DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Coincident aboveground and belowground autonomous monitoring to quantify covariability in permafrost, soil, and vegetation properties in Arctic tundra

Abstract

Abstract Coincident monitoring of the spatiotemporal distribution of and interactions between land, soil, and permafrost properties is important for advancing our understanding of ecosystem dynamics. In this study, a novel monitoring strategy was developed to quantify complex Arctic ecosystem responses to the seasonal freeze‐thaw‐growing season conditions. The strategy exploited autonomous measurements obtained through electrical resistivity tomography to monitor soil properties, pole‐mounted optical cameras to monitor vegetation dynamics, point probes to measure soil temperature, and periodic manual measurements of thaw layer thickness, snow thickness, and soil dielectric permittivity. The spatially and temporally dense monitoring data sets revealed several insights about tundra system behavior at a site located near Barrow, AK. In the active layer, the soil electrical conductivity (a proxy for soil water content) indicated an increasing positive correlation with the green chromatic coordinate (a proxy for vegetation vigor) over the growing season, with the strongest correlation ( R  = 0.89) near the typical peak of the growing season. Soil conductivity and green chromatic coordinate also showed significant positive correlations with thaw depth, which is influenced by soil and surface properties. In the permafrost, soil electrical conductivity revealed annual variations in solute concentration and unfrozen water content, even at temperatures well belowmore » 0°C in saline permafrost. These conditions may contribute to an acceleration of long‐term thaw in Coastal permafrost regions. Demonstration of this first aboveground and belowground geophysical monitoring approach within an Arctic ecosystem illustrates its significant potential to remotely “visualize” permafrost, soil, and vegetation ecosystem codynamics in high resolution over field relevant scales.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1471034
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1402392
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 122; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-8953
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; permafrost; Arctic; soil moisture; codynamics; subsurface imaging; aerial imaging

Citation Formats

Dafflon, Baptiste, Oktem, Rusen, Peterson, John, Ulrich, Craig, Tran, Anh Phuong, Romanovsky, Vladimir, and Hubbard, Susan S. Coincident aboveground and belowground autonomous monitoring to quantify covariability in permafrost, soil, and vegetation properties in Arctic tundra. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1002/2016JG003724.
Dafflon, Baptiste, Oktem, Rusen, Peterson, John, Ulrich, Craig, Tran, Anh Phuong, Romanovsky, Vladimir, & Hubbard, Susan S. Coincident aboveground and belowground autonomous monitoring to quantify covariability in permafrost, soil, and vegetation properties in Arctic tundra. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JG003724
Dafflon, Baptiste, Oktem, Rusen, Peterson, John, Ulrich, Craig, Tran, Anh Phuong, Romanovsky, Vladimir, and Hubbard, Susan S. Sat . "Coincident aboveground and belowground autonomous monitoring to quantify covariability in permafrost, soil, and vegetation properties in Arctic tundra". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JG003724. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1471034.
@article{osti_1471034,
title = {Coincident aboveground and belowground autonomous monitoring to quantify covariability in permafrost, soil, and vegetation properties in Arctic tundra},
author = {Dafflon, Baptiste and Oktem, Rusen and Peterson, John and Ulrich, Craig and Tran, Anh Phuong and Romanovsky, Vladimir and Hubbard, Susan S.},
abstractNote = {Abstract Coincident monitoring of the spatiotemporal distribution of and interactions between land, soil, and permafrost properties is important for advancing our understanding of ecosystem dynamics. In this study, a novel monitoring strategy was developed to quantify complex Arctic ecosystem responses to the seasonal freeze‐thaw‐growing season conditions. The strategy exploited autonomous measurements obtained through electrical resistivity tomography to monitor soil properties, pole‐mounted optical cameras to monitor vegetation dynamics, point probes to measure soil temperature, and periodic manual measurements of thaw layer thickness, snow thickness, and soil dielectric permittivity. The spatially and temporally dense monitoring data sets revealed several insights about tundra system behavior at a site located near Barrow, AK. In the active layer, the soil electrical conductivity (a proxy for soil water content) indicated an increasing positive correlation with the green chromatic coordinate (a proxy for vegetation vigor) over the growing season, with the strongest correlation ( R  = 0.89) near the typical peak of the growing season. Soil conductivity and green chromatic coordinate also showed significant positive correlations with thaw depth, which is influenced by soil and surface properties. In the permafrost, soil electrical conductivity revealed annual variations in solute concentration and unfrozen water content, even at temperatures well below 0°C in saline permafrost. These conditions may contribute to an acceleration of long‐term thaw in Coastal permafrost regions. Demonstration of this first aboveground and belowground geophysical monitoring approach within an Arctic ecosystem illustrates its significant potential to remotely “visualize” permafrost, soil, and vegetation ecosystem codynamics in high resolution over field relevant scales.},
doi = {10.1002/2016JG003724},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences},
number = 6,
volume = 122,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Sat May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 37 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Greenness indices from digital cameras predict the timing and seasonal dynamics of canopy-scale photosynthesis
journal, January 2015

