sign in sign up
<<
Home , Alaska North Slope, Geology of Alaska, Loess, Permafrost

Permafrost Extent by Surficial Deposit Torre Jorgenson, Kenji Yoshikawa, Mikhail Kanevskiy, and Yuri Shur University of Fairbanks, Institute of Northern Engineering, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA Mean Annual Air Temperature (deg. C) -12 3 Vladimir Romanovsky, Sergei Marchenko, and Guido Grosse to to Characteristics of Alaska University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA -6 -5 -2-3-4 -1 0 1 2 7 Jerry International Permafrost Association, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA Colluvium: Hillside 204!Barrow Ben Jones !(404394 280 U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska, USA Colluvium: Retransp. (!305 304(! (!!330 280286 408( 325 410 310 (!370 Glacial: Old (! (!(!250 282 315 (320(! (! A new permafrost map of Alaska, using a -unit approach for The distribution of ice wedges was determined from the literature, from 200 265 405 (! 338 215 mapping permafrost distribution based on and surficial is polygonal patterns evident on remote sensing imagery, and from our field Glacial: Young (! !((!(! 340 375 Prudhoe Bay 0 290 (! (!260 660 presented in conjunction with the Ninth International Conference on experience. Ice wedges actively form mainly in the continuous permafrost 330 (!285 !595 Eolian: (! (!183 # (! ! 229 (! !625 Permafrost held at the University of Alaska, June 29 to July 3, 2008. This map zone, and are inactive to weakly active in the discontinuous zone (Péwé ( (! ( represents the third iteration of a permafrost map for Alaska, following the 1975). ice wedges, which are limited to the top 3-5 m of permafrost, Eolian: 299 (! are smaller than large, deep (up to 35 m) syngenetic ice wedges formed during ! 290 circum- permafrost map (Brown et al. 1997), which made minor Glaciofluvial: Old ( modifications to the initial map by Ferrians (1965). To map permafrost, we the Late . Symbols for abundant ice wedges denote general (! 280 282 developed a rule-based model (see color-coded table) that incorporated mean locations, whereas, symbols for sparse Holocene and Late Pleistocene wedges 356 310 ! (! Glaciofluvial: Young 300 ( annual air temperatures (MAAT) from the PRISM climate map and the indicate specific areas, though distribution remains poorly known. 295 (! 235 0 (!(!(!322 240 Glaciolacustrine ! 231 (! surficial geology map (see back), of Karlstrom et al. (1964). We used terrain- landforms are abundant in all permafrost zones (Jorgenson ( (!# (! permafrost relationships developed by Kreig and Reger (1982) and our et al. 2008). They are varied, due to differences in temperature, ground ice Glaciomarine knowledge of permafrost distribution to assign permafrost characteristics to volume, texture, slope, and hydrologic conditions. Abundance of 366 each surficial deposit under varying temperatures. Surficial geology greatly thermokarst is difficult to map because of the wide range in size of features Fluvial: Aband./Terr. 356 290 (!304 affects permafrost characteristics because of differences in , soil from small pits to large lakes, and similar landforms may have different Fluvial: Active/Inact. (! (! texture (which affects moisture and thermal properties) and origin. Alluvial-Marine (surface- and ). We modified the surficial geology map to The permafrost zones underlie 80% of Alaska, including continuous update some areas with new information (e.g., eolian loess and sand, and (32%), discontinuous (31%), sporadic (8%), and isolated (10%) permafrost. Coastal: Beach 0 glaciomarine deposits). and ice sheets occupy 4% of the area. Continuous 61 We coded the permafrost map with surficial geology, MAAT, primary Many improvements are needed for a better permafrost map, including: a 70 27 #!( Coastal: Delta !111 , permafrost extent, ground ice volume, and primary thermokarst surficial geology map with updated information and better spatial accuracy; !( !( 87 !( landforms. The map focuses on the top 10 m of permafrost, where permafrost more information of terrain/ground ice/temperature/permafrost relationships, Water 72 See color legend below !( can be more readily mapped from surface features, determined by simple field more temperature , and improved spatial models. Kotzebue measurements, and where ground ice usually is most abundant. Distribution of 12 6 0 ! !!(#119 permafrost shown on the map is therefore also based on our knowledge about References 0 the presence or absence of permafrost within the upper 10 m. Although we 12 ! # used recent MAAT in our rule-based model, we note that permafrost 0 Brewer, M.C. 1958. Some results of geothermal investigations of permafrost 0 21 distribution is greatly affected by past . # ! 61 18 0 in northern Alaska. Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union 39(1): 19-26. # !( ! 31 # We relied on many sources for the effort but are not able to cite all ! references here. The main map shows permafrost thickness values based on Brown, J.B., Ferrians, O.J., Heginbottom, J.A. & Melnikov, E.S. 1997. 