Fig. 10: Simulated thermokarst-mound and talik formation for the Lena River delta in Northeastern Siberia under RCP8.5.
From: Upland Yedoma taliks are an unpredicted source of atmospheric methane
Schematic of the tile-based abstraction of an upland thermokarst-mound landscape (a), and modeled thaw subsidence (dashed line), maximum snow heights (gray area), and evolution of the hydrothermal state (colored areas) for mound tops (b), mound flanks (c), and trenches (d). Note that cryotic talik formation (minimum annual soil liquid water content >10% and perennially unfrozen soil temperature <0 °C) due to laterally transported heat precedes the development of a non-cryotic talik (perennially unfrozen soil temperature >0 °C) underneath mound tops by several decades. Shown results are for a simulation with a snowfall multiplier of φ = 1.0 and a snow density of θ = 200 kg m–3. Simulation results for further parameter settings are shown in Fig. S11 and Supplementary Movies 1–6. Panel a is adapted from “Effects of multi-scale heterogeneity on the simulated evolution of ice-rich permafrost lowlands under a warming climate” by Nitzbon, J. et al. 92, published under CC BY 4.0.
