Supplementary material to "An Estimate of Ice Wedge Volume for a High Arctic Polar Desert Environment, Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island"

Abstract. Quantifying ground-ice volume on a regional scale is necessary to assess the vulnerability of permafrost landscapes to thaw-induced disturbance like terrain subsidence and to quantify potential carbon release. Ice wedges (IWs) are a ubiquitous ground-ice landform in the Arctic. Their high spatial variability makes generalizing their potential role in landscape change problematic. IWs form polygonal networks that are visible on satellite imagery from surface troughs. This study provides a first approximation of IW ice volume for the Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, a continuous permafrost area characterized by polar desert conditions and extensive ground ice. We perform basic GIS analyses on high-resolution satellite imagery to delineate IW troughs and estimate the associated IW ice volume using a 3-D subsurface model. We demonstrate the potential of two semi-automated IW trough delineation methods, one newly developed and one marginally used in previous studies, to increase the time efficiency of this process compared to manual delineation. Our methods yield acceptable IW ice volume estimates, validating the value of GIS to estimate IW volume on much larger scales. We estimate that IWs are potentially present on 50 % of the Fosheim Peninsula (∼3000 km2), where 3.81 % of the top 5.9 m of permafrost could be IW ice.

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Holocene ice wedge formation in the Eureka Sound Lowlands, high Arctic Canada

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2020.126 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Kethra Campbell-Heaton ◽

Denis Lacelle ◽

David Fisher ◽

Wayne Pollard

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽

Numerical Simulations ◽

High Arctic ◽

Desert Environment ◽

Peat Accumulation ◽

Polar Desert ◽

Molar Ratios ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

Ice Wedge

Abstract Ice wedges are ubiquitous periglacial features in permafrost terrain. This study investigates the timing of ice wedge formation in the Fosheim Peninsula (Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands). In this region, ice wedge polygons occupy ~50% of the landscape, the majority occurring below the marine limit in the Eureka Sound Lowlands. Numerical simulations suggest that ice wedges may crack to depths of 2.7–3.6 m following a rapid cooling of the ground over mean winter surface temperatures of −18°C to −38°C, corresponding to the depth of ice wedges in the region. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC)/Cl molar ratios suggest that the DOC in the ice wedges is sourced from snowmelt and not from leaching of the active layer. Based on 32 14CDOC measurements from 15 ice wedges, the wedges were likely developing between 9000–2500 cal yr BP. This interval also corresponds to the period of peat accumulation in the region, a proxy of increased moisture. Considering that winter air temperatures remained favorable for ice wedge growth throughout the Holocene, the timing of ice wedge formation reflects changes in snowfall. Overall, this study provides the first reconstruction of ice wedge formation from a high Arctic polar desert environment.

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An Estimate of Ice Wedge Volume for a High Arctic Polar Desert Environment, Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island

10.5194/tc-2018-29 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Claire Bernard-Grand'Maison ◽

Wayne Pollard

Keyword(s):

Satellite Imagery ◽

Regional Scale ◽

High Arctic ◽

Ellesmere Island ◽

The Arctic ◽

Ground Ice ◽

Polar Desert ◽

Ice Volume ◽

Carbon Release ◽

Wedge Volume

Abstract. Quantifying ground ice volume on a regional scale is necessary to assess the vulnerability of permafrost landscapes to thaw induced disturbance like terrain subsidence and to quantify potential carbon release. Ice wedges (IWs) are a ubiquitous ground ice landform in the Arctic. Their high spatial variability makes generalizing their potential role in landscape change problematic. IWs form polygonal networks visible on satellite imagery from active layer surface troughs. This study focuses on the estimation of IW ice volume for the Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, a continuous permafrost area characterized by polar desert conditions and extensive ground ice. We perform basic GIS analyses on high resolution satellite imagery to delineate IW troughs and estimate the associated IW ice volume using a 3D subsurface model. We demonstrate two semi-automated IW trough delineation methods with different strengths to increase time-efficiency of this process, done manually in previous studies. Our methods yield acceptable IW ice volume estimates validating the value of GIS to estimate IW volume on much larger scales. We estimate that IWs are potentially present on 50 % of the Fosheim Peninsula (± 3000 km2) where 3.81 % of the top 5.9 m of permafrost could be IW ice.

