Higher temperature sensitivity of retrogressive thaw slump activity in the Arctic compared to the Third Pole

Ya Liu; Haijun Qiu; Ulrich Kamp; Ninglian Wang; Jiading Wang; Chang Huang; Bingzhe Tang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170007

Higher temperature sensitivity of retrogressive thaw slump activity in the Arctic compared to the Third Pole

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Mar 1:914:170007. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170007. Epub 2024 Jan 13.

Authors

Ya Liu¹, Haijun Qiu², Ulrich Kamp³, Ninglian Wang⁴, Jiading Wang⁵, Chang Huang⁴, Bingzhe Tang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China.
² Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China; Insitute of Earth Surface System and Hazards, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China. Electronic address: haijunqiu@nwu.edu.cn.
³ Earth and Environmental Sciences Discipline, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI 4, USA.
⁴ Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China; Insitute of Earth Surface System and Hazards, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.

PMID: 38219993
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170007

Abstract

Climate change exacerbates permafrost thawing, resulting exceptionally intense retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) activity in the Arctic and Third Pole. However, comparative assessments of permafrost characteristics and RTS sensitivity under warming climate at both poles are still lacking. Here, the severity and temperature sensitivity of RTS were presented and compared using Tasselled Cap (TC) trend analysis of time-series Landsat images and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurement. RTS has a more severe growth trend in the Arctic cold permafrost region, also with a deformation rate of approximately 70 mm/year and cumulative displacement up to 120 mm. In comparison, the deformation rate in the Third Pole is approximately 50 mm/year. The RTS severity in the Arctic is about 1.5 times higher than in the Third Pole, primarily owing to different sensitivities of cold and warm permafrost under warming climate. The intensification and vulnerability of RTS have global implications on climatological processes, hydrology, carbon release and ground stability, thus calling for attention and effective governance action.

Keywords: Climate change; InSAR measurement; Permafrost; Retrogressive thaw slumps; Sensitivity.