Permafrost zukünftig beschleunigen. KW - mass wasting KW - soil organic carbon KW - coastal erosion KW - Massenversatzprozesse KW - Kohlenstoffspeicher KW - Küstenerosion Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-90599 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Obu, Jaroslav A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Fritz, Michael A1 - Pollard, Wayne H. A1 - Sachs, Torsten A1 - Guenther, Frank T1 - Relation between planimetric and volumetric measurements of permafrost coast erosion: a case study from Herschel Island, western Canadian Arctic JF - Polar research : a Norwegian journal of Polar research N2 - Ice-rich permafrost coasts often undergo rapid erosion, which results in land loss and release of considerable amounts of sediment, organic carbon and nutrients, impacting the near-shore ecosystems. Because of the lack of volumetric erosion data, Arctic coastal erosion studies typically report on planimetric erosion. Our aim is to explore the relationship between planimetric and volumetric coastal erosion measurements and to update the coastal erosion rates on Herschel Island in the Canadian Arctic. We used high-resolution digital elevation models to compute sediment release and compare volumetric data to planimetric estimations of coastline movements digitized from satellite imagery. Our results show that volumetric erosion is locally less variable and likely corresponds better with environmental forcing than planimetric erosion. Average sediment release volumes are in the same range as sediment release volumes calculated from coastline movements combined with cliff height. However, the differences between these estimates are significant for small coastal sections. We attribute the differences between planimetric and volumetric coastal erosion measurements to mass wasting, which is abundant along the coasts of Herschel Island. The average recorded coastline retreat on Herschel Island was 0.68m a(-1) for the period 2000-2011. Erosion rates increased by more than 50% in comparison with the period 1970-2000, which is in accordance with a recently observed increase along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. The estimated annual sediment release was 28.2 m(3) m(-1) with resulting fluxes of 590 kg C m(-1) and 104 kg N m(-1). KW - Coastal erosion KW - LiDAR KW - carbon fluxes KW - mass wasting KW - landslides KW - digital elevation model Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v35.30313 SN - 0800-0395 SN - 1751-8369 VL - 35 SP - 57 EP - 99 PB - Co-Action Publ. CY - Jarfalla 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 - Coch, Caroline A1 - Lamoureux, Scott F. A1 - Knoblauch, Christian A1 - Eischeid, Isabell A1 - Fritz, Michael A1 - Obu, Jaroslav A1 - Lantuit, Hugues T1 - Summer rainfall dissolved organic carbon, solute, and sediment fluxes in a small Arctic coastal catchment on Herschel Island (Yukon Territory, Canada) JF - Artic science N2 - Coastal ecosystems in the Arctic are affected by climate change. As summer rainfall frequency and intensity are projected to increase in the future, more organic matter, nutrients and sediment could bemobilized and transported into the coastal nearshore zones. However, knowledge of current processes and future changes is limited. We investigated streamflow dynamics and the impacts of summer rainfall on lateral fluxes in a small coastal catchment on Herschel Island in the western Canadian Arctic. For the summer monitoring periods of 2014-2016, mean dissolved organic matter flux over 17 days amounted to 82.7 +/- 30.7 kg km(-2) and mean total dissolved solids flux to 5252 +/- 1224 kg km(-2). Flux of suspended sediment was 7245 kg km(-2) in 2015, and 369 kg km(-2) in 2016. We found that 2.0% of suspended sediment was composed of particulate organic carbon. Data and hysteresis analysis suggest a limited supply of sediments; their interannual variability is most likely caused by short-lived localized disturbances. In contrast, our results imply that dissolved organic carbon is widely available throughout the catchment and exhibits positive linear relationship with runoff. We hypothesize that increased projected rainfall in the future will result in a similar increase of dissolved organic carbon fluxes. KW - permafrost KW - hydrology KW - lateral fluxes KW - hysteresis KW - climate change Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2018-0010 SN - 2368-7460 VL - 4 IS - 4 SP - 750 EP - 780 PB - Canadian science publishing CY - Ottawa ER -