20 0 ! 27 MacCarthy (1952), Brewer (1958), Ferrians (1965), Péwé (1975), Osterkamp Circum-arctic map of permafrost and ground-ice conditions. U.S. Geol. Legend 5 ! 100 # ! 69 70 !( and Payne (1981), Lachenbruch et al. (1987), and Collett et al. (1989). Depths Surv., Map CP-45, scale 1:10,000,000. !( !( 13 Brown, J. & Romanovsky, V.E. 2008. Report from the International 0 ! 15 were determined by temperature logging or interpretation of ice-bearing 58 41 ! Permafrost Association: State of Permafrost in the First Decade of the 21st Permafrost Distribution #17 ! 36 permafrost from geophysical data. Southerly sites are included when the 27 ! 31 !( ! 40 76 97 Century. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 19: 255-260. ! 24107 ! !! 0 presence of permafrost is evident even if permafrost thicknesses were not !37 ! 16!( 35!!(21 ! !( 8 30 # 35 ! ! Collett, T.S., Bird, K.J., Kvenvolden, K.A. & Magoon, L.B. 1989. Map ! ! 129 ! ! 81!(47 determined. Fairbanks 0 showing the depth to the base of the deepest ice-bearing permafrost as !( 11 38 110 The following characteristics are shown on small thematic maps on the Nome ! 56 15 76! # determined from logs, North Slope, Alaska. U.S. Geol. Surv. Oil Gas !( ! !( 46 !( reverse side of the main map: Continuous (>90%) 24 55 !150 Ground temperatures (usually measured at depths 20-30 m) were obtained Inv. Map OM-222, scale 1: 1,000,000. ! !( 64 66 !( !( from boreholes by V. Romanovsky, G. Clow, K. Yoshikawa, and T. Ferrians, O.J. 1965. Permafrost map of Alaska. U.S. Geol. Surv. Misc. Geol. 64 !(0 67 73 Discontinuous (50-90%) 0 17 !( !( Osterkamp as part of the Thermal State of Permafrost project for the Inv. Map I-445, scale 1: 2,500,000. 0 ! 30 # !( # ! 10 ! 54 (Brown and Romanovsky 2008). Only recent data are Galloway, J.P. & Carter, L.D. 1978. Preliminary map of in National ! Tok 45 # ! !(63 Reserve in Alaska. U.S. Geol. Surv. OF 78-795. 9 31 ! used. Sporadic (10-50%) ! ! !(27 36 76 Holmes, G.W., Hopkins, D.M. & Foster, H.L. 1968. Pingos in central Alaska. Discontinuous ! ! Ground ice volumes were estimated for the upper 5 m of permafrost using 15 !( 61 U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 1241-H: 1-40. ! !( terrain relationships established by Kreig and Reger (1982) and our field data. Isolated (>0-10%) 22 Ground ice volume near the surface is higher in colder regions due to active Jorgenson, M.T., Shur, Y. & Osterkamp, T.E. 2008. Thermokarst in Alaska. 16 ! !!McGrath ice-wedge formation and in fine-grained deposits. Buried Proc. Ninth International Permafrost Conf., Fairbanks. In press. 37 44 9 ! ! Karlstrom, T.N.V. and others. 1964. Surficial . U.S. Geol. Absent (0%) ! 0 glacial ice in old or stagnant young moraines is included, but is irregularly 0 # distributed at this map scale. Surv., Misc. Geol. Inv. Map I-357, scale 1:1,584,000. # Glennallen 38 0 ! distribution was compiled mostly from Holmes et al. (1968), Kreig, R.A. & Reger, R.D. 1982. Air-photo analysis and summary of landform Large Waterbodies (unfrozen below) !30 58!(68! # !( Galloway and Carter (1978), and Walker et al. (1985) and by satellite image soil properties along the route of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Alaska 38 16 32 ! 25 ! ! interpretation. There are >1500 known pingos in Alaska. In central Alaska and Div. Geol. Geophys. Surv., Geologic Rep. 66, 149 pp. 5 0 ! Permafrost_Zones Generalized ! 28 183 nearby areas, there are ~760 pingos, mostly open-system. Closed- Lachenbruch, A.H., Sass, J.H., Lawyer, L.A., Brewer, M.C., and five others. # ! !( 1987. Temperature and depth of permafrost on the Alaskan Arctic Slope. 11 0 system pingos predominate in the North Slope, , and Noatak ! regions. Not all pingos have been inventoried. In: Geology. Alaska Geol. Soc., Book 50, Vol. 2: 545- 9 # Permafrost Depth (m) 0 Sporadic Anchorage! 558. # 10 ! 107 ! ! MacCarthy, G.R. 1952. Geothermal investigations on the Arctic Slope Alaska. 122 ! 0 5 - 50 !( 13 Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union 33(4): 589-593. !(!! Bethel # 122!(184 Valdez Osterkamp, T.E. & Payne, M.W. 1981. Estimates of permafrost thickness !( 51 - 100 !( from well logs in northern AK. Cold Reg. Sci Tech. 5: 13-27. éwé, T.L. 1975. geology of Alaska. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. ! 0 P !( # 836, 145 pp. 101 - 200 Kenai Walker, D.A., Walker, M.D., Everett, K.R. & Webber, P.J. 1985. Pingos of the Prudhoe Bay region, AK. Arctic Alp. Res. 17: 321-336. ! 0 ( 201 - 300 23 Isolated # ! ! (! 301 - 500 Juneau

6 (! 501 - 600 ! 49 0 53 ! # !( 0 15 0 # Permafrost present but depth unknown # ! ##0 #0 Other Features 0 0 ## Major Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Projection: Albers Alaska, NAD 83 2008, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks 050 100 200 300 400 500 December update to July NICOP map km scale 1: 7,200,000