Impacts of Climate Change and Intensive Lesser Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) Activity on Surface Water in High Arctic Pond Complexes

Abstract

Rapid increases in air temperature in Arctic and subarctic regions are driving significant changes to surface waters. These changes and their impacts are not well understood in sensitive high-Arctic ecosystems. This study explores changes in surface water in the high Arctic pond complexes of western Banks Island, Northwest Territories. Landsat imagery (1985–2015) was used to detect sub-pixel trends in surface water. Comparison of higher resolution aerial photographs (1958) and satellite imagery (2014) quantified changes in the size and distribution of waterbodies. Field sampling investigated factors contributing to the observed changes. The impact of expanding lesser snow goose populations and other biotic or abiotic factors on observed changes in surface water were also investigated using an information theoretic model selection approach. Our analyses show that the pond complexes of western Banks Island lost 7.9% of the surface water that existed in 1985. Drying disproportionately impacted smaller sized waterbodies, indicating that climate is the main driver. Model selection showed that intensive occupation by lesser snow geese was associated with more extensive drying and draining of waterbodies and suggests this intensive habitat use may reduce the resilience of pond complexes to climate warming. Changes in surface water are likely altering permafrost, vegetation, and the utility of these areas for animals and local land-users, and should be investigated further.

Rapid Vegetation Succession and Coupled Permafrost Dynamics in Arctic Thaw Ponds in the Siberian Lowland Tundra

“…However, timescales associated with the full recovery of the permafrost underneath, if this occurs at all, remain uncertain. In addition, pond dynamics depend on pond characteristics such as size and depth and hydrological influences such as drainage, precipitation, and evaporation (Campbell et al, 2018; Jones et al, 2009; Plug et al, 2008; Wolfe et al, 2011). Small, shallow ponds in particular may be prone to evaporative loss of surface water in a warming climate (Campbell et al, 2018; Wolfe et al, 2011).…”

“…Similarly, formation of ponds was observed by Li et al (2017) and Nauta et al (2015) within 5 years following removal of shrubs. However, some degree of interannual variability in the open water extent of ponds cannot be ruled out, as the water level in thaw ponds also depends on specific weather conditions (Campbell et al, 2018; Jones et al, 2009; Plug et al, 2008; Wolfe et al, 2011). We found elevation differences in thaw ponds of around 50 cm compared to intact tundra vegetation, which is relatively low compared to elevation differences reported for thermokarst troughs (i.e., ice wedge degradation) by Kanevskiy et al (2017), ranging from 50 to 110 cm.…”

“…In contrast to the deep, ditch-shaped ponds resulting from ice-wedge degradation, melting of various other types of ground ice (e.g., ice lenses) may result in shallow, irregular shaped thaw ponds (Van Huissteden, 2020). Smaller, shallow ponds may be especially vulnerable to climate-induced changes in hydrological regimes (Campbell et al, 2018;Wolfe et al, 2011). Such thaw ponds have received little scientific attention compared to other abrupt thaw features (e.g., thaw lakes, ice-wedge degradation, retrogressive thaw slumps).…”

“…Thaw ponds are demonstrated sources of methane, as opposed to shrub‐dominated tundra vegetation (Nauta et al, 2015; Van Huissteden & Dolman, 2012; Van Huissteden et al, 2005, 2009). Thaw ponds are abundant throughout ice‐rich lowland tundra, but small waterbodies often go undetected in remote sensing analysis of thermokarst features (Campbell et al, 2018; Grosse et al, 2008; Raynolds et al, 2019). In contrast to the deep, ditch‐shaped ponds resulting from ice‐wedge degradation, melting of various other types of ground ice (e.g., ice lenses) may result in shallow, irregular shaped thaw ponds (Van Huissteden, 2020).…”

Editorial for Special Issue: “Remote Sensing of Environmental Changes in Cold Regions”

“…Landsat imageries (1985-2015) and higher resolution aerial photographs were used to quantify surface water changes in the high Arctic pond complexes of western Banks Island, Northwest Territories. Analysis based on remote sensing, field sampling and geostatistic approaches showed an overall drying trend of high Arctic lakes mainly driven by climate factors and also affected by intensive occupation by lesser snow geese [8].…”