  • Toomey, Michael; Friedl, Mark A.; Frolking, Steve
  • Ecological Applications, Vol. 25, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1890/14-0005.1

Hydrologic and thermal properties of the active layer in the Alaskan Arctic
journal, May 1991


An Arctic ecosystem : the coastal tundra at Barrow, Alaska
book, January 1980


A self‐similar model for sedimentary rocks with application to the dielectric constant of fused glass beads
journal, May 1981

  • Sen, P. N.; Scala, C.; Cohen, M. H.
  • GEOPHYSICS, Vol. 46, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1190/1.1441215

Color Indices for Weed Identification Under Various Soil, Residue, and Lighting Conditions
journal, January 1995


Revised equation and table for determining the freezing point depression of H2O-Nacl solutions
journal, February 1993


Frozen ground monitoring using DC resistivity tomography
journal, January 2002


Low temperature dependence of electrical resistivity: Implications for near surface geophysical monitoring
journal, January 2007

  • Hayley, Kevin; Bentley, L. R.; Gharibi, M.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34, Issue 18
  • DOI: 10.1029/2007GL031124

Dependence of unfrozen water content in unsaturated frozen clay soil on initial soil moisture content
journal, February 2004


Ground ice in the upper permafrost of the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska
journal, January 2013


Electrical Conductivity Imaging of Active Layer and Permafrost in an Arctic Ecosystem, through Advanced Inversion of Electromagnetic Induction Data
journal, January 2013

  • Dafflon, Baptiste; Hubbard, Susan S.; Ulrich, Craig
  • Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.2136/vzj2012.0161

Direct current (DC) resistivity and induced polarization (IP) monitoring of active layer dynamics at high temporal resolution
journal, November 2015


Thermally induced movements in ice-wedge polygons, western arctic coast: a long-term study
journal, January 2000

  • MacKay, J. Ross
  • Géographie physique et Quaternaire, Vol. 54, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.7202/004846ar

Strength of frozen saline soils
journal, April 1995

  • Hivon, E. G.; Sego, D. C.
  • Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 32, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1139/t95-034

Tundra vegetation change near Barrow, Alaska (1972–2010)
journal, January 2012


Digital repeat photography for phenological research in forest ecosystems
journal, January 2012


Full-wavefield inversion of surface waves for mapping embedded low-velocity zones in permafrost
journal, November 2014


Geophysical estimation of shallow permafrost distribution and properties in an ice-wedge polygon-dominated Arctic tundra region
journal, January 2016


Use of digital webcam images to track spring green-up in a deciduous broadleaf forest
journal, March 2007


Spatial distribution of near surface soil moisture and its relationship to microtopography in the Alaskan Arctic coastal plain
journal, June 2005


Ecosystem feedbacks and cascade processes: understanding their role in the responses of Arctic and alpine ecosystems to environmental change
journal, May 2009


Monitoring plant condition and phenology using infrared sensitive consumer grade digital cameras
journal, January 2014


Permafrost thaw and soil moisture driving CO 2 and CH 4 release from upland tundra
journal, March 2015

  • Natali, Susan M.; Schuur, Edward A. G.; Mauritz, Marguerite
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 120, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1002/2014JG002872

Spatial and temporal variation in primary productivity (NDVI) of coastal Alaskan tundra: Decreased vegetation growth following earlier snowmelt
journal, February 2013

  • Gamon, John A.; Huemmrich, K. Fred; Stone, Robert S.
  • Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 129
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2012.10.030

Effects of unfrozen water on heat and mass transport processes in the active layer and permafrost
journal, January 2000


Kite Aerial Photography for Low-Cost, Ultra-high Spatial Resolution Multi-Spectral Mapping of Intertidal Landscapes
journal, September 2013


Identifying multiscale zonation and assessing the relative importance of polygon geomorphology on carbon fluxes in an Arctic tundra ecosystem: ZONATION APPROACH IN AN ARCTIC ECOSYSTEM
journal, April 2015

  • Wainwright, Haruko M.; Dafflon, Baptiste; Smith, Lydia J.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 120, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1002/2014JG002799

