Environmental Controls of InSAR‐Based Periglacial Ground Dynamics in a Sub‐Arctic Landscape

Abstract

Cold polar and mountainous regions encompass a broad range of frost-driven processes that shape the landscape. Characterized by seasonally or perennially frozen ground (permafrost), these so-called periglacial environments are highly dynamic (French, 2007) and especially sensitive to climate change (Aalto et al., 2017;Biskaborn et al., 2019;Hjort et al., 2018). Seasonal ground freezing and thawing in the upper part of the ground cause heave and subsidence due to water-to-ice phase change (Bonnaventure & Lamoureux, 2013;Thomas et al., 2009). On periglacial slopes, mass wasting processes driven by gravity induce downslope

Multi-Parameter Protocol for Geocryological Test Site: A Case Study Applied for the European North of Russia

“…We have proposed a novel multi-parameter monitoring protocol, which consists of the following set of controlled parameters: These parameters were compiled on the basis of the principles of a complete characterization of the geocryological conditions of the test site, functioning the monitoring system based on the developed protocol, and frequency of measurements. By integrating the study of the composition and properties of soils, soil temperatures, electrical resistance of frozen and thawed grounds, our work allowed us to fully characterize the studied sites, suggesting that it will help further monitoring in the future and in the modeling of the thermal state in the European north of Russia, and also assist in the calibration of remote sensing data such as Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) [60]. Our test sites made it possible to focus stationary observations on the typical areas in the European part of the Russian Arctic that were identified at the preliminary stage of the study.…”

Go or grow? Feedbacks between moving slopes and shifting plants in high mountain environments

“…Knowledge on adaptations of high mountain species to slope movements exists already for a long time (Schröter et al, 1926), but relationships between plant traits and movement intensities have rarely been quantified. To achieve this, measurements of mountain plant traits, facilitated by well-standardized methods (Freschet et al, 2021;Pérez-Harguindeguy et al, 2013), could be carried out on slopes with known movement rates increasingly provided by new techniques such as terrestrial laser scanning, uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys and InSAR (Hartl et al, 2023;Hendrickx et al, 2020;Rouyet et al, 2021). While extensive plant trait databases exist (Bjorkman et al, 2018a(Bjorkman et al, , 2018bKattge et al, 2011Kattge et al, , 2020Maitner et al, 2018), data availability is often limited for alpine species and many important biomechanical traits, such as root tensile strength or modulus of elasticity, are far from being included routinely in ecological databases.…”

Linking drought indices in the Atlantic sector of the High Arctic (Svalbard) to atmospheric circulation

“…On the other hand, the conditions opposite to drought (long-lasting, heavy rain events and increased summer precipitation) in uence hydrologic processes, soil thermal regime and stimulates permafrost thaw (Douglas et al 2020). The increased precipitation leads to increase soli uction rate and mass movement activity, especially debris ow events (Owczarek et al 2013, De Hass et al 2015Rouyet et al 2021). In winter the environmental impact of de cit/abundant precipitation, which can also be expressed in the form of drought indices, is different.…”