Taliks, cryopegs, and permafrost dynamics related to channel migration, Colville River Delta, Alaska

Stephani, E.; Drage, Jeremiah; Miller, Duane L.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Kanevskiy, Mikhail

doi:10.1002/ppp.2046

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In the continuous permafrost zone, the source of water in river icings is suprapermafrost groundwater within a zone of perennially unfrozen ground below the river called a talik 20 . A river talik is normally a long and meandering unfrozen tube‐like structure which follows the riverbed, and can meander from one side of a floodplain to the other as the river itself meanders 21,22 . Suprapermafrost groundwater can flow downgradient through a river talik if the medium is sufficiently permeable 20 and can contribute to the baseflow of a river in summer and can discharge through the riverbed and ice cover to form icings in winter 1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A conceptual model for talik dynamics and icing formation in a river floodplain in the continuous permafrost zone at Salluit, Nunavik (Quebec), Canada

Liu

Fortier

Molson

et al. 2021

Permafrost & Periglacial

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Icing occurs each winter along the floodplain of the Kuuguluk River in the continuous permafrost zone at Salluit in Nunavik (Quebec), Canada. The source of successive water overflows which thicken and enlarge this ice cover over time is suprapermafrost groundwater discharging from a talik below the riverbed. Electrical resistivity tomography was used to delineate the talik, while water level and temperature dataloggers were used to assess the thermo‐hydraulic conditions of the riverbed. The mean annual riverbed temperature was 1.8°C in 2016 while the mean annual air temperature was −6.0°C. Hydraulic heads below the ice cover as high as 2.8 m and events of abrupt decreases in hydraulic head due to suprapermafrost groundwater overflow through cracks in the ice cover were monitored. An analytical solution based on beam mechanics theory was used to assess the water pressure‐induced stresses which are sufficient to fracture the ice cover. A detailed conceptual model of the talik and icing dynamics is proposed to explain the cryo‐hydrogeological processes taking place in this complex groundwater–river system. The groundwater pressure buildup in the talik during the winter is due to constricted flow of suprapermafrost groundwater in the talik. These results have implications for understanding the dynamics of river taliks and their use as potential water supplies in northern communities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A conceptual model for talik dynamics and icing formation in a river floodplain in the continuous permafrost zone at Salluit, Nunavik (Quebec), Canada

Liu

Fortier

Molson

et al. 2021

Permafrost & Periglacial

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“…The longterm stability (longer than centennial) of a deep channel's position determines the location and size of a sub-river talik. Migrating or meandering river channels can expose preexisting taliks to the atmosphere, causing their refreezing and formation of new permafrost, and in the case of saline sediment, even cryopegs (Stephani et al, 2020). Thermal conditions beneath Arctic river channels, sandbars, intermittent channels and delta deposits and their impact on subsurface water flow have rarely been mapped.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serpentine (Floating) Ice Channels and their Interaction with Riverbed Permafrost in the Lena River Delta, Russia

et al. 2021

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Arctic deltas and their river channels are characterized by three components of the cryosphere: snow, river ice, and permafrost, making them especially sensitive to ongoing climate change. Thinning river ice and rising river water temperatures may affect the thermal state of permafrost beneath the riverbed, with consequences for delta hydrology, erosion, and sediment transport. In this study, we use optical and radar remote sensing to map ice frozen to the riverbed (bedfast ice) vs. ice, resting on top of the unfrozen water layer (floating or so-called serpentine ice) within the Arctic’s largest delta, the Lena River Delta. The optical data is used to differentiate elevated floating ice from bedfast ice, which is flooded ice during the spring melt, while radar data is used to differentiate floating from bedfast ice during the winter months. We use numerical modeling and geophysical field surveys to investigate the temperature field and sediment properties beneath the riverbed. Our results show that the serpentine ice identified with both types of remote sensing spatially coincides with the location of thawed riverbed sediment observed with in situ geoelectrical measurements and as simulated with the thermal model. Besides insight into sub-river thermal properties, our study shows the potential of remote sensing for identifying river channels with active sub-ice flow during winter vs. channels, presumably disconnected for winter water flow. Furthermore, our results provide viable information for the summer navigation for shallow-draught vessels.

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“…Permafrost temperatures are warming 17 and cold, ice-rich near-surface permafrost is degrading 18,19 . Large rivers draining to the Arctic Ocean, which are underlain by taliks in the continuous permafrost zone 20 , have shown an increased winter discharge 21,22 , indicating an increased groundwater contribution. Nutrient export from Arctic waterways of all sizes has also increased 23,24 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic riparian shrub expansion indicates a shift from streams gaining water to those that lose flow

Liljedahl

Timling

Frost

et al. 2020

Commun Earth Environ

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Shrub expansion has been observed across the Arctic in recent decades along with warming air temperatures, but tundra shrub expansion has been most pronounced in protected landscape positions such as floodplains, streambanks, water tracks, and gullies. Here we show through field measurements and laboratory analyses how stream hydrology, permafrost, and soil microbial communities differed between streams in late summer with and without tall shrubs. Our goal was to assess the causes and consequences of tall shrub expansion in Arctic riparian ecosystems. Our results from Toolik Alaska, show greater canopy height and density, and distinctive plant and soil microbial communities along stream sections that lose water into unfrozen ground (talik) compared to gaining sections underlain by shallow permafrost. Leaf Area Index is linearly related to the change in streamflow per unit stream length, with the densest canopies coinciding with increasingly losing stream sections. Considering climate change and the circumpolar scale of riparian shrub expansion, we suggest that permafrost thaw and the resulting talik formation and shift in streamflow regime are occurring across the Low Arctic.

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Taliks, cryopegs, and permafrost dynamics related to channel migration, Colville River Delta, Alaska

Cited by 18 publications

References 59 publications

A conceptual model for talik dynamics and icing formation in a river floodplain in the continuous permafrost zone at Salluit, Nunavik (Quebec), Canada

A conceptual model for talik dynamics and icing formation in a river floodplain in the continuous permafrost zone at Salluit, Nunavik (Quebec), Canada

Serpentine (Floating) Ice Channels and their Interaction with Riverbed Permafrost in the Lena River Delta, Russia

Arctic riparian shrub expansion indicates a shift from streams gaining water to those that lose flow

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