Risko Permafrost
When the North thawsThe permafrost riskA story of the research project PermaRisk. Turn on full screen and sound!
Moving soil
A permafrost mosaic
Beneath the surface
Measuring thaw depth
A soil probe measures the thaw depth in summer. The scientists hammer the rod into the soil until it strikes the hard, frozen ground - the permafrost table. The PermaRisk model CryoGrid can calculate the thaw depths across permafrost landscapes. The scientists compare the actual measurements with the calculations to test the model performance.
Permafrost from the air
A drone flies over the tundra and takes high-resolution aerial images. Click here to find out what scientists can learn from those images!
Beneath the surface
The scientists take soil samples to learn more about the permafrost. Click here to find out more!
Measuring lake depth
The PermaRisk scientists want to know the depth of the lakes in the Arctic. Click here to find out why!
Measuring weather and climate
A climate station records the local weather. It measures air temperature, wind, precipitation (rain and snow), humidity and solar radiation. These variables describe the day-to-day condition of the atmosphere - the weather. Scientists only talk about climate and climate change when averaging the weather conditions over a period of 30 years and more. The PermaRisk team needs both weather and climate data to accurately calculate the temperatures in the permafrost over time.
Modeling an Arctic Highway
The Dalton Highway in Alaska
A changing Arctic has impacts far beyond the Arctic itself. It also impacts people and climates in other parts of the world.Scientists talk about how and why
A fragile balance
Explore the Arctic
Forever frozen?
What happens in the Arctic when the climate warms? What is permafrost and why is it important? Go on a research expedition to the Arctic and discover the permafrost!
Living in wild North
How is it to live in the wilderness in the far North? Listen to the stories of the people in Churchill, Canada.
Interactive map of permafrost in the Arctic
The map shows modelled thaw depths and areas of permafrost in the Arctic for three different climate scenarios from the years 1800 to 2100. The map shows how warming temperatures cause the soil to thaw deeper and deeper. Carbon that was previously frozen is now thawing and is being released to the atmosphere.
Scientific articles about permafrost
You want to learn more about permafrost science and modeling? Here you can find a selection of the latest scientific publications.
References
A project of the research group PermaRisk
The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education.
Scenario, production and postproduction: denkbargruen and dsein
Design: dsein
Photo and Video:
The permafrost risk
Page 1, 2, 3, 10 - Moritz Langer
Page 4 - Thomas Opel
Page 5 - Annika Gutsche
Page 5 bis 9, 11, 14, 17 - Sina Muster
Page 12 - Thomas Schneider von Daimling
Page 13 - PermaRisk
Page 15 - Churchill Northern Studies Centre
Page 16 - Boris Radosavljevic, Thomas Opel, Konstanze PielPermafrost from afar
Page 1, 6, 7, 8 - PermaRisk
Page 2, 3 - Thomas Schneider von Daimling
Page 4, 5 - Sina Muster
Soil samples - Moritz Langer
Measuring lake depth - Moritz Langer
Scientist talks - Sina Muster, Moritz Langer
Sources:https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/mb/wapusk
Permafrost from the air
High resolution
Lake erosion
Soraya investigates the landscape properties that affect the lake erosion: How do size and shape of a lake affect the erosion? How do weather, ice content of the permafrost soil or the vegetation at the shore affect how fast the lake erodes?
Classification of an aerial image
Click on Play in the bottom right corner and move the slider to compare the aerial image and its classification!
High and low
On expedition in the Arctic Soraya measures the height of the terrain at certain points and marks these points, their coordinates and height in the aerial images.
A digital elevation model
Click on Play in the bottom right corner and move the slider to compare the aerial image with the elevation model!
A dynamic landscape
Click on Play in the bottom right corner and compare two images from different years. Move the slider so find the differences in the landscape between 2006 and 2016!