The Northwest Territories thermokarst mapping collective: A northern-driven mapping collaborative toward understanding the effects of permafrost thaw

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dc.contributor.authorKokelj, Steven V.
dc.contributor.authorGingras-Hill, Tristan
dc.contributor.authorDaly, Seamus V.
dc.contributor.authorMorse, Peter D.
dc.contributor.authorWolfe, Stephen A.
dc.contributor.authorRudy, Ashley C.A.
dc.contributor.authorvan der Sluijs, Jurjen
dc.contributor.authorWeiss, Niels
dc.contributor.authorBrendan O'Neill, H.
dc.contributor.authorBaltzer, Jennifer L.
dc.contributor.authorLantz, Trevor C.
dc.contributor.authorGibson, Carolyn
dc.contributor.authorCazon, Dieter
dc.contributor.authorFraser, Robert H.
dc.contributor.authorFroese, Duane G.
dc.contributor.authorGiff, Garfield
dc.contributor.authorKlengenberg, Charles
dc.contributor.authorLamoureux, Scott F.
dc.contributor.authorQuinton, William L.
dc.contributor.authorTuretsky, Merritt R.
dc.contributor.authorChiasson, Alexandre
dc.contributor.authorFerguson, Celtie
dc.contributor.authorNewton, Mike
dc.contributor.authorPope, Mike
dc.contributor.authorPaul, Jason A.
dc.contributor.authorWilson, M. Alice
dc.contributor.authorYoung, Joseph M.
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-26T19:41:19Z
dc.date.available2025-03-26T19:41:19Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractThis paper documents the first comprehensive inventory of thermokarst and thaw-sensitive terrain indicators for a 2 million km2 region of northwestern Canada. This is accomplished through the Thermokarst Mapping Collective (TMC), a research collaborative to systematically inventory indicators of permafrost thaw sensitivity by mapping and aerial assessments across the Northwest Territories (NT), Canada. The increase in NT-based permafrost capacity has fostered science leadership and collaboration with government, academic, and community researchers to enable project implementation. Ongoing communications and outreach have informed study design and strengthened Indigenous and stakeholder relationships. Documentation of theme-based methods supported mapper training, and flexible data infrastructure facilitated progress by Canada-wide researchers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The TMC inventory of thermokarst and thaw-sensitive landforms agree well with fine-scale empirical mapping (69%–84% accuracy) and aerial inventory (74%–96% accuracy) datasets. National- and circumpolar-scale modelling of sensitive permafrost terrain contrasts significantly with TMC outputs, highlighting their limitations and the value of empirically based mapping approaches. We demonstrate that the multiparameter TMC outputs support a holistic understanding and refined depictions of permafrost terrain sensitivity, provide novel opportunities for regional syntheses, and inform future modelling approaches, which are urgently required to comprehend better what permafrost thaw means for Canada's North.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was supported by the NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program, the Climate Change Action Plan Implementation of the Government of Northwest Territories (GNWT), the GNWT Departments of Environment and Climate Change, Municipal and Community Affairs, and Industry Tourism and Investment, and the Climate Change Geoscience Program and the Polar Continental Shelf Project of Natural Resources Canada, and the Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. University partners were supported by NSERC, Global Water Futures, ArcticNET and PermafrostNET. NTGS contribution #0152.
dc.identifier.citationKokelj, S., Gingras-Hill, T., Daly, S. V., Morse, P., Wolfe, S., Rudy, A. C., Van Der Sluijs, J., Weiss, N., O’Neill, B., Baltzer, J., Lantz, T. C., Gibson, C., Cazon, D., Fraser, R. H., Froese, D. G., Giff, G., Klengenberg, C., Lamoureux, S. F., Quinton, W., . . . Young, J. (2023). The Northwest Territories Thermokarst Mapping Collective: A northern-driven mapping collaborative toward understanding the effects of permafrost thaw. Arctic Science, 9, 886-918. https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0009
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0009
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/21692
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherArctic Science
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
dc.subjectpermafrost
dc.subjectthermokarst
dc.subjectperiglacial
dc.subjectterrain sensitivity
dc.subjectclimate change
dc.titleThe Northwest Territories thermokarst mapping collective: A northern-driven mapping collaborative toward understanding the effects of permafrost thaw
dc.typeArticle

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