@misc{KleinLantuitHeimetal.2021, author = {Klein, Konstantin P. and Lantuit, Hugues and Heim, Birgit and Doxaran, David and Juhls, Bennet and Nitze, Ingmar and Walch, Daniela and Poste, Amanda and S{\o}reide, Janne E.}, title = {The Arctic Nearshore Turbidity Algorithm (ANTA)}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1250}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-55369}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-553692}, pages = {11}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The Arctic is greatly impacted by climate change. The increase in air temperature drives the thawing of permafrost and an increase in coastal erosion and river discharge. This leads to a greater input of sediment and organic matter into coastal waters, which substantially impacts the ecosystems by reducing light transmission through the water column and altering the biogeochemistry, but also the subsistence economy of local people, and changes in climate because of the transformation of organic matter into greenhouse gases. Yet, the quantification of suspended sediment in Arctic coastal and nearshore waters remains unsatisfactory due to the absence of dedicated algorithms to resolve the high loads occurring in the close vicinity of the shoreline. In this study we present the Arctic Nearshore Turbidity Algorithm (ANTA), the first reflectance-turbidity relationship specifically targeted towards Arctic nearshore waters that is tuned with in-situ measurements from the nearshore waters of Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk in the western Canadian Arctic. A semi-empirical model was calibrated for several relevant sensors in ocean color remote sensing, including MODIS, Sentinel 3 (OLCI), Landsat 8 (OLI), and Sentinel 2 (MSI), as well as the older Landsat sensors TM and ETM+. The ANTA performed better with Landsat 8 than with Sentinel 2 and Sentinel 3. The application of the ANTA to Sentinel 2 imagery that matches in-situ turbidity samples taken in Adventfjorden, Svalbard, shows transferability to nearshore areas beyond Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk.}, language = {en} } @article{RamageIrrgangHerzschuhetal.2017, author = {Ramage, Justine Lucille and Irrgang, Anna Maria and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Morgenstern, Anne and Couture, Nicole and Lantuit, Hugues}, title = {Terrain controls on the occurrence of coastal retrogressive thaw slumps along the Yukon Coast, Canada}, series = {Journal of geophysical research : Earth surface}, volume = {122}, journal = {Journal of geophysical research : Earth surface}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, address = {Washington}, issn = {2169-9003}, doi = {10.1002/2017JF004231}, pages = {1619 -- 1634}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) are among the most active landforms in the Arctic; their number has increased significantly over the past decades. While processes initiating discrete RTSs are well identified, the major terrain controls on the development of coastal RTSs at a regional scale are not yet defined. Our research reveals the main geomorphic factors that determine the development of RTSs along a 238km segment of the Yukon Coast, Canada. We (1) show the current extent of RTSs, (2) ascertain the factors controlling their activity and initiation, and (3) explain the spatial differences in the density and areal coverage of RTSs. We mapped and classified 287 RTSs using high-resolution satellite images acquired in 2011. We highlighted the main terrain controls over their development using univariate regression trees model. Coastal geomorphology influenced both the activity and initiation of RTSs: active RTSs and RTSs initiated after 1972 occurred primarily on terrains with slope angles greater than 3.9 degrees and 5.9 degrees, respectively. The density and areal coverage of RTSs were constrained by the volume and thickness of massive ice bodies. Differences in rates of coastal change along the coast did not affect the model. We infer that rates of coastal change averaged over a 39year period are unable to reflect the complex relationship between RTSs and coastline dynamics. We emphasize the need for large-scale studies of RTSs to evaluate their impact on the ecosystem and to measure their contribution to the global carbon budget. Plain Language Summary Retrogressive thaw slumps, henceforth slumps are a type of landslides that occur when permafrost thaws. Slumps are active landforms: they develop quickly and extend over several hectares. Satellite imagery allows to map such slumps over large areas. Our research shows where slumps develop along a 238 km segment of the Yukon Coast in Canada and explains which environments are most suitable for slump occurrence. We found that active and newly developed slumps were triggered where coastal slopes were greater than 3.9 degrees and 5.9 degrees, respectively. We explain that coastal erosion influences the development of slumps by modifying coastal slopes. We found that the highest density of slumps as well as the largest slumps occurred on terrains with high amounts of ice bodies in the ground. This study provides tools to better identify areas in the Arctic that are prone to slump development.