Spatial data used for analysis of trends in the occurrence of erosion features caused by thaw in the five National Park Service units of the Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network, Alaska

The Yukon is experiencing impacts of climate change, marked by elevated annual air temperatures, alterations in precipitation patterns and increased wildfire activity. These changes can lead to permafrost degradation, impacting highways and community Infrastructure. In July 2017, a wildfire burned a slope in permafrost terrain above the Dempster Highway in the Yukon. In the years following the wildfire, two types of permafrost-related landslides have been observed on the slope. Active layer detachment activity was highest in the first year after the landslide, possibly influenced by warm temperatures and rainfall events. Retrogressive thaw flow slides formed in 2019 in areas of ice-rich permafrost and are still active in 2023. Deposition of sediment and influx of water has resulted in flooding near the highway, further degrading the permafrost in the valley bottom. This study characterizes the landslide timing and morphology following a wildfire on permafrost terrain, and investigates potential triggers and controls.

The effects of permafrost degradation in Yukon have serious negative implications for the structural integrity of vertical infrastructure. This is especially pertinent for critical buildings such as hospitals, schools, etc., in small communities that are situated on top of warm, ice-rich permafrost. Projections of mean annual air temperature over the next few decades, based on regional climatic models, indicate that air temperature will rise, hastening the thaw of permafrost. The combination of rising of air temperatures and buildings situated on warm permafrost has prompted this investigation into the vulnerability of Yukon Government vertical infrastructure. The application of DC resistivity and ground penetrating radar in conjunction with borehole drilling indicates that in Dawson there is warm ice-rich permafrost beneath the Palace Grand Theatre; the Old Territorial Administration building is underlain by primarily unfrozen sediment; and permafrost under the St. Andrew’s Church is characterized by high variability. A deep active layer was observed at Ross River School and geophysical surveys indicate that warm water drainage from the roof is contributing to the thaw of the underlying permafrost.

During 2009 the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) conducted reconnaissance interpretive mapping of permafrost in Alaska Highway Corridor Segment 3, a 12-mi-wide (19.3-km-wide) corridor that straddles the Alaska Highway through the Northway-Tanacross Lowland and the southern Yukon-Tanana Upland from Tetlin Junction to the Canada border. This work was an extension of permafrost mapping done in Alaska Highway Corridor Segment 1 from Delta Junction to Dot Lake in the Big Delta and Mt. Hayes Quadrangles during 2006-2007 and Alaska Highway Corridor Segment 2 from the Robertson River to Tetlin Junction in the Tanacross Quadrangles during 2008. Primarily, we inferred the extent of permafrost and ice content by interpreting ~1:65,000-scale, false-color infrared aerial photographs taken in July 1978 and August 1981.

Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at two sites in Interior Alaska in September 2019 for the purposes of imaging permafrost structure and quantifying variations in subsurface moisture content in relation to thaw features. First, ERT data were collected at Big Trail Lake, a thermokarst lake outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, to quantify permafrost characteristics beneath the lake and across its shorelines. Three 222 m ERT survey lines were collected perpendicular to the North, East, and South shorelines, and two 110 m lines were collected parallel to the southeast and northeast shorelines. Models of electrical resistivity produced from these data revealed the distribution of frozen and thawed soil to depths of 10-40 m below the surface. Second, an ERT survey was conducted at Bonanza Creek LTER (Long Term Ecological Research), approximately 30 km southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska. This survey was a repeat of a previous ERT survey done in the same exact location in late August 2016, those data and models can be found here. The new survey line was 125 m in length and spanned the transition between burned and unburned forest. Models of electrical resistivity for this site imaged the structure of frozen and thawed soils to depths of 10-15 m. At both sites, manual permafrost-probe measurements of thaw depths were collected at set intervals along each ERT transect and used for comparison to the resistivity models.

Geophysical measurements were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at five sites in Interior Alaska in September 2021 for the purposes of imaging permafrost structure and quantifying variations in subsurface moisture content in relation to thaw features. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements were made along transects 110-222 meters (m) in length to quantify subsurface permafrost characteristics. ERT transects were collected across a fireline boundary within the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site where repeat measurements have been made since 2014; across and adjacent to two thermokarst lakes, Vault Lake and Goldstream Lake; and along two profiles at the North Star golf course in Fairbanks, Alaska. Models of electrical resistivity produced from these data revealed the distribution of frozen and thawed soil to depths of 10-40 m below the surface. Borehole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data were collected at two sites in order to determine liquid water content at depth in shallow boreholes. NMR data were collected in a 2.25 m-deep borehole at the North Star golf course adjacent to one of the ERT profiles, and in another two 1.625 m-deep boreholes adjacent to Big Trail Lake where previous NMR measurements were made in 2019 and 2020. Manual permafrost-probe measurements of thaw depths were collected at set intervals along each ERT transect and adjacent to NMR measurement locations used for comparison to the geophysical measurements, except at the North Star golf course where shallow permafrost was absent.

