Rapid changes to the Arctic seafloor noted as submerged permafrost thaws
Using MBARI mapping technology, researchers have established a baseline
for tracking future changes to the seafloor

Date:
March 14, 2022
Source:
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Summary:
A new study has documented how the thawing of permafrost submerged
underwater at the edge of the Arctic Ocean is affecting the
seafloor.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study from MBARI researchers and their collaborators is the first to document how the thawing of permafrost, submerged underwater at the edge
of the Arctic Ocean, is affecting the seafloor. The study was published
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 14, 2022.


========================================================================== Numerous peer-reviewed studies show that thawing permafrost creates
unstable land which negatively impacts important Arctic infrastructure,
such as roads, train tracks, buildings, and airports. This infrastructure
is expensive to repair, and the impacts and costs are expected to
continue increasing.

Using advanced underwater mapping technology, MBARI researchers and
their collaborators revealed that dramatic changes are happening to the seafloor as a result of thawing permafrost. In some areas, deep sinkholes
have formed, some larger than a city block of six-story buildings. In
other areas, ice-filled hills called pingos have risen from the seafloor.

"We know that big changes are happening across the Arctic landscape,
but this is the first time we've been able to deploy technology to see
that changes are happening offshore too," said Charlie Paull, a geologist
at MBARI and one of the lead authors of the study. "This groundbreaking research has revealed how the thawing of submarine permafrost can be
detected, and then monitored once baselines are established." While the degradation of terrestrial Arctic permafrost is attributed in part to
increases in mean annual temperature from human-driven climate change,
the changes the research team has documented on the seafloor associated
with submarine permafrost derive from much older, slower climatic shifts related to our emergence from the last ice age. Similar changes appear
to have been happening along the seaward edge of the former permafrost
for thousands of years.

"There isn't a lot of long-term data for the seafloor temperature in
this region, but the data we do have aren't showing a warming trend. The changes to seafloor terrain are instead being driven by heat carried in
slowly moving groundwater systems," explained Paull.



========================================================================== "This research was made possible through international collaboration
over the past decade that has provided access to modern marine
research platforms such as MBARI's autonomous robotic technology and icebreakers operated by the Canadian Coast Guard and the Korean Polar
Research Institute," said Scott Dallimore, a research scientist with
the Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, who led the
study with Paull. "The Government of Canada and the Inuvialuit people
who live on the coast of the Beaufort Sea highly value this research as
the complex processes described have implications for the assessment of geohazards, creation of unique marine habitat, and our understanding
of biogeochemical processes." Background The Canadian Beaufort Sea,
a remote area of the Arctic, has only recently become accessible to
scientists as climate change drives the retreat of sea ice.

Since 2003, MBARI has been part of an international collaboration to study
the seafloor of the Canadian Beaufort Sea with the Geological Survey of
Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and since 2013,
with the Korean Polar Research Institute.

MBARI used autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and ship-based sonar to
map the bathymetry of the seafloor down to a resolution of a one-meter
square grid, or roughly the size of a dinner table.

Paull and the team of researchers will return to the Arctic this summer
aboard the R/V Araon, a Korean icebreaker. This trip with MBARI's
long-time Canadian and Korean collaborators -- along with the addition
of the United States Naval Research Laboratory -- will help refine our understanding of the decay of submarine permafrost.

Two of MBARI's AUVs will map the seafloor in remarkable detail and
MBARI's MiniROV -- a portable remotely operated vehicle -- will enable
further exploration and sampling to complement the mapping surveys.

Support for this work was provided by the David and Lucile Packard
Foundation, Geological Survey of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and
the Korean Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries (KIMST grant No. 1525011795).


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Monterey_Bay_Aquarium_Research_Institute. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* MBARI_maps_and_research_vessel ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Charles K. Paull, Scott R. Dallimore, Young Keun Jin, David
W. Caress,
Eve Lundsten, Roberto Gwiazda, Krystle Anderson, John Hughes Clarke,
Scott Youngblut, Humfrey Melling. Rapid seafloor changes associated
with the degradation of Arctic submarine permafrost. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022; 119 (12) DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2119105119 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220314154407.htm

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