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Effects of fertilization on three tundra plant communities of a polar desert oasis

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b86-332 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 64 (11) ◽

pp. 2502-2507 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

G. H. R. Henry ◽

B. Freedman ◽

J. Svoboda

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

High Arctic ◽

Ellesmere Island ◽

Nutrient Addition ◽

The Arctic ◽

Arctic Ecosystems ◽

Polar Desert ◽

Net Production ◽

Dwarf Shrubs ◽

Desert Oasis

Three plant communities studied at a high arctic oasis on Ellesmere Island responded to nutrient addition. Response to nitrogen was greatest in the driest community and weaker in the more mesic and wet-mesic communities. Nutrient addition resulted in (i) increased inflorescence densities of dicotyledonous and certain graminoid species; (ii) increased tiller densities of wet sedge species; and (iii) increased net production of graminoids and forbs at high rates of application, and in some dwarf shrubs at lower rates. These results parallel those of studies at lower latitudes in the Arctic, and support the hypothesis that arctic ecosystems are typically oligotrophic.

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Sustainability of High Arctic Ponds in a Polar Desert Environment

ARCTIC ◽

10.14430/arctic648 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Anna Abnizova ◽

Kathy L. Young

Keyword(s):

High Arctic ◽

Desert Environment ◽

Polar Desert ◽

Arctic Ponds

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Hydrogeomorphology of patchy wetlands in the high arctic, polar desert environment

Wetlands ◽

10.1672/8-20 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 291-309 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Ming-ko Woo ◽

Kathy L. Young

Keyword(s):

High Arctic ◽

Desert Environment ◽

Polar Desert

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Vegetation of stressed calcareous screes and slopes in Sverdrup Pass, Ellesmere Island, Canada

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b92-296 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 70 (12) ◽

pp. 2359-2377 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Paul F. Maycock ◽

Dianne Fahselt

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Analysis ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

High Arctic ◽

Ellesmere Island ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Polar Desert ◽

Wide Range ◽

Mountain Systems

Although calcareous erosional mountain systems such as those in central Ellesmere Island constitute extremely limiting environments and are sometimes even considered to be totally unvegetated, quantitative analysis of vegetation revealed 156 species, 81 of which were lichens. Although cryptogams of such depauperate landscapes in the Canadian High Arctic have often been overlooked in vegetational studies, it was found that lichens serve as reliable ecological markers, and under the most limiting conditions, 11 species occurred as major dominants. The system also supported 37 bryophytes that in poor sites were dwarfed and sterile but that served as dominants under somewhat better conditions. Thirty-eight species of vascular plants were found, 7 of which were major dominants in less limiting environments. A wide range of both environmental factors and plant communities were found under the marginal conditions of the cliff, slope, and scree system. Key words: vegetation, lichens. High Arctic, polar desert, semipolar desert.

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Biological activity on a decaying caribou antler at Cape Herschel, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, high Arctic Canada

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247400016491 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 36 (198) ◽

pp. 233-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Antony J. Sutcliffe ◽

Weston Blake

Keyword(s):

Vascular Plants ◽

Chemical Weathering ◽

Ground Surface ◽

High Arctic ◽

Mineral Nutrients ◽

Ellesmere Island ◽

Polar Desert ◽

Plant Life ◽

Animal Bones ◽

Striking Contrast

AbstractIn the polar desert of the high Arctic, underlain by continuous permafrost and commonly snow-covered for much of the year, the paucity of plant growth might seem unsurprising. Although low temperatures and lack of moisture exert a strong influence on plant life and can greatly diminish the rate at which plants can grow, these are nevertheless not the only factors involved. Lack of mineral nutrients, in an environment where chemical weathering is inhibited, may play an even greater part. In consequence, where nutrient-rich decaying animal bones are present, it is not uncommon to find growing upon them a luxuriant vegetation of mosses and vascular plants, together with less spectacular algae and lichens, which show up in striking contrast to the barren ground around them. These microhabitats, in turn, carry their own fauna of invertebrates. This paper examines, in detail, one such specimen and its flora and fauna — a 2000-year-old shed caribou antler from the ground surface at Cape Herschel, Ellesmere Island, 78°N.

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