Minimum distribution of subsea ice-bearing permafrost on the US Beaufort Sea continental shelf
Geophysical Research Letters
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Abstract
Starting in Late Pleistocene time (~19 ka), sea level rise inundated coastal zones worldwide. On some parts of the present-day circum-Arctic continental shelf, this led to flooding and thawing of formerly subaerial permafrost and probable dissociation of associated gas hydrates. Relict permafrost has never been systematically mapped along the 700-km-long U.S. Beaufort Sea continental shelf and is often assumed to extend to ~120 m water depth, the approximate amount of sea level rise since the Late Pleistocene. Here, 5,000 km of multichannel seismic (MCS) data acquired between 1977 and 1992 were examined for high-velocity (>2.3 km s−1) refractions consistent with ice-bearing, coarse-grained sediments. Permafrost refractions were identified along <5% of the tracklines at depths of ~5 to 470 m below the seafloor. The resulting map reveals the minimum extent of subsea ice-bearing permafrost, which does not extend seaward of 30 km offshore or beyond the 20 m isobath.
Suggested Citation
Brothers, L., Hart, P.E., and Ruppel, C., 2012, Minimum distribution of subsea ice-bearing permafrost on the US Beaufort Sea continental shelf: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 39, no. 15, L15501, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052222.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Minimum distribution of subsea ice-bearing permafrost on the US Beaufort Sea continental shelf |
| Series title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| DOI | 10.1029/2012GL052222 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 15 |
| Publication Date | August 07, 2012 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | AGU |
| Contributing office(s) | Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center |
| Description | L15501 |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Other Geospatial | Beaufort Sea |