Teddi Herring‘s article “Best practices for using electrical resistivity tomography to investigate permafrost” was in the top 10 most cited articles published by PPP in 2023!
The Open access article is available here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp.2207
A new study by Gabriel Karam et al asks, how do climate and soil control the ice-wedge formation process?
Answering these questions can further our understanding of wedge-ice volume and distribution.
Ice-wedges are periglacial landforms that develop as a result of thermal contraction-cracking in continuous permafrost regions, which appear as polygonal networks on the ground surface. Given their complex thermo- mechanical loading history, very few related numerical models have so far been developed. This study developed a new climate-driven model to show the fractures in soil that develop from thermal contraction in winter. The range of model results indicate how climate, soil type and water saturation of the soil affect the spacing, depth, and width of ice-wedge cracks. Estimating ice-wedge depth can help us make informed volume calculations which are otherwise difficult to measure in the field.
Karam, G., Pouragha, M. and Gruber, S. (2024). Investigating the controls of ice-wedge initiation and growth using XFEM, Computers and Geotechnics, Volume 173, DOI: 10.1016/j.compgeo.2024.106549
Analysis and prediction of permafrost change are hampered by lack of observational data. In collaboration with Stephan Gruber, Peter Pulsifer, and Amos Hayes, we developed a permafrost data management system to support permafrost observation networks that involve many different kinds of permafrost data.
We identify five broad challenges for permafrost data management and publication: (1) existing data management strategies do not scale well, (2) data users have different skills and needs, (3) permafrost data are varied, (4) resources for permafrost data management are limited, and (5) existing permafrost data sources are difficult to integrate. Our prototype system supports a permafrost data workflow from observation to the distribution of interoperable data. The system simplifies data publication and management, although we identify and discuss several hurdles in adapting the CF conventions and ERDDAP for permafrost data. Our learning can inform organizations who collect, manage, or distribute permafrost data or those who manage large observation networks.
In summary:
This research was enabled in part by support provided by Compute Ontario and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.
A study by Khatereh Roghangar and Jocelyn Hayley has assessed the effects of thermal modeling parameters on permafrost ground response to climate warming. They analyzed how variations in depth, water content, and soil type affect predictions of future active layer depths and settlement under various climate scenarios using the soil characteristics along Hudson Bay Railway corridor.
The results indicate that, for fine-grained soils, the depth of the model is a more significant parameter than for coarse-grained soils. The water content of all soil types is a critical factor in determining the time at which permafrost thaws and the depth at which the active layer is located, as higher water content leads to larger active layer changes and more settlement in most cases. These findings have important implications for infrastructure and land use management in the Arctic region.
Roghangar, K. and Hayley, J.L. (2024). A study of thermal modeling parameters and their impact on modelled permafrost responses to climate warming. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 221, 104155, DOI: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2024.104155.
We hosted our fifth network Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Victoria, BC. The meeting was both in-person and virtual with keynote presentations on individual research projects, poster presentations, as well as updates on theme progress and synthesis products from the theme leaders.
The live-streamed presentation recordings can be viewed on our website and the posters, and pdfs of presentations, are available on the website here.
You can download and read the public meeting report here, while members can access the full network report in our members area.
Exciting research in the Permafrost ArChives Science Laboratory (PACS Lab) at the University of Alberta has demonstrated a novel application of multi-sensor core logging for analyzing permafrost cores.
Measurements of core physical properties are typically destructive and time intensive.
Non-destructive multi-sensor core logging (MSCL) can efficiently analyze permafrost samples and provide high-resolution insights without these problems. The new technique allows rapid imaging, measurement of bulk density and estimation of ice content in permafrost cores. The team were able to visualize cryostructures and estimate frozen bulk density, magnetic susceptibility, and volumetric ice content.
The new technique is described in the paper published in The Cryosphere by Duane Froese’s lab: Pumple, J., Monteath, A., Harvey, J., Roustaei, M., Alvarez, A., Buchanan, C., and Froese, D.: Non-destructive multi-sensor core logging allows for rapid imaging and estimation of frozen bulk density and volumetric ice content in permafrost cores, The Cryosphere, 18, 489–503, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-489-2024, 2024.
The design of infrastructure on permafrost must account for the impacts of a changing climate on ground stability. While guidelines like CSA PLUS 4011:19 provide a framework, choosing appropriate climate scenarios remains a challenge.
The study by Astrid Schetselaar, Trevor Anderson and Chris Burn reveals that observed warming in the Yukon and Northwest Territories (1991-2020) aligns with more extreme climate projections made in 2003 for the Mackenzie Gas Project.
Key takeaways for developers:
Schetselaar, A.B., Andersen, T.S., and Burn, C.R. 2023. Performance of climate projections for Yukon and adjacent Northwest Territories, 1991-2020. Arctic, 76(3). doi: 10.14430/arctic77263
Most mountain permafrost research has been focussed on the small area of the European alps. This leads to the question, can you transfer cryosphere knowledge from the Scandes and Alps to Canada?
Emilie Stewart-Jones, has now developed a method for comparing regional climates at a coarse scale to highlight similarities and differences. Her paper “Transferring Cryosphere Knowledge between Mountains Globally: A Case Study of Western Canadian Mountains, the European Alps and the Scandes” published in the Journal of Alpine Research in November can now answer the question of whether we can transfer our knowledge of permafrost in one region to another.
The extent of permafrost thaw in the pan-Arctic remains unknown, but remote sensing, deep learning and crowdsourcing are helping to map permafrost degradation in the landscape.
The recent study by Huang et al study provides data and serves to develop a global inventory and better understand permafrost thaw in the pan-Arctic using very high resolution remote sensing. This approach could lead to a global inventory of retrogressive thaw slumps.
Lingcao Huang, Michael J. Willis, Guiye Li, Trevor C. Lantz, Kevin Schaefer, Elizabeth Wig, Guofeng Cao, Kristy F. Tiampo, Identifying active retrogressive thaw slumps from ArcticDEM, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Volume 205, 2023, Pages 301-316, ISSN 0924-2716.
A recent study by Teddi Herring suggests ways to improve how Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is used for permafrost and highlights recent advances in this approach. ERT is a technique that is incredibly useful for studying permafrost, enabling us to see how deep the permafrost layer is and identify areas with ice content.
There has been a 10-fold increase in publications of studies using ERT to analysis permafrost in the last 20 years, and though challenges remain, and there’s no single “best way” to do it yet, the study makes recommendations for conducting ERT surveys to maximize the utility of existing and future data.
Herring T, Lewkowicz AG, Hauck C, et al. Best practices for using electrical resistivity tomography to investigate permafrost. Permafrost and Periglac Process. 2023; 34(4): 494-512. doi:10.1002/ppp.2207
