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Sub-seasonal thaw slump mass wasting is not consistently energy limited at the landscape scale
- Predicting future thaw slump activity requires a sound understanding of the atmospheric drivers and geomorphic controls on mass wasting across a range of timescales. On sub-seasonal timescales, sparse measurements indicate that mass wasting at active slumps is often limited by the energy available for melting ground ice, but other factors such as rainfall or the formation of an insulating veneer may also be relevant. To study the sub-seasonal drivers, we derive topographic changes from single-pass radar interferometric data acquired by the TanDEM-X satellites. The estimated elevation changes at 12m resolution complement the commonly observed planimetric retreat rates by providing information on volume losses. Their high vertical precision (around 30 cm), frequent observations (11 days) and large coverage (5000 km(2)) allow us to track mass wasting as drivers such as the available energy change during the summer of 2015 in two study regions. We find that thaw slumps in the Tuktoyaktuk coastlands, Canada, are not energy limited in June,Predicting future thaw slump activity requires a sound understanding of the atmospheric drivers and geomorphic controls on mass wasting across a range of timescales. On sub-seasonal timescales, sparse measurements indicate that mass wasting at active slumps is often limited by the energy available for melting ground ice, but other factors such as rainfall or the formation of an insulating veneer may also be relevant. To study the sub-seasonal drivers, we derive topographic changes from single-pass radar interferometric data acquired by the TanDEM-X satellites. The estimated elevation changes at 12m resolution complement the commonly observed planimetric retreat rates by providing information on volume losses. Their high vertical precision (around 30 cm), frequent observations (11 days) and large coverage (5000 km(2)) allow us to track mass wasting as drivers such as the available energy change during the summer of 2015 in two study regions. We find that thaw slumps in the Tuktoyaktuk coastlands, Canada, are not energy limited in June, as they undergo limited mass wasting (height loss of around 0 cm day 1) despite the ample available energy, suggesting the widespread presence of early season insulating snow or debris veneer. Later in summer, height losses generally increase (around 3 cm day 1), but they do so in distinct ways. For many slumps, mass wasting tracks the available energy, a temporal pattern that is also observed at coastal yedoma cliffs on the Bykovsky Peninsula, Russia. However, the other two common temporal trajectories are asynchronous with the available energy, as they track strong precipitation events or show a sudden speed-up in late August respectively. The observed temporal patterns are poorly related to slump characteristics like the headwall height. The contrasting temporal behaviour of nearby thaw slumps highlights the importance of complex local and temporally varying controls on mass wasting.…
Author details: | Simon ZwiebackORCiD, Steven V. Kokelj, Frank GüntherORCiD, Julia BoikeORCiDGND, Guido GrosseORCiDGND, Irena Hajnsek |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-445688 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-44568 |
ISSN: | 1866-8372 |
Title of parent work (German): | Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe |
Publication series (Volume number): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe (926) |
Publication type: | Postprint |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2020/05/29 |
Publication year: | 2018 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Release date: | 2020/05/29 |
Tag: | Island; Northeast Siberia; Peel Plateau; Tandem-X; delta; erosion; ground-ice; permafrost; thermal regime; yedoma |
Issue: | 926 |
Number of pages: | 18 |
First page: | 549 |
Last Page: | 564 |
Source: | The Cryosphere 12 (2018) 549–564 DOI: 10.5194/tc-12-549-2018 |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät |
DDC classification: | 9 Geschichte und Geografie / 91 Geografie, Reisen / 910 Geografie, Reisen |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
External remark: | Bibliographieeintrag der Originalveröffentlichung/Quelle |