}, language = {en} } @article{WolterLantuitHerzschuhetal.2017, author = {Wolter, Juliane and Lantuit, Hugues and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Stettner, Samuel and Fritz, Michael}, title = {Tundra vegetation stability versus lake-basin variability on the Yukon Coastal Plain (NW Canada) during the past three centuries}, series = {The Holocene : an interdisciplinary journal focusing on recent environmental change}, volume = {27}, journal = {The Holocene : an interdisciplinary journal focusing on recent environmental change}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {London}, issn = {0959-6836}, doi = {10.1177/0959683617708441}, pages = {1846 -- 1858}, year = {2017}, language = {en} } @article{RadosavljevicLantuitKnoblauchetal.2022, author = {Radosavljevic, Boris and Lantuit, Hugues and Knoblauch, Christian and Couture, Nicole and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Fritz, Michael}, title = {Arctic nearshore sediment dynamics - an example from Herschel Island - Qikiqtaruk, Canada}, series = {Journal of marine science and engineering}, volume = {10}, journal = {Journal of marine science and engineering}, number = {11}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2077-1312}, doi = {10.3390/jmse10111589}, pages = {18}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Increasing arctic coastal erosion rates imply a greater release of sediments and organic matter into the coastal zone. With 213 sediment samples taken around Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk, Canadian Beaufort Sea, we aimed to gain new insights on sediment dynamics and geochemical properties of a shallow arctic nearshore zone. Spatial characteristics of nearshore sediment texture (moderately to poorly sorted silt) are dictated by hydrodynamic processes, but ice-related processes also play a role. We determined organic matter (OM) distribution and inferred the origin and quality of organic carbon by C/N ratios and stable carbon isotopes delta C-13. The carbon content was higher offshore and in sheltered areas (mean: 1.0 wt.\%., S.D.: 0.9) and the C/N ratios also showed a similar spatial pattern (mean: 11.1, S.D.: 3.1), while the delta C-13 (mean: -26.4 parts per thousand VPDB, S.D.: 0.4) distribution was more complex. We compared the geochemical parameters of our study with terrestrial and marine samples from other studies using a bootstrap approach. Sediments of the current study contained 6.5 times and 1.8 times less total organic carbon than undisturbed and disturbed terrestrial sediments, respectively. Therefore, degradation of OM and separation of carbon pools take place on land and continue in the nearshore zone, where OM is leached, mineralized, or transported beyond the study area.}, language = {en} } @misc{StettnerLantuitHeimetal.2018, author = {Stettner, Samuel and Lantuit, Hugues and Heim, Birgit and Eppler, Jayson and Roth, Achim and Bartsch, Annett and Rabus, Bernhard}, title = {TerraSAR-X time series fill a gap in spaceborne snowmelt monitoring of small Arctic catchments}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {689}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42681}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-426810}, pages = {26}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The timing of snowmelt is an important turning point in the seasonal cycle of small Arctic catchments. The TerraSAR-X (TSX) satellite mission is a synthetic aperture radar system (SAR) with high potential to measure the high spatiotemporal variability of snow cover extent (SCE) and fractional snow cover (FSC) on the small catchment scale. We investigate the performance of multi-polarized and multi-pass TSX X-Band SAR data in monitoring SCE and FSC in small Arctic tundra catchments of Qikiqtaruk (Herschel Island) off the Yukon Coast in the Western Canadian Arctic. We applied a threshold based segmentation on ratio images between TSX images with wet snow and a dry snow reference, and tested the performance of two different thresholds. We quantitatively compared TSX- and Landsat 8-derived SCE maps using confusion matrices and analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics of snowmelt from 2015 to 2017 using TSX, Landsat 8 and in situ time lapse data. Our data showed that the quality of SCE maps from TSX X-Band data is strongly influenced by polarization and to a lesser degree by incidence angle. VH polarized TSX data performed best in deriving SCE when compared to Landsat 8. TSX derived SCE maps from VH polarization detected late lying snow patches that were not detected by Landsat 8. Results of a local assessment of TSX FSC against the in situ data showed that TSX FSC accurately captured the temporal dynamics of different snow melt regimes that were related to topographic characteristics of the studied catchments. Both in situ and TSX FSC showed a longer snowmelt period in a catchment with higher contributions of steep valleys and a shorter snowmelt period in a catchment with higher contributions of upland terrain. Landsat 8 had fundamental data gaps during the snowmelt period in all 3 years due to cloud cover. The results also revealed that by choosing a positive threshold of 1 dB, detection of ice layers due to diurnal temperature variations resulted in a more accurate estimation of snow cover than a negative threshold that detects wet snow alone. We find that TSX X-Band data in VH polarization performs at a comparable quality to Landsat 8 in deriving SCE maps when a positive threshold is used. We conclude that TSX data polarization can be used to accurately monitor snowmelt events at high temporal and spatial resolution, overcoming limitations of Landsat 8, which due to cloud related data gaps generally only indicated the onset and end of snowmelt.