Geophysical measurements were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at five sites in Interior Alaska in September 2021 for the purposes of imaging permafrost structure and quantifying variations in subsurface moisture content in relation to thaw features. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements were made along transects 110-222 meters (m) in length to quantify subsurface permafrost characteristics. ERT transects were collected across a fireline boundary within the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site where repeat measurements have been made since 2014; across and adjacent to two thermokarst lakes, Vault Lake and Goldstream Lake; and along two profiles at the North Star golf course in Fairbanks, Alaska. Models of electrical resistivity produced from these data revealed the distribution of frozen and thawed soil to depths of 10-40 m below the surface. Borehole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data were collected at two sites in order to determine liquid water content at depth in shallow boreholes. NMR data were collected in a 2.25 m-deep borehole at the North Star golf course adjacent to one of the ERT profiles, and in another two 1.625 m-deep boreholes adjacent to Big Trail Lake where previous NMR measurements were made in 2019 and 2020. Manual permafrost-probe measurements of thaw depths were collected at set intervals along each ERT transect and adjacent to NMR measurement locations used for comparison to the geophysical measurements, except at the North Star golf course where shallow permafrost was absent.

Geophysical measurements were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at two sites in Interior Alaska in 2019 and 2020 for the purposes of imaging permafrost structure and quantifying variations in subsurface moisture content in relation to thaw features. In September 2019, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and downhole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data were used to quantify permafrost characteristics across the shorelines of Big Trail Lake, a thermokarst lake outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Three 222 m ERT survey lines were collected perpendicular to the North, East, and South shorelines, and two 110 m lines were collected parallel to the southeast and northeast shorelines. Models of electrical resistivity produced from these data revealed the distribution of frozen and thawed soil to depths of 10-40 m below the surface. NMR data were collected within two 2.3 m deep boreholes adjacent to the East and North perpendicular ERT survey lines in September 2019 and logged again in March 2020. Additional one-time NMR measurements of liquid water content were collected in September 2019 within the lakebed sediments (0-25 cm depth) in approximately 2.5 m lateral increments moving away from the shorelines in the East and North, between 0 and 12 m from shore. These NMR transects roughly coincided with the perpendicular ERT lines. A separate ERT survey was conducted at the Bonanza Creek LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) in September 2019 and was a repeat of a previous ERT survey done in the same exact location three years prior. The survey line was 125 m in length and spanned the transition between burned and unburned forest. Models of electrical resistivity for this site imaged the structure of frozen and thawed soils to depths of 10-15 m. At both sites, manual permafrost-probe measurements of thaw depths were collected at set intervals along each ERT transect and used for comparison to the resistivity models.

Geophysical measurements were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at two sites in Interior Alaska in 2019 and 2020 for the purposes of imaging permafrost structure and quantifying variations in subsurface moisture content in relation to thaw features. In September 2019, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and downhole nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data were used to quantify permafrost characteristics across the shorelines of Big Trail Lake, a thermokarst lake outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Three 222 m ERT survey lines were collected perpendicular to the North, East, and South shorelines, and two 110 m lines were collected parallel to the southeast and northeast shorelines. Models of electrical resistivity produced from these data revealed the distribution of frozen and thawed soil to depths of 10-40 m below the surface. NMR data were collected within two 2.3 m deep boreholes adjacent to the East and North perpendicular ERT survey lines in September 2019 and logged again in March 2020. Additional one-time NMR measurements of liquid water content were collected in September 2019 within the lakebed sediments (0-25 cm depth) in approximately 2.5 m lateral increments moving away from the shorelines in the East and North, between 0 and 12 m from shore. These NMR transects roughly coincided with the perpendicular ERT lines. A separate ERT survey was conducted at the Bonanza Creek LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) in September 2019 and was a repeat of a previous ERT survey done in the same exact location three years prior. The survey line was 125 m in length and spanned the transition between burned and unburned forest. Models of electrical resistivity for this site imaged the structure of frozen and thawed soils to depths of 10-15 m. At both sites, manual permafrost-probe measurements of thaw depths were collected at set intervals along each ERT transect and used for comparison to the resistivity models.

This map shows the change in permafrost temperature per decade for long-term borehole sites in Alaska. As the circles get larger, the rate of warming per decade increases. The blue circle represents a cooling trend. For more information: https://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators.