Monitoring Soil Water and Organic Carbon Storage Patterns at the Arctic Foothills, Alaska, Using Insar

Here we jointly analyzed L-band ALOS PALSAR data and more than 200 soil samples in order to determine soil properties that control the seasonal freeze-thaw process of the active layer. We found that the magnitude of the seasonal freeze-thaw (FT) deformation strongly correlates with land vegetation cover types. This is because the seasonal FT deformation is a direct measure of the active layer soil water content, and the amount of water in the soil limits the type of vegetation that can grow. Furthermore, we found that soil carbon amount also correlates with land cover types. Soils that contain more carbon in the active layer also tend to produce larger seasonal FT deformation. Our results suggest that there are many previously unrecognized ways that InSAR can be used for monitoring changes in hydrological and ecological characteristics in soils above continuous permafrost.