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Abstract:
In this study, gradual elevation change due to summer
thawing of active layer in tundra permafrost landscape
of Barrow, Alaska is investigated using SAR
interferometry (InSAR) technique. We used a variety
of SAR sensors including TerraSAR-X, ALOS,
and Sentinel-1 images to assess elevation changes
in summer season. Preliminary result, obtained by
TerraSAR-X InSAR analysis, clearly delineates subsidence
during the summer by identifying thousands
of coherent pixels on the ground. InSAR time-series
analysis from June to September 2013 show the progressive
thaw-season subsidence on the Barrow coastal
plain with maximum magnitude of 4 cm in satellite
line of sight. The spatial pattern of InSAR elevation
change reflects different thaw-related landscape features
of permafrost. As a general pattern, detected
elevation change is higher in wet thermokarst basins
than tundra uplands. Barrow is one of the Global
Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) sites. A
lot of ancillary data that have been acquired in the
last decades will help us in interpretation of InSAR
results. We also use airborne hyperspectral data to derive
characteristics like wetness and vegetation cover
of the landscape to better understand the process and
the link between estimated subsidence and landscape
features.
