Spatial distribution of pingos in northern Asia

Abstract

Abstract. Pingos are prominent periglacial landforms in vast regions of the Arctic and Subarctic. They are indicators of modern and past conditions of permafrost, surface geology, hydrology and climate. A first version of a detailed spatial geodatabase of 6059 pingo locations in a 3.5 × 10 6 km 2 region of northern Asia was assembled from topographic maps. A first order analysis was carried out with respect to permafrost, landscape characteristics, surface geology, hydrology, climate, and elevation datasets using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Pingo heights in the dataset vary between 2 and 37 m, with a mean height of 4.8 m. About 64% of the pingos occur in continuous permafrost with high ice content and thick sediments; another 19% in continuous permafrost with moderate ice content and thick sediments. The majority of these pingos are likely hydrostatic pingos, which are typical of those located in drained thermokarst lake basins of northern lowlands with continuous permafrost. About 82% of the pingos are located in the tundra bioclimatic zone. Most pingos in the dataset are located in regions with mean annual ground temperatures between −3 and −11 • C and mean annual air temperatures between −7 and −18 • C. The dataset confirms that surface geology and hydrology are key factors for pingo formation and occurrence. Based on model predictions for near-future permafrost distribution, about 2073 pingos (34%) along the southern margins of permafrost will be located in regions with thawing permafrost by 2100, which ultimately may lead to increased occurrence of pingo collapse. Based on our dataset and previously published estimates of pingo numbers from other regions, we conclude that there are more than 11 000 pingos on Earth.

Assessment of pingo distribution and morphometry using an IfSAR derived digital surface model, western Arctic Coastal Plain, Northern Alaska

“…The distribution of pingos in relation to surface geology compares well with the analysis of pingos in northern Asia. Grosse and Jones (2011) found that 68% of the pingos were located in areas underlain by sandy to silty sandy substrates, whereby 12% were associated with alluvial and floodplain deposits. Mackay (1998) also discussed the preferential formation of pingos in areas underlain by thick sandy sediments, which had been subsequently overlain by a layer of finer material deposited during the active lake stage.…”

“…This estimate included roughly 1450 located along the western Arctic Coast of Canada (Stager, 1956;MacKay, 1979), 1500 in Alaska (Holmes et al, 1968;Carter and Galloway, 1979;Hamilton and Obi, 1982;Walker et al, 1985;Ferrians, 1988), with the remainder scattered in other regions of Canada (Pissart, 1967;Gurney and Worsley, 1997), Russia (Shumskii and Vtyurin, 1966;Vtyurin, 1975), Spitsbergen (Yoshikawa and Harada, 1995), Greenland (Müller, 1959;Worsley and Gurney, 1996), Svalbard (Yoshikawa and Harada, 1995), Scandinavia (Lagerbäck and Rohde, 1985), China (Wang and French, 1995), and Mongolia (Lomborinchen, 2000). However, a recent analysis of topographic map data covering 3.5 × 10 6 km 2 region of northern Asia has identified more than 6000 pingos (Grosse and Jones, 2011) and an updated Alaska pingo distribution and number map notes more than 3000 (Jorgenson et al, 2008). Thus, in reality there are likely more than 11,000 known pingos in the northern Hemisphere (Grosse and Jones, 2011).…”

“…However, a recent analysis of topographic map data covering 3.5 × 10 6 km 2 region of northern Asia has identified more than 6000 pingos (Grosse and Jones, 2011) and an updated Alaska pingo distribution and number map notes more than 3000 (Jorgenson et al, 2008). Thus, in reality there are likely more than 11,000 known pingos in the northern Hemisphere (Grosse and Jones, 2011).…”

“…Since then this term has been widely adopted in the scientific literature. Synonymous Russian names include the Yakutian term bulgunnyakh and the terms ledyanoy bugor and ledyanoy kholm commonly used in western and northern Siberia (Grosse and Jones, 2011). Pingos are differentiated from other icecored mounds such as palsas, lithalsas, hydrolaccoliths, and broad-based mounds based largely upon formative process, internal structure of ice core, size, overburden, and environmental setting (Walker et al, 1985;Seppala, 1986;Worsley et al, 1995;Gurney, 2001;Pissart, 2002).…”

Holocene thermokarst and pingo development in the Kolyma Lowland (NE Siberia)

“…Pingo inventories were furthermore used in paleo‐environmental reconstructions in the Mackenzie Delta in Canada, on Seward Peninsula in Alaska and in Central Yakutia . A modern spatial database shows more than 6000 pingos in a 3.5 × 10 6 km 2 region in the Eurasian Subarctic and Arctic, and links the pingo distribution to permafrost and landscape characteristics, to surface geology and morphology, and to hydrology and climate …”