High-Resolution insights into permafrost thaw: Remote Sensing and Geochemical Techniques for Mapping soil physico-chemical changes
(2025) FNRS Contact Group “Geochemistry” workshop — Location: Louvain-la-Neuve (28.May.2025)
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- Abstract
- The Arctic is warming at an unprecedented rate, leading to significant changes in permafrost regions such as the deepening of the active layer. The thawing of previously frozen soil organic carbon (OC) releases greenhouse gases, exacerbating global warming. Understanding the vulnerability of OC to mineralization is crucial for predicting the magnitude of this feedback loop. This study aims to create an active layer depth map across a site and assess the vulnerability of OC to mineralization using a combination of remote sensing and geochemical techniques. The study site is located at Eight Mile Lake, Alaska (USA), where a natural permafrost thawing gradient is present. Multispectral, LiDAR, and thermal UAV data were collected across the site during the end of the summer 2023 (September-October) to capture key indicators of permafrost degradation, including vegetation, microtopography, and surface hydrology. Along the thawing gradient, at the profile-scale, soil water content (SWC) and temperature were continuously measured at three locations over three depths and coupled with dissolved OC concentration of the soil pore water. The use of UAV remote sensing techniques will provide a very-high resolution map of the active layer depth, while profile-scale geochemistry will assess the vulnerability of OC to mineralization along the permafrost thawing gradient. This multidisciplinary approach will provide valuable insights into the state of permafrost degradation and the potential for OC mineralization, ultimately informing on the impacts of climate change on these critical ecosystems.
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Citations
du Bois d’Aische, E., Opfergelt, S., Bates, J., Villani, M., Thomas, M., Osy de Zegwaart-Favart, C., Lambot, S., Van Oost, K., Vanacker, V., Schuur, E. A. G., & Jonard, F. (2025). High-Resolution insights into permafrost thaw: Remote Sensing and Geochemical Techniques for Mapping soil physico-chemical changes. FNRS Contact Group “Geochemistry” workshop, Louvain-la-Neuve. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/269632