Estimating 1992–2000 average active layer thickness on the Alaskan North Slope from remotely sensed surface subsidence

  1. Lin Liu1,
  2. Kevin Schaefer2,
  3. Tingjun Zhang2,3,
  4. John Wahr4

Article first published online: 14 JAN 2012

DOI: 10.1029/2011JF002041

Issue

Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (2003–2012)

Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (2003–2012)

Additional Information

How to Cite

Liu, L., K. Schaefer, T. Zhang, and J. Wahr (2012), Estimating 1992–2000 average active layer thickness on the Alaskan North Slope from remotely sensed surface subsidence, J. Geophys. Res., 117, F01005, doi:10.1029/2011JF002041.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

  2. 2

    National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA

  3. 3

    Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of West China's Environmental System, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

  4. 4

    Department of Physics and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 14 JAN 2012
  2. Article first published online: 14 JAN 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 11 NOV 2011
  4. Manuscript Revised: 9 NOV 2011
  5. Manuscript Received: 24 MAR 2011

Funded by

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Grant Numbers: NNX08AU85H, NNX06AE65G, NNX10AR63G
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Grant Number: NA09OAR4310063

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Keywords:

  • InSAR;
  • active layer;
  • permafrost;
  • remote sensing;
  • soil moisture;
  • surface subsidence

[1] The measurement of temporal changes in active layer thickness (ALT) is crucial to monitoring permafrost degradation in the Arctic. We develop a retrieval algorithm to estimate long-term average ALT using thaw-season surface subsidence derived from spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements. Our algorithm uses a model of vertical distribution of water content within the active layer accounting for soil texture, organic matter, and moisture. We determine the 1992–2000 average ALT for an 80 × 100 km study area of continuous permafrost on the North Slope of Alaska near Prudhoe Bay. We obtain an ALT of 30–50 cm over moist tundra areas, and a larger ALT of 50–80 cm over wet tundra areas. Our estimated ALT values match in situ measurements at Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) sites within uncertainties. Our results demonstrate that InSAR can provide ALT estimates over large areas at high spatial resolution.

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