Quantifying retrogressive thaw slump mass wasting and carbon mobilisation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau using multi-modal remote sensing

作者：Kathrin Maier, Zhuoxuan Xia, Lin Liu, Mark J. Lara, Jurjen van der Sluijs, Philipp Bernhard, Irena Hajnsek · 发表于：˜The œcryosphere · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.5194/tc-19-4855-2025 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Climate change and permafrost、Cryospheric studies and observations、Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics

Abstract. Retrogressive Thaw Slumps (RTS) are slope failures triggered by permafrost thaw that occur in ground-ice-rich regions of the Arctic and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). A strong warming trend has amplified RTS activity on the QTP in recent years. Although the region currently acts as a carbon sink, its permafrost-covered area (40 %) contains substantial soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Intensifying thaw-driven mass wasting may transform the QTP into a net carbon source by mobilising previously frozen SOC and enhancing decomposition. Yet, regional remote sensing studies have not yet quantified RTS mass wasting, including material erosion volumes and associated SOC mobilisation. Analysing time-series data from digital elevation models (DEMs) enables direct observation of RTS activity by measuring changes in active area, eroded material volume, and the overall magnitude of surface change. However, most available DEM sources lack the spatial resolution and temporal frequency required for comprehensive RTS monitoring. In contrast, optical data provide higher spatial resolution and more frequent observations, but lack elevation information. Here, we evaluated RTS mass wasting across the QTP from 2011 to 2020 by combining DEMs derived from bistatic Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations of the TanDEM-X mission with annual RTS inventories generated from high-resolution optical satellite imagery and geophysical soil property data to estimate erosion v...