Internal structure and conditions of permafrost mounds at Umiujaq in Nunavik, Canada, inferred from field investigation and electrical resistivity tomography
journal, March 2008

  • Fortier, Richard; LeBlanc, Anne-Marie; Allard, Michel
  • Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 45, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1139/E08-004

Soil properties influencing apparent electrical conductivity: a review
journal, March 2005


Microtopographic and depth controls on active layer chemistry in Arctic polygonal ground: Polygonal Ground Chemistry
journal, March 2015

  • Newman, B. D.; Throckmorton, H. M.; Graham, D. E.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 42, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1002/2014GL062804

Extrapolating active layer thickness measurements across Arctic polygonal terrain using LiDAR and NDVI data sets : Research Article
journal, August 2014

  • Gangodagamage, Chandana; Rowland, Joel C.; Hubbard, Susan S.
  • Water Resources Research, Vol. 50, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1002/2013WR014283

Electrical conductivity in shaly sands with geophysical applications
journal, October 1998

  • Revil, A.; Cathles, L. M.; Losh, S.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 103, Issue B10
  • DOI: 10.1029/98JB02125

Multisensor On-The-Go Mapping of Soil Organic Carbon Content
journal, January 2011

  • Knadel, Maria; Thomsen, Anton; Greve, Mogens H.
  • Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 75, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2010.0452

Surface hydrology of an arctic ecosystem: Multiscale analysis of a flooding and draining experiment using spectral reflectance
journal, January 2011

  • Goswami, Santonu; Gamon, John A.; Tweedie, Craig E.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116
  • DOI: 10.1029/2010JG001346

Detection of subsurface permafrost features with ground-penetrating radar, Barrow, Alaska
journal, January 2001

  • Hinkel, K. M.; Doolittle, J. A.; Bockheim, J. G.
  • Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, Vol. 12, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1002/ppp.369

Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change
journal, March 2006


Effects of soil organic matter composition on unfrozen water content and heterotrophic CO2 production of frozen soils
journal, April 2010

  • Harrysson Drotz, Stina; Sparrman, Tobias; Schleucher, Jürgen
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 74, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2010.01.026

Topographic structure from motion: a new development in photogrammetric measurement: TOPOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE FROM MOTION
journal, January 2013

  • Fonstad, Mark A.; Dietrich, James T.; Courville, Brittany C.
  • Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, Vol. 38, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1002/esp.3366

Freezing point depression of NaCl-KCl-H 2 O solutions
journal, February 1988


Hydrologic Impacts of Thawing Permafrost—A Review
journal, January 2016


The relationship of total dissolved solids measurements to bulk electrical conductivity in an aquifer contaminated with hydrocarbon
journal, November 2004


Temperature-calibrated imaging of seasonal changes in permafrost rock walls by quantitative electrical resistivity tomography (Zugspitze, German/Austrian Alps): QUANTITATIVE ERT OF PERMAFROST ROCKS
journal, April 2010

  • Krautblatter, Michael; Verleysdonk, Sarah; Flores-Orozco, Adrián
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 115, Issue F2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2008JF001209

Remote Monitoring of Freeze–Thaw Transitions in Arctic Soils Using the Complex Resistivity Method
journal, January 2013

  • Wu, Yuxin; Hubbard, Susan S.; Ulrich, Craig
  • Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.2136/vzj2012.0062

Sensitivity of airborne geophysical data to sublacustrine and near-surface permafrost thaw
journal, January 2015

  • Minsley, B. J.; Wellman, T. P.; Walvoord, M. A.
  • The Cryosphere, Vol. 9, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.5194/tc-9-781-2015

Freezing point depression of aqueous sodium chloride solutions
journal, April 1978


Potential repsonse of an Arctic watershed during a period of global warming
journal, January 1992

  • Hinzman, Larry D.; Kane, Douglas L.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 97, Issue D3
  • DOI: 10.1029/91JD01752

Remote Sensing of Arctic Vegetation: Relations between the NDVI, Spatial Resolution and Vegetation Cover on Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut
journal, March 2009

  • Laidler, Gita J.; Treitz, Paul M.; Atkinson, David M.
  • ARCTIC, Vol. 61, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.14430/arctic2

Distribution of saline permafrost in the Northwest Territories, Canada
journal, June 1993

  • Hivon, E. G.; Sego, D. C.
  • Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 30, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1139/t93-043

Comparison of geophysical investigations for detection of massive ground ice (pingo ice)
journal, January 2006

