Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-224
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-224
31 Oct 2016
 | 31 Oct 2016
Status: this preprint was under review for the journal TC. A revision for further review has not been submitted.

Relationship of Permafrost Cryofacies to Varying Surface and Subsurface Terrain Conditions in the Brooks Range and foothills of Northern Alaska, USA

Andrew W. Balser, Jeremy B. Jones, and M. Torre Jorgenson

Abstract. Permafrost landscape responses to climate change and disturbance impact local ecology and global greenhouse gas concentrations, but the nature and magnitude of response is linked with vegetation, terrain and permafrost properties that vary markedly across landscapes. As a subsurface property, permafrost conditions are difficult to characterize across landscapes, and modeled estimates rely upon relationships among permafrost characteristics and surface properties. While a general relationship among landscape and permafrost properties has been recognized throughout the Arctic, the nature of these relationships is poorly documented in many regions, limiting modeling capability. We examined relationships among terrain, vegetation and permafrost within the Brooks Range and foothills of northern Alaska using field data from diverse sites and multiple factor analysis ordination. Terrain, vegetation and permafrost conditions were correlated throughout the region, with field sites falling into four statistically-separable groups based on ordination results. Our results identify index variables for honing field sampling and statistical analysis, illustrate the nature of relationships in the region, support future modeling of permafrost properties, and suggest a state factor approach for organizing data and ideas relevant for modeling of permafrost properties at a regional scale.

Andrew W. Balser, Jeremy B. Jones, and M. Torre Jorgenson
 
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
 
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
Status: closed (peer review stopped)
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
Andrew W. Balser, Jeremy B. Jones, and M. Torre Jorgenson
Andrew W. Balser, Jeremy B. Jones, and M. Torre Jorgenson

Viewed

Total article views: 1,289 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total BibTeX EndNote
792 367 130 1,289 101 129
  • HTML: 792
  • PDF: 367
  • XML: 130
  • Total: 1,289
  • BibTeX: 101
  • EndNote: 129
Views and downloads (calculated since 31 Oct 2016)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 31 Oct 2016)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 1,225 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 1,225 with geography defined and 0 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 

Cited

Latest update: 27 Mar 2024
Download
Short summary
The permafrost carbon feedback is an important climate change feedback, but quantifying the effect across the Arctic is difficult because permafrost includes a very broad variety of properties among landscapes which respond differently to climate perturbations. Permafrost properties are integrally linked with surface vegetation and terrain properties, but the relationships are complex. We test the ability to characterize these relationships spatially across landscapes in northern Alaska.