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| Doctoral Dissertation Research: Impact of Thermo-erosion Permafrost Tunnels to Physical and Ecological Processes in the Arctic | |
| 项目编号 | 2114164 |
| Knut Kielland | |
| 项目主持机构 | University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus |
| 开始日期 | 2021-09-01 |
| 结束日期 | 08/31/2022 |
| 英文摘要 | Climate warming is driving rapid permafrost degradation throughout the Arctic, with cascading impacts across the ecosystem. This work centers on a particular type of permafrost degradation, involving the formation of underground tunnels that can persist across multiple years before either refreezing or collapsing. The existence of these tunnels has been documented opportunistically, but they are difficult to detect using traditional methods such as aerial photography, so they remain understudied. Previous research in Arctic Alaska found that wolverines use these tunnels for resting and reproductive dens during winter. This study examines wolverines’ use of these structures by locating additional tunnels to understand how these caves are used by wolverines and other Arctic animals as well as how they impact local permafrost and snow conditions. Although permafrost tunneling is recognized as an occasional precursor to the development of thermo-erosion gullies, the extent to which tunneling per se influences the physical and ecological processes of permafrost degradation remains unaddressed. Tunnels that persist over winter could alter the impacts of permafrost degradation in important ways, since overwinter tunnels likely change the local thermal regime of the active layer and snowpack, in addition to providing structural habitat for resting, denning, or hibernating wildlife. This research investigates how overwintering tunnels and cave systems influence diverse ecological components of the Arctic system. Specifically, the project team evaluates the hypotheses that wintertime caves (1) provide structural and thermal protection for diverse species in the Arctic mammal community, (2) alter wintertime temperature and moisture of the near-surface ground (i.e., the cave roof), and (3) reduce the quality of overlying snowpack as habitat for subnivean mammals by altering vapor flux through the snowpack. The team investigates these hypotheses by (1) obtaining wintertime GPS collar data, wildlife tracks, and photographs from motion-activated cameras at caves, and comparing temperature and humidity in caves to other forms of structural habitat, (2) measuring soil temperature, soil moisture, and physical snow properties at caves and control sites, and (3) recording wintertime activity of small mammals on overlying tundra and control sites through nest surveys. This project advances our understanding of how permafrost degrades, and the ecosystem-wide impacts associated with such degradation. The project involves visits to Arctic communities to discuss findings, receive feedback from community representatives, and strengthen relationships between researchers and local land users. Additionally, researchers visit local schools and produce educational material highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary Arctic climate change research for helping understand the repercussions of the changes local communities are seeing in their environment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. |
| 资助机构 | US-NSF |
| 项目经费 | $61,186.00 |
| 项目类型 | Standard Grant |
| 国家 | US |
| 语种 | 英语 |
| 文献类型 | 项目 |
| 条目标识符 | http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/211654 |
| 推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Knut Kielland.Doctoral Dissertation Research: Impact of Thermo-erosion Permafrost Tunnels to Physical and Ecological Processes in the Arctic.2021. |
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