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Title: InSAR Detection and Field Evidence for Thermokarst after a Tundra Wildfire, Using ALOS-PALSAR

Abstract

Thermokarst is the process of ground subsidence caused by either the thawing of ice-rich permafrost or the melting of massive ground ice. The consequences of permafrost degradation associated with thermokarst for surface ecology, landscape evolution, and hydrological processes have been of great scientific interest and social concern. Part of a tundra patch affected by wildfire in northern Alaska (27.5 km2) was investigated here, using remote sensing and in situ surveys to quantify and understand permafrost thaw dynamics after surface disturbances. A two-pass differential InSAR technique using L-band ALOS-PALSAR has been shown capable of capturing thermokarst subsidence triggered by a tundra fire at a spatial resolution of tens of meters, with supporting evidence from field data and optical satellite images. We have introduced a calibration procedure, comparing burned and unburned areas for InSAR subsidence signals, to remove the noise due to seasonal surface movement. In the first year after the fire, an average subsidence rate of 6.2 cm/year (vertical) was measured. Subsidence in the burned area continued over the following two years, with decreased rates. The mean rate of subsidence observed in our interferograms (from 24 July 2008 to 14 September 2010) was 3.3 cm/year, a value comparable to that estimatedmore » from field surveys at two plots on average (2.2 cm/year) for the six years after the fire. These results suggest that this InSAR-measured ground subsidence is caused by the development of thermokarst, a thawing process supported by surface change observations from high-resolution optical images and in situ ground level surveys.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [4];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK (United States). International Arctic Research Center
  2. National Inst. for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba (Japan)
  3. Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (China). Earth System Science Programme
  4. The Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan, Tsukuba (Japan)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); International Arctic Research Center (IARC); University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
1258631
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Remote Sensing
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2072-4292
Publisher:
MDPI
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; fire; PALSAR; InSAR; subsidence; thermokarst; ALOS; tundra; L-band; Anaktuvuk

Citation Formats

Iwahana, Go, Uchida, Masao, Liu, Lin, Gong, Wenyu, Meyer, Franz, Guritz, Richard, Yamanokuchi, Tsutomu, and Hinzman, Larry. InSAR Detection and Field Evidence for Thermokarst after a Tundra Wildfire, Using ALOS-PALSAR. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.3390/rs8030218.
Iwahana, Go, Uchida, Masao, Liu, Lin, Gong, Wenyu, Meyer, Franz, Guritz, Richard, Yamanokuchi, Tsutomu, & Hinzman, Larry. InSAR Detection and Field Evidence for Thermokarst after a Tundra Wildfire, Using ALOS-PALSAR. United States. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8030218
Iwahana, Go, Uchida, Masao, Liu, Lin, Gong, Wenyu, Meyer, Franz, Guritz, Richard, Yamanokuchi, Tsutomu, and Hinzman, Larry. Tue . "InSAR Detection and Field Evidence for Thermokarst after a Tundra Wildfire, Using ALOS-PALSAR". United States. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8030218. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1258631.
@article{osti_1258631,
title = {InSAR Detection and Field Evidence for Thermokarst after a Tundra Wildfire, Using ALOS-PALSAR},
author = {Iwahana, Go and Uchida, Masao and Liu, Lin and Gong, Wenyu and Meyer, Franz and Guritz, Richard and Yamanokuchi, Tsutomu and Hinzman, Larry},
abstractNote = {Thermokarst is the process of ground subsidence caused by either the thawing of ice-rich permafrost or the melting of massive ground ice. The consequences of permafrost degradation associated with thermokarst for surface ecology, landscape evolution, and hydrological processes have been of great scientific interest and social concern. Part of a tundra patch affected by wildfire in northern Alaska (27.5 km2) was investigated here, using remote sensing and in situ surveys to quantify and understand permafrost thaw dynamics after surface disturbances. A two-pass differential InSAR technique using L-band ALOS-PALSAR has been shown capable of capturing thermokarst subsidence triggered by a tundra fire at a spatial resolution of tens of meters, with supporting evidence from field data and optical satellite images. We have introduced a calibration procedure, comparing burned and unburned areas for InSAR subsidence signals, to remove the noise due to seasonal surface movement. In the first year after the fire, an average subsidence rate of 6.2 cm/year (vertical) was measured. Subsidence in the burned area continued over the following two years, with decreased rates. The mean rate of subsidence observed in our interferograms (from 24 July 2008 to 14 September 2010) was 3.3 cm/year, a value comparable to that estimated from field surveys at two plots on average (2.2 cm/year) for the six years after the fire. These results suggest that this InSAR-measured ground subsidence is caused by the development of thermokarst, a thawing process supported by surface change observations from high-resolution optical images and in situ ground level surveys.},
doi = {10.3390/rs8030218},
journal = {Remote Sensing},
number = 3,
volume = 8,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Mar 08 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Tue Mar 08 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

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