  • Yoshikawa, K.; Leuschen, C.; Ikeda, A.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue E6
  • DOI: 10.1029/2005JE002573

Contribution of permafrost soils to the global carbon budget
journal, February 2013


Quantifying and relating land-surface and subsurface variability in permafrost environments using LiDAR and surface geophysical datasets
journal, December 2012


Decadal variations of active-layer thickness in moisture-controlled landscapes, Barrow, Alaska
journal, January 2010

  • Shiklomanov, Nikolay I.; Streletskiy, Dmitry A.; Nelson, Frederick E.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115
  • DOI: 10.1029/2009JG001248

Nonlinear controls on evapotranspiration in arctic coastal wetlands
journal, January 2011


Imaging spectroscopy algorithms for mapping canopy foliar chemical and morphological traits and their uncertainties
journal, December 2015

  • Singh, Aditya; Serbin, Shawn P.; McNeil, Brenden E.
  • Ecological Applications, Vol. 25, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1890/14-2098.1

UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic
journal, September 2016

  • Fraser, Robert H.; Olthof, Ian; Lantz, Trevor C.
  • Arctic Science, Vol. 2, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1139/as-2016-0008

Using digital repeat photography and eddy covariance data to model grassland phenology and photosynthetic CO2 uptake
journal, October 2011


Geophysical imaging and thermal modeling of subsurface morphology and thaw evolution of discontinuous permafrost: GEOPHYSICAL IMAGING OF PERMAFROST
journal, September 2013

  • McClymont, Alastair F.; Hayashi, Masaki; Bentley, Laurence R.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 118, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1002/jgrf.20114

Three-phase numerical model for subsurface hydrology in permafrost-affected regions (PFLOTRAN-ICE v1.0)
journal, January 2014


Geoelectric observations of the degradation of nearshore submarine permafrost at Barrow (Alaskan Beaufort Sea): GEOELECTRIC RESISTIVITY OF SUBSEA PERMAFROST
journal, April 2012

  • Overduin, Pier Paul; Westermann, Sebastian; Yoshikawa, Kenji
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 117, Issue F2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2011JF002088

Monitoring of active layer dynamics at a permafrost site on Svalbard using multi-channel ground-penetrating radar
journal, January 2010

  • Westermann, S.; Wollschläger, U.; Boike, J.
  • The Cryosphere, Vol. 4, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.5194/tc-4-475-2010

Straightforward reconstruction of 3D surfaces and topography with a camera: Accuracy and geoscience application: 3D SURFACES AND TOPOGRAPHY WITH A CAMERA
journal, August 2012

  • James, M. R.; Robson, S.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 117, Issue F3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2011JF002289

Microtopographic controls on ecosystem functioning in the Arctic Coastal Plain
journal, January 2011

  • Zona, D.; Lipson, D. A.; Zulueta, R. C.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116
  • DOI: 10.1029/2009JG001241

Lateglacial and Holocene isotopic and environmental history of northern coastal Alaska – Results from a buried ice-wedge system at Barrow
journal, December 2010


Soil organic carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region: SOIL ORGANIC CARBON POOLS
journal, June 2009

  • Tarnocai, C.; Canadell, J. G.; Schuur, E. A. G.
  • Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 23, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2008GB003327

Importance of Cryoturbation in Redistributing Organic Carbon in Permafrost-Affected Soils
journal, January 2007


Ground-Ice Wedges: The Dominant Form of Ground-Ice on the North Coast of Alaska
journal, October 1915

  • Leffingwell, E. de K.
  • The Journal of Geology, Vol. 23, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1086/622281

Remote sensing of vegetation and land-cover change in Arctic Tundra Ecosystems
journal, February 2004

  • Stow, Douglas A.; Hope, Allen; McGuire, David
  • Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 89, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2003.10.018

Works referencing / citing this record:

Mountain permafrost degradation documented through a network of permanent electrical resistivity tomography sites
posted_content, December 2018

  • Mollaret, Coline; Hilbich, Christin; Pellet, Cécile
  • The Cryosphere Discussions
  • DOI: 10.5194/tc-2018-272

A distributed temperature profiling method for assessing spatial variability in ground temperatures in a discontinuous permafrost region of Alaska
journal, January 2019


Mountain permafrost degradation documented through a network of permanent electrical resistivity tomography sites
journal, January 2019

  • Mollaret, Coline; Hilbich, Christin; Pellet, Cécile
  • The Cryosphere, Vol. 13, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.5194/tc-13-2557-2019

Analysis of landscape evolution in a vulnerable coastal area under natural and human pressure
journal, January 2018