Long-term Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program observations in Northern Alaskan tundra

Kelsey E. Nyland; Nikolay I. Shiklomanov; Dmitry A. Streletskiy; Frederick E. Nelson; Anna E. Klene; Alexander L. Kholodov

doi:10.1080/1088937X.2021.1988000

Long-term Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program observations in Northern Alaskan tundra

Kelsey E. Nyland
, Nikolay I. Shiklomanov
, Dmitry A. Streletskiy
, Frederick E. Nelson
, Anna E. Klene
, Alexander L. Kholodov

W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) network is an ongoing international effort to collect and disseminate standardized measurements of active-layer dynamics to monitor the response of near-surface permafrost parameters to climate change. This work presents a distillation of 25 years (1995–2019) of observations from three north–south transects of CALM sites in tundra environments of Alaska. Transects examined in this work bisect tundra regions of discontinuous permafrost on the Seward Peninsula, and the continuous permafrost zone on the western and eastern sections of the Arctic Foothills and Arctic Coastal Plain. These transects represent regional climatic gradients, several physiographic provinces, and regionally characteristic landcover associations. Total active-layer thickening at observed sites ranged from 7 to 26 cm; more significant thaw occurred in the foothills despite less pronounced warming air temperature trends. This summary highlights several regional active layer responses to climate warming, complicated by distinct thermal landscape sensitivities, landscape variability, and documented thaw subsidence. Data summarized in this report are publicly available and represent an important validation resource for earth-system models that include regions in the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones of northern and western Alaska.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	167-185
Number of pages	19
Journal	Polar Geography
Volume	44
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/1088937X.2021.1988000
State	Published - 2021

Funding

The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program was founded in the early 1990s. One of CALM’s initial functions was to operate as a data-rescue program following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In its initial phases CALM focused on preserving records of ALT from the territory of the USSR and North America. Records from Alaska were surprisingly few and, with few exceptions, were of relatively short duration and had been collected primarily in support of ecological, hydrological, and engineering investigations. An important concomitant goal of the fledgling CALM program in Alaska was to extend the few existing records and to establish new long-term monitoring sites that could serve the variety of original study purposes. Several of these sites were used to develop and test field procedures, sampling designs, data-analysis procedures, and data management. The Alaska component of the CALM program has been funded continuously by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) since 1998. A short history of the CALM program forms the introduction to this special issue of Polar Geography. The CALM network has been supported by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) awards OPP-9732051 to the University of Cincinnati, OPP-0352958 to the University of Delaware, and ARC-1002119, OPP-1304555, and OPP-1836377 to the George Washington University, and OPP-1836381 to Northern Michigan University and Michigan State University. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. The mention of specific product names does not constitute an endorsement by the NSF. We are grateful to the numerous researchers and students who assisted in the field by conducting CALM observations and providing data. Dr. Jerry Brown has been a guiding force in the CALM program from its inception in the early 1990s; the influence of his conceptual constructs and their implementation are pervasive in this work.

Funders	Funder number
OPP-9732051, OPP-1304555, ARC-1002119, OPP-0352958, OPP-1836377
George Washington University	OPP-1836381
Michigan State University
University of Cincinnati
Northern Michigan University

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

Alaska
Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring
active layer
climate change
monitoring
permafrost

Access to Document

10.1080/1088937X.2021.1988000

Cite this

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title = "Long-term Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program observations in Northern Alaskan tundra",

abstract = "The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) network is an ongoing international effort to collect and disseminate standardized measurements of active-layer dynamics to monitor the response of near-surface permafrost parameters to climate change. This work presents a distillation of 25 years (1995–2019) of observations from three north–south transects of CALM sites in tundra environments of Alaska. Transects examined in this work bisect tundra regions of discontinuous permafrost on the Seward Peninsula, and the continuous permafrost zone on the western and eastern sections of the Arctic Foothills and Arctic Coastal Plain. These transects represent regional climatic gradients, several physiographic provinces, and regionally characteristic landcover associations. Total active-layer thickening at observed sites ranged from 7 to 26 cm; more significant thaw occurred in the foothills despite less pronounced warming air temperature trends. This summary highlights several regional active layer responses to climate warming, complicated by distinct thermal landscape sensitivities, landscape variability, and documented thaw subsidence. Data summarized in this report are publicly available and represent an important validation resource for earth-system models that include regions in the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones of northern and western Alaska.",

keywords = "Alaska, Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring, active layer, climate change, monitoring, permafrost",

author = "Nyland, \{Kelsey E.\} and Shiklomanov, \{Nikolay I.\} and Streletskiy, \{Dmitry A.\} and Nelson, \{Frederick E.\} and Klene, \{Anna E.\} and Kholodov, \{Alexander L.\}",

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AU - Shiklomanov, Nikolay I.

AU - Streletskiy, Dmitry A.

AU - Nelson, Frederick E.

AU - Klene, Anna E.

AU - Kholodov, Alexander L.

PY - 2021

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N2 - The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) network is an ongoing international effort to collect and disseminate standardized measurements of active-layer dynamics to monitor the response of near-surface permafrost parameters to climate change. This work presents a distillation of 25 years (1995–2019) of observations from three north–south transects of CALM sites in tundra environments of Alaska. Transects examined in this work bisect tundra regions of discontinuous permafrost on the Seward Peninsula, and the continuous permafrost zone on the western and eastern sections of the Arctic Foothills and Arctic Coastal Plain. These transects represent regional climatic gradients, several physiographic provinces, and regionally characteristic landcover associations. Total active-layer thickening at observed sites ranged from 7 to 26 cm; more significant thaw occurred in the foothills despite less pronounced warming air temperature trends. This summary highlights several regional active layer responses to climate warming, complicated by distinct thermal landscape sensitivities, landscape variability, and documented thaw subsidence. Data summarized in this report are publicly available and represent an important validation resource for earth-system models that include regions in the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones of northern and western Alaska.

AB - The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) network is an ongoing international effort to collect and disseminate standardized measurements of active-layer dynamics to monitor the response of near-surface permafrost parameters to climate change. This work presents a distillation of 25 years (1995–2019) of observations from three north–south transects of CALM sites in tundra environments of Alaska. Transects examined in this work bisect tundra regions of discontinuous permafrost on the Seward Peninsula, and the continuous permafrost zone on the western and eastern sections of the Arctic Foothills and Arctic Coastal Plain. These transects represent regional climatic gradients, several physiographic provinces, and regionally characteristic landcover associations. Total active-layer thickening at observed sites ranged from 7 to 26 cm; more significant thaw occurred in the foothills despite less pronounced warming air temperature trends. This summary highlights several regional active layer responses to climate warming, complicated by distinct thermal landscape sensitivities, landscape variability, and documented thaw subsidence. Data summarized in this report are publicly available and represent an important validation resource for earth-system models that include regions in the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones of northern and western Alaska.

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Long-term Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program observations in Northern Alaskan tundra

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

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