What shallow lakes are telling us about the changing Arctic climate

Scientists in Arctic Alaska are studying the permafrost changes under shallow Arctic lakes and what they found was surprising. (Courtesy Chris Arp)
Scientists in Arctic Alaska are studying the permafrost changes under shallow Arctic lakes and what they found was surprising. (Courtesy Chris Arp)
Permafrost changes are among the most alarming consequences of warming Arctic temperatures.

All across the Arctic, the shifts in how permafrost behaves is affecting everything from infrastructure to ground moisture.

But  research recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters  suggests there are also changes to the permafrost we can’t see, namely in shallow lakes that have been warming in places like Arctic Alaska over the last 30 years.

“The rates of warming were higher than we expected to see, and the depths where (this is) occurring are actually shallower than we expected to see,” said Chris Arp a research assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the study’s lead author.

Feature Interview

To find out more, Eye on the Arctic spoke with scientist Chris Arp about lakes, climate and some of researchers’ surprising findings:

Years of research

The research was done on the Arctic coastal plain in northern Alaska where approximately 20 to 30 per cent of the land is covered by lakes.

The group took measurements both in the winter and the summer using sensors to measure temperature both at the bottom and at the surface of the lakes, as well as ice thickness.

“There’s been a lot of monitoring of terrestrial permafrost, so even through it’s warming rapidly we don’t expect to see a thaw near the surface  of that permafrost for 50 to 100 years,” Arp said. “Whereas this permafrost below these shallow lakes is warming up and thawing right now.”

“With sea ice decline, we’re seeing more precipitation and if that comes as rain or snow that can have an impact on these (shallow) lakes,” says researcher Christoper Arp.
“With sea ice decline, we’re seeing more precipitation and if that comes as rain or snow that can have an impact on these (shallow) lakes,” says researcher Chris Arp. (Courtesy Chris Arp)
Role of sea ice

The network of lakes across northern Alaska play a key role in everything from habitat to how the landscape functions. That means warming temperatures will have a series of both positive and negative effects for the nature and people of the North, Arp said.

Warming lakes mean less ice so more habitat for overwintering fish, he says.  The increase in availability of liquid water could also make it easier to build ice roads, something the petroleum industry relies on in Arctic Alaska.

But the continued warming of the North will also mean the release of more greenhouse gases as the permafrost thaws along with the erosion of lakes.

Measurements were taken both at the top and bottom of shallow Arctic lakes, many measuring only around one metre deep. (Courtesy Chris Arp)
Measurements were taken both at the top and bottom of shallow Arctic lakes, many measuring only around one metre deep. (Courtesy Chris Arp)

Arp says the next steps will be to examine how sea ice is affecting permafrost and lakes in the Arctic.

“With sea ice decline, we’re seeing more precipitation and if that comes as rain or snow that can have an impact on these lakes,” Arp said. “If we get a lot more snowfall in the early part of the winter, that really insulates the ice and it grows a lot thinner.

“It’s hard to know exactly what’s going to happen with sea ice but everything points to really rapidly declining extents and a lot more open water in the fall and early winter so it’s going to be interesting to see how terrestrial ecosystems and lakes respond to that.”

Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Canadian river carries carbon from thawing permafrost to sea, Alaska Dispatch News

Finland:  Climate change brings new insect arrivals to Finland, Yle News

Greenland: Can we still avert irreversible ice sheet melt?, Deutsche Welle’s Ice-Blog

Norway:  UN Secretary-General to visit Norwegian Arctic, Eye on the Arctic

Russia:  Ancient virus found in Arctic permafrost, Alaska Dispatch News

Sweden:  How will global warming affect the average Swede?, Radio Sweden

United States:  Arctic future – not so permafrost, Deutsche Welle’s Iceblogger

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

Leave a Reply

Note: By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that Radio Canada International has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Radio Canada International does not endorse any of the views posted. Your comments will be pre-moderated and published if they meet netiquette guidelines.
Netiquette »

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *