30 May 2024
| 30 May 2024
Data Quality of OpenStreetMap for Industrial Sites in the Arctic
Daniel Kwakye
Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg, Germany
Sabrina Marx
Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg, Germany
Benjamin Herfort
Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg, Germany
Moritz Langer
Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Postdam, Germany
Sven Lautenbach
Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg, Germany
GIScience Chair, Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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Ferdinand Seyffer, Anne Schauss, Suella Tirai, Marcel Maurer, Sven Lautenbach, and Alexander Zipf
AGILE GIScience Ser., 7, 17, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-7-17-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-7-17-2026, 2026
Sven Lautenbach, Marcel Maurer, and Alexander Zipf
AGILE GIScience Ser., 7, 9, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-7-9-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-7-9-2026, 2026
Hong Yang, Simone Maria Stuenzi, Yanqiu Xing, Fulai Feng, and Moritz Langer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-870, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-870, 2026
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Boreal forests store large amounts of carbon, yet it is unclear how thawing permafrost will affect their role in slowing climate change. Many models do not fully capture how frozen soils warm and alter water supply for plants. We improved a vegetation model to better represent soil processes and tested it in Northeast China. The updated model more accurately reproduced soil conditions and carbon storage, showing that thaw-related warming and drying can reduce carbon uptake and alter forests.
Pauline Walz, Oliver Fritz, Sabrina Marx, Marlin M. Mueller, Christian Thiel, Josefine Lenz, Soraya Kaiser, Roxanne Frappier, Alexander Zipf, and Moritz Langer
The Cryosphere, 19, 6355–6379, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6355-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6355-2025, 2025
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We explored how citizen scientists can help map changes in Arctic landscapes. Using a web tool we created, more than 100 volunteers contributed the approximate center points of particular ground patterns called ice-wedge polygons in aerial images from Alaska and Canada. Our work shows that the data created by volunteers can be used to reconstruct ice-wedge polygon networks and provide valuable insights on the state of frozen ground in the Arctic.
Mehriban Aliyeva, Michael Angelopoulos, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Frederieke Miesner, Scott Dallimore, Dustin Whalen, Lukas U. Arenson, and Pier Paul Overduin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2675, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2675, 2025
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In this study, we investigate the ongoing transformation of terrestrial permafrost into subsea permafrost on a rapidly eroding Arctic island using electrical resistivity tomography and numerical modelling. We draw on 60 years of shoreline data to support our findings. This work is important for understanding permafrost loss in Arctic coastal areas and for guiding future efforts to protect vulnerable shorelines.
Johannes Huber, Christina Ludwig, Kathrin Foshag, Nikolaos Kolaxidis, Alexander Zipf, and Sven Lautenbach
AGILE GIScience Ser., 6, 4, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-6-4-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-6-4-2025, 2025
Ricardo Ruiz Sánchez, Marcel Reinmuth, Cristian Albornoz, Sven Lautenbach, and Alexander Zipf
AGILE GIScience Ser., 6, 10, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-6-10-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-6-10-2025, 2025
Soraya Kaiser, Julia Boike, Guido Grosse, and Moritz Langer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3719–3753, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3719-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3719-2024, 2024
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Arctic warming, leading to permafrost degradation, poses primary threats to infrastructure and secondary ecological hazards from possible infrastructure failure. Our study created a comprehensive Alaska inventory combining various data sources with which we improved infrastructure classification and data on contaminated sites. This resource is presented as a GeoPackage allowing planning of infrastructure damage and possible implications for Arctic communities facing permafrost challenges.
Moritz Langer, Jan Nitzbon, Brian Groenke, Lisa-Marie Assmann, Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Simone Maria Stuenzi, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 18, 363–385, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-363-2024, 2024
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Using a model that can simulate the evolution of Arctic permafrost over centuries to millennia, we find that post-industrialization permafrost warming has three "hotspots" in NE Canada, N Alaska, and W Siberia. The extent of near-surface permafrost has decreased substantially since 1850, with the largest area losses occurring in the last 50 years. The simulations also show that volcanic eruptions have in some cases counteracted the loss of near-surface permafrost for a few decades.
Léo C. P. Martin, Sebastian Westermann, Michele Magni, Fanny Brun, Joel Fiddes, Yanbin Lei, Philip Kraaijenbrink, Tamara Mathys, Moritz Langer, Simon Allen, and Walter W. Immerzeel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4409–4436, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, 2023
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Across the Tibetan Plateau, many large lakes have been changing level during the last decades as a response to climate change. In high-mountain environments, water fluxes from the land to the lakes are linked to the ground temperature of the land and to the energy fluxes between the ground and the atmosphere, which are modified by climate change. With a numerical model, we test how these water and energy fluxes have changed over the last decades and how they influence the lake level variations.
Juditha Aga, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 17, 4179–4206, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4179-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4179-2023, 2023
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This study presents a new model scheme for simulating ice segregation and thaw consolidation in permafrost environments, depending on ground properties and climatic forcing. It is embedded in the CryoGrid community model, a land surface model for the terrestrial cryosphere. We describe the model physics and functionalities, followed by a model validation and a sensitivity study of controlling factors.
Brian Groenke, Moritz Langer, Jan Nitzbon, Sebastian Westermann, Guillermo Gallego, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 17, 3505–3533, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3505-2023, 2023
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It is now well known from long-term temperature measurements that Arctic permafrost, i.e., ground that remains continuously frozen for at least 2 years, is warming in response to climate change. Temperature, however, only tells half of the story. In this study, we use computer modeling to better understand how the thawing and freezing of water in the ground affects the way permafrost responds to climate change and what temperature trends can and cannot tell us about how permafrost is changing.
Zoé Rehder, Thomas Kleinen, Lars Kutzbach, Victor Stepanenko, Moritz Langer, and Victor Brovkin
Biogeosciences, 20, 2837–2855, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2837-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2837-2023, 2023
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We use a new model to investigate how methane emissions from Arctic ponds change with warming. We find that emissions increase substantially. Under annual temperatures 5 °C above present temperatures, pond methane emissions are more than 3 times higher than now. Most of this increase is caused by an increase in plant productivity as plants provide the substrate microbes used to produce methane. We conclude that vegetation changes need to be included in predictions of pond methane emissions.
Simon Groß, Benjamin Herfort, Sabrina Marx, and Alexander Zipf
AGILE GIScience Ser., 4, 5, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-4-5-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-4-5-2023, 2023
Francisco José Cuesta-Valero, Hugo Beltrami, Almudena García-García, Gerhard Krinner, Moritz Langer, Andrew H. MacDougall, Jan Nitzbon, Jian Peng, Karina von Schuckmann, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Wim Thiery, Inne Vanderkelen, and Tonghua Wu
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 609–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-609-2023, 2023
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Climate change is caused by the accumulated heat in the Earth system, with the land storing the second largest amount of this extra heat. Here, new estimates of continental heat storage are obtained, including changes in inland-water heat storage and permafrost heat storage in addition to changes in ground heat storage. We also argue that heat gains in all three components should be monitored independently of their magnitude due to heat-dependent processes affecting society and ecosystems.
Sebastian Westermann, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, Johanna Scheer, Kristoffer Aalstad, Juditha Aga, Nitin Chaudhary, Bernd Etzelmüller, Simon Filhol, Andreas Kääb, Cas Renette, Louise Steffensen Schmidt, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Robin B. Zweigel, Léo Martin, Sarah Morard, Matan Ben-Asher, Michael Angelopoulos, Julia Boike, Brian Groenke, Frederieke Miesner, Jan Nitzbon, Paul Overduin, Simone M. Stuenzi, and Moritz Langer
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 2607–2647, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-2607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-2607-2023, 2023
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The CryoGrid community model is a new tool for simulating ground temperatures and the water and ice balance in cold regions. It is a modular design, which makes it possible to test different schemes to simulate, for example, permafrost ground in an efficient way. The model contains tools to simulate frozen and unfrozen ground, snow, glaciers, and other massive ice bodies, as well as water bodies.
Karina von Schuckmann, Audrey Minière, Flora Gues, Francisco José Cuesta-Valero, Gottfried Kirchengast, Susheel Adusumilli, