Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2008. / Typescript (photocopy). "September 2008." Eighteen folded leaves of ill. in pocket. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-115).

Polygonal terrain underlain by ice wedges (IWs) are a widespread feature in continuous permafrost and make up 20-35%vol of the ground ice in the upper few meters of permafrost. Despite the numerous contemporary studies examining factors that control ice wedge cracking, development and degradation, relatively few have explored ice wedge activity in relation with past climate and vegetation conditions. In the Eureka Sound region, ice wedge polygons dominate the permafrost terrain. Their degradation has started to occur, leading to growth of thaw slumps. The objective of this study is twofold, the principal objective is to investigate the timing of ice wedge activity in the Eureka Sound region using the ¹⁴CDOC dates. The second objective is to evaluate the use of ice wedges as paleotemperature proxies. In July 2018, four ice wedges were sampled at 3-4 depths with each core sample being ~1m in length. In the following summer, eight ice wedges were sampled from the surface, 3-5 core samples were extracted per wedge. Active layer and snow samples were also recovered. Laboratory analyses on the ice wedge samples includes dissolved organic carbon content (DOC) and δ¹³CDOC, radiocarbon dating of DOC, geochemical concentration, and stable water isotopes. The DOC and geochemical results show that snowmelt is the main moisture source for ice wedges in the Eureka Sound region with a minor contribution of leached surface organics. The age (¹⁴CDOC) and size of the studied ice wedges were compared against a cracking occurrence model developed by Mackay (1974), these ice wedges align well with this model and suggest that ice wedge growth is non-linear. Ice wedges in the Eureka Sound region were active during the early to late Holocene (9-2.5 ka). The majority of the activity occurred in the later stage of the early Holocene following regional deglaciation and marine regression. ¹⁴CDOC, high resolution δ¹⁸O and D-excess suggests the occurrence of peripheral cracking in both large and small ice wedges. Rayleigh-type isotopic fractionation was found to occur with depth. As well, post depositional isotopic modification of snow and snowmelt accounts for up to a 4‰ difference of δ18O in surface ice wedge samples. δ¹³CDOC of surface ice wedge samples suggest a habitat transition during the late Holocene from dry meadows to polygonal terrain and the geochemical composition of ice wedges closely reflects that of glacial ice core records.

Climate warming has the potential to alter the structure and function of Arctic ecosystems in ways that are not fully understood. Polygonal terrain is a widespread permafrost feature of Arctic landscapes that is likely to be impacted by warming ground temperatures. This is of particular relevance in the uplands in the Mackenzie Delta region, where high-centre ice wedge polygon fields comprise 10% of the terrestrial landscape, and mean annual ground temperatures have increased between 1 and 2°C over the last 40 years (Burn and Kokelj 2009). I used broad-scale airphoto analysis and fine-scale field studies to investigate the impacts and possible trajectories of ice wedge degradation in the upland tundra north of Inuvik, NWT. Field investigations were undertaken to characterize biotic and abiotic conditions and feedbacks in stable and degrading high-centre polygons. Field surveys were conducted along transects which crossed three polygon micropositions (centres, edges and troughs) and targeted a degradation sequence from stable troughs to ice wedge melt ponds. I measured surface microtopography, active layer depth, water depth, plant community composition, soil gravimetric moisture, late winter snow depth, and shallow annual ground temperatures. Field data showed that ice wedge degradation drove increases in soil moisture, standing water depth, ground surface collapse, ground temperature, and active layer thaw and snow pack compared to stable troughs. These changing abiotic conditions drove the shift from mesic upland tundra plant communities to unvegetated melt ponds. Interactions between abiotic and biotic factors in degrading troughs increase ground temperature and contribute to positive feedbacks for ice wedge degradation. Analysis of broad-scale factors affecting ice wedge degradation involved the mapping of high-centre polygon distribution across the study area and the distribution of ice wedge melt ponds using high-resolution aerial photographs from 2004. Recent changes in melt pond area were also mapped using imagery dating from 1972. Thermokarst activity in polygonal terrain adjacent to anthropogenic disturbances was also assessed. Polygon fields were more abundant and larger in the northern part of the study area, where ground temperature conditions were most favourable for ice wedge formation. Spatial variation in polygonal terrain density was also related to topography, drainage, and the distribution of lacustrine sediments. Melt pond mapping and assessment of thermokarst at anthropogenic disturbances showed that ice wedges at higher latitudes are more susceptible to degradation primarily because these areas are underlain by larger and more abundant ice wedges. Melt pond mapping confirmed that the polygonal fields north of 69.4°N have shown both large increases and decreases in area, and that polygons in the south have been relatively stable in recent decades. The increased thaw sensitivity of polygonal terrain at higher latitudes has implications for soil carbon dynamics, terrestrial ecosystems, and the planning and maintenance of infrastructure as air and ground temperatures continue to increase. / Graduate / 0329 / 0372 / 0388

Location and climate factors governing morphological features of ice wedge polygons in arctic zone Abstract This thesis reports the geometry of active soil and ice-wedge polygonal network located along the Canadian Arctic and in Alaska. This High Arctic periglacial environment was chosen to ensure active thermal-contraction cracking of permafrost in Holocene allowing comparison of observed ice-wedge polygons with existing climatic data. Geoinformatic software (Google Earth, ArcGIS) was used to obtain and digitalize satellite images of polygonal networks located around Eureka, Mould Bay, Churchill, Rankin Inlet, Inuvik, and Kotzebue. Defined polygonal networks were statistically analyzed in order to define predominant environmental factors controlling morphological parameters of these polygonal networks. Polygon size (overall influence computed on the basis of coefficient of determination) is determined mostly by the duration of development (18 %), frequency of cyclonic passage (17.8 %) and winter air temperature (16.1 %). Conversely, polygon regularity results mainly from nature of the substrate (21.8 %), winter wind speed (15.1 %) and snow cover thickness (12.2 %). Dominant polygon elongation in the polygonal network follows closely the winter wind direction (3/4 of all networks) as the result of snow...

Recognition and classification of patterned ground polygons from remote sensing data Abstract The main objective of this thesis has been to prove the possibility of using object based image analysis classification for identification of the ice-wedge polygons and to find general method for their classification. The thesis contains a comparison of the object based and pixel based classification of the subject. The three classification rulesets for OBIA were developed on three test sites on Mars captured by HiRISE sensor. As a result, the general classification approach is suggested. The manually collected datasets, which are common in geomorphological research, were used as the reference sample. The OBIA classification provided better results in all three cases, whereas the pixel classification was valid in only one case. Another objective has been the automatization of the process of gaining information about morphometric characteristics of the ice-wedge polygons and the subsequent classification of the polygons. Within the scope of the process were developed methods for creating polygonal network and specified parameters of those methods. Several toolboxes for the ArcGIS software were prepared and they are part of the results of the thesis. Keywords: patterned ground, ice-wedge polygons, remote sensing,...

Ice and frost wedges are a geomorphological phenomenon which is directly related to periglacial environment and permafrost (Murton, 2007). The presence of permafrost in the territory of the Czech Republic in the Pleistocene period is directly proven by polygonal nets of ice and frost wedge pseudomorphs, which are clearly visible in some remote sensing images. Among others, they can also be used as indicators of paleoenvironmental conditions for the period in which their recent forms originated and developed and for the period of their secondary infilling (Sekyra, 1958). The present thesis focuses on the spatial distribution and morphology of polygonal nets of ice and frost wedge pseudomorphs which were created in the territory of the Czech Republic at the end of Pleistocene and the beginning of Holocene. The analysis of the spatial distribution of polygonal nets was carried out with freely available remote sensing images provided by the GoogleEarth Pro application (Google Inc., 2011). The number of locations with a potential presence of pseudomorphs was 629. Out of these, 49 were subjected to a morphometric analysis of polygonal nets and their corresponding landscape. Statistical data analysis showed that the described polygonal nets of ice and frost wedge pseudomorphs in the territory of the Czech Republic...

Les polygones à coin de glace sont très répandus dans la zone du pergélisol continu. Lorsque le ruissellement d’eau de fonte nivale s’infiltre de façon concentrée dans une cavité, il peut initier le processus de thermo-érosion du pergélisol (notamment des coins de glace) pouvant mener à la formation de ravins. Dans la vallée de Qalikturvik sur l’Ile Bylot (NU, Canada), le développement de ravins de thermo-érosion dans un milieu de polygones à coins de glace entraîne comme impact : i. la réorganisation des réseaux de drainage impliquant un assèchement des milieux humides en marge des chenaux d’érosion, ii. des variations dans le régime thermique et de l’humidité de proche-surface et iii. la prise en charge et le déplacement des sédiments vers l’extérieur du bassin-versant. L’objectif de cette thèse vise à approfondir les connaissances géomorphologiques propres au ravinement par thermo-érosion, d’examiner, caractériser et quantifier les impacts du ravinement (tel que sus-mentionné en i. ii. iii.) et le rôle de celui-ci dans une optique d’évolution du paysage périglaciaire à l’échelle temporelle de l’année à la décennie. Les ravins sont dynamiques : un ravin en particulier déclenché en 1999 et étudié depuis s’érodait à une vitesse de 38 à 50 m/a durant sa première décennie d’existence, pour atteindre une longueur totale de ~750 m et une surface érodée de ~25 000 m² en 2009. Des puits sont localisés près des zones de ravinement actives ; des levées alluviale, mares et polygones effondrés dans les zones stabilisées post-perturbation. Sur la terrasse de polygones recouvrant le plancher de la vallée au site à l’étude, 35 ravins furent identifiés et 1401 polygones furent perturbés avec 200 000 m³ de sols transportés. Une amélioration du drainage, une dégradation de la capacité de rétention de l’humidité, une transition d’un écoulement de ruissellement vers un écoulement canalisé caractérise les aires ravinées et leurs environs. Les polygones intacts sont homogènes d’un à l’autre et dans leurs centres ; les polygones perturbés ont une réponse hétérogène (flore, humidité et régime thermique). Les milieux érodés hétérogènes succèdent aux milieux homogènes et deviennent le nouvel état d’équilibre pour plusieurs décennies. / Ice wedges polygons are very common features characterizing continuous permafrost environments. When concentrated snowmelt runoff recurrently flows into opened frost cracks in ice wedges (or nearby depressions), thermo-erosion of permafrost leading to gullies can occur. In the valley of Qalikturvik on Bylot Island (NU, Canada), rapid development of gullies due to thermo-erosion processes in wet polygons exert the following: i. forced rerouting of drainage networks, changing moisture input in wetlands adjacent to a gullied channel; ii. variation in near-surface thermal regime and moisture; iii. erosion and displacement of thawed soils outside the watershed. The objectives of this thesis are to quantify and widen the understanding of the thermo-erosion gullying geomorphology, the related impacts (as aforementioned in i. ii. iii.) and the role of such erosion in the context of the periglacial landscape evolution on a short to medium timescale. In this study, gullies are active and dynamic: one gully triggered in 1999 (and monitored since then) elongated at a rate varying between 38 and 50 m/y during the first decade following its initiation. Its total length at the end of that decade (1999-2009) was ~750 m for an eroded surface of ~25 000 m². Sinkholes were exclusive to the active zone of a gully where alluvial levees and collapsed polygons were common in the stable zone. Thirty-five gullies were identified over the polygon terrace featuring the valley floor. 1401 polygons were consequently breached due to thermo-erosion resulting in 200 000 m³ of displaced soils and thawed permafrost. Gullied areas were characterized by improved drainage conditions, a reduced capacity to retain moisture and a transition from dominantly surface runoff toward channelized flow. Intact wet polygons were homogeneous between each other and in their center; disturbed polygons were heterogeneous (for moisture, thermal regime and vegetation) following a breach of at least one side. Wetland polygons, when disturbed due to gullying, evolve toward an heterogeneous landscape which will become the new equilibrium for that terrain for decades to come.

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