}, language = {en} } @article{FritzHerzschuhWetterichetal.2012, author = {Fritz, Michael and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Wetterich, Sebastian and Lantuit, Hugues and De Pascale, Gregory P. and Pollard, Wayne H. and Schirrmeister, Lutz}, title = {Late glacial and holocene sedimentation, vegetation, and climate history from easternmost Beringia (northern Yukon Territory, Canada)}, series = {Quaternary research : an interdisciplinary journal}, volume = {78}, journal = {Quaternary research : an interdisciplinary journal}, number = {3}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {San Diego}, issn = {0033-5894}, doi = {10.1016/j.yqres.2012.07.007}, pages = {549 -- 560}, year = {2012}, abstract = {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.}, language = {en} } @article{FritzOpelTanskietal.2015, author = {Fritz, Michael and Opel, Thomas and Tanski, George and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Meyer, H. and Eulenburg, A. and Lantuit, Hugues}, title = {Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in Arctic ground ice}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {9}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {2}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-9-737-2015}, pages = {737 -- 752}, year = {2015}, abstract = {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.}, language = {en} } @misc{FritzOpelTanskietal.2015, author = {Fritz, Michael and Opel, Thomas and Tanski, George and Herzschuh, Ulrike and Meyer, Hanno and Eulenburg, A. and Lantuit, Hugues}, title = {Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in Arctic ground ice}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {493}, issn = {1866-8372}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-408155}, pages = {16}, year = {2015}, abstract = {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.}, language = {en} } @article{WalchSinghSoreideetal.2022, author = {Walch, Daniela M. R. and Singh, Rakesh K. and Soreide, Janne E. and Lantuit, Hugues and Poste, Amanda}, title = {Spatio-temporal variability of suspended particulate matter in a high-arctic estuary (Adventfjorden, Svalbard) using sentinel-2 time-series}, series = {Remote sensing}, volume = {14}, journal = {Remote sensing}, number = {13}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs14133123}, pages = {22}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Arctic coasts, which feature land-ocean transport of freshwater, sediments, and other terrestrial material, are impacted by climate change, including increased temperatures, melting glaciers, changes in precipitation and runoff. These trends are assumed to affect productivity in fjordic estuaries. However, the spatial extent and temporal variation of the freshwater-driven darkening of fjords remain unresolved. The present study illustrates the spatio-temporal variability of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Adventfjorden estuary, Svalbard, using in-situ field campaigns and ocean colour remote sensing (OCRS) via high-resolution Sentinel-2 imagery. To compute SPM concentration (C-SPMsat), a semi-analytical algorithm was regionally calibrated using local in-situ data, which improved the accuracy of satellite-derived SPM concentration by similar to 20\% (MRD). Analysis of SPM concentration for two consecutive years (2019, 2020) revealed strong seasonality of SPM in Adventfjorden. Highest estimated SPM concentrations and river plume extent (\% of fjord with C-SPMsat > 30 mg L-1) occurred during June, July, and August. Concurrently, we observed a strong relationship between river plume extent and average air temperature over the 24 h prior to the observation (R-2 = 0.69). Considering predicted changes to environmental conditions in the Arctic region, this study highlights the importance of the rapidly changing environmental parameters and the significance of remote sensing in analysing fluxes in light attenuating particles, especially in the coastal Arctic Ocean.}, language = {en} } @article{IrrgangBendixenFarquharsonetal.2022, author = {Irrgang, Anna M. and Bendixen, Mette and Farquharson, Louise M. and Baranskaya, Alisa and Erikson, Li H. and Gibbs, Ann E. and Ogorodov, Stanislav A. and Overduin, Pier Paul and Lantuit, Hugues and Grigoriev, Mikhail N. and Jones, Benjamin M.}, title = {Drivers, dynamics and impacts of changing Arctic coasts}, series = {Nature reviews earth and environment}, volume = {3}, journal = {Nature reviews earth and environment}, number = {1}, publisher = {Nature Research}, address = {London}, issn = {2662-138X}, doi = {10.1038/s43017-021-00232-1}, pages = {39 -- 54}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Arctic coasts are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and the loss of permafrost, sea ice and glaciers. Assessing the influence of anthropogenic warming on Arctic coastal dynamics, however, is challenged by the limited availability of observational, oceanographic and environmental data. Yet, with the majority of permafrost coasts being erosive, coupled with projected intensification of erosion and flooding, understanding these changes is critical. In this Review, we describe the morphological diversity of Arctic coasts, discuss important drivers of coastal change, explain the specific sensitivity of Arctic coasts to climate change and provide an overview of pan-Arctic shoreline change and its multifaceted impacts. Arctic coastal changes impact the human environment by threatening coastal settlements, infrastructure, cultural sites and archaeological remains. Changing sediment fluxes also impact the natural environment through carbon, nutrient and pollutant release on a magnitude that remains difficult to predict. Increasing transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration efforts will build the foundation for identifying sustainable solutions and adaptation strategies to reduce future risks for those living on, working at and visiting the rapidly changing Arctic coast.}, language = {en} }