Thermo-erosion gullies in continuous permafrost regions where ice-wedge polygons are widespread contribute and change the drainage of periglacial landscapes. Gullying processes are causing long-term impacts to the Arctic landscape such as drainage network restructuring, permafrost erosion, sediment transport. Between 2009 and 2013, 35 gullies were mapped in a polygon terrace in the valley of the Glacier C-79 on Bylot Island, Nunavut (Canada), one of which was monitored for its hydrology. A gully (R08p) initiated in 1999 in a low-center polygon terrace. Between 1999 and 2013, 202 polygons over a surface of 28 891 m 2 were breached by gullying. Overall, 1401 polygons were similarly breached on the terrace in the valley before 2013. R08p is fed by a 1.74 km 2 watershed and the hydrological regime is characterized by peak flows of 0.69 m 3 s −1 and a cumulative volume of 229 662 m 3 for 2013. Historic aerial photography from 1972 and recent field surveys showed a change in the paths of water tracks and an increase in channelized flow in the gully area from none to 35% of the overall flow path of the section. The overall eroded area for the studied gullies in the valley up to 2013 was estimated at 158 000 m 2 and a potential volume close to 200 000 m 3 . Gullying processes increased drainage of wetlands and the hydrological connectivity in the valley, while lowering residence time of water near gullied areas.

Abstract. Over the past decades, observations of buried glacier ice exposed in coastal bluffs and headwalls of retrogressive thaw slumps of the Arctic have indicated that considerable amounts of late Pleistocene glacier ice survived the deglaciation and are still preserved in permafrost. In exposures, relict glacier ice and intrasedimental ice often coexist and look alike but their genesis is strikingly different. This paper aims to present a detailed description and infer the origin of a massive ice body preserved in the permafrost of Bylot Island (Nunavut). The massive ice exposure and core samples were described according to the cryostratigraphic approach, combining the analysis of permafrost cryofacies and cryostructures, ice crystallography, stable O-H isotopes and cation contents. The ice was clear to whitish in appearance with large crystals (cm) and small gas inclusions (mm) at crystal intersections, similar to observations of englacial ice facies commonly found on contemporary glaciers and ice sheets. However, the δ18O composition (-34.0±0.4 ‰) of the massive ice was markedly lower than contemporary glacier ice and was consistent with the late Pleistocene age ice in the Barnes Ice Cap. This ice predates the aggradation of the surrounding permafrost and can be used as an archive to infer palaeo-environmental conditions at the study site. As most of the glaciated Arctic landscapes are still strongly determined by their glacial legacy, the melting of these large ice bodies could lead to extensive slope failures and settlement of the ground surface, with significant impact on permafrost geosystem landscape dynamics, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and infrastructure.

The Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) occupied a large part of North-America during the late Pleistocene. Determining the proper surface geometry and elevation of the LIS is of central importance to estimate global changes in sea-level and atmospheric circulation patterns during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Despite largely disappearing from the landscape during the late Holocene, LIS remnants are found in the Penny and Barnes ice caps on Baffin Island (Canada) and ongoing permafrost degradation has been exposing relics of the LIS buried along its northern margin since the late Pleistocene. Here, we use the δ18O records of six LIS remnants and the late Pleistocene δ18O-elevation relation to establish ice elevation in their source area during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Contrary to some modeled reconstructions, our findings indicate an asymmetric LIS topography with higher ice on Keewatin Dome (~3200 m) and thinner ice in the prairies along the Plains divide (1700–2100 m) during LGM. The resiliency of icy permafrost to past warm intervals preserved relics of the LIS; these ice-marginal landscapes, now poised for thaw, should uncover more valuable clues about the conditions of the last major ice sheet on Earth.

Abstract. Over the past decades, observations of buried glacier ice exposed in coastal bluffs and headwalls of retrogressive thaw slumps of the Arctic indicate that considerable amounts of Pleistocene glacier ice survived the deglaciation and are still preserved in permafrost. In exposures, relict glacier ice and intrasedimental ice often coexist and look alike but their genesis is strikingly different. Identifying the origin of ground ice is required to model its spatial distribution and abundance, which is necessary to model the response of circumpolar permafrost regions to climate change. This paper aims to present a detailed description and report physical and geochemical properties of glacier ice buried in the permafrost of Bylot Island (Nunavut) as well as identify geomorphic processes that led to the burial and preservation of the ice. The massive ice exposure and core samples were described according to the cryostratigraphic approach, combining the analysis of permafrost cryofacies and cryostructures, ice crystallography, stable O-H isotopes and cation contents. The buried glacier ice consisted of clear to whitish englacial ice having large crystals (cm) and small gas inclusions (mm) at crystal intersections, similar to observations of englacial ice facies commonly found on contemporary glaciers and ice sheets. However, the isotopic composition of the buried ice differed markedly from contemporary glacier ice and indicated the late Pleistocene age of the ice. This ice predates the aggradation of the permafrost and can be used as an archive to infer paleo-environmental conditions at the study site. As most of the arctic landscapes are still strongly determined by its glacial legacy, the melting of these large ice bodies could lead to extensive slope failures and settlement of the ground surface, with significant impact on permafrost geosystem landscape dynamics, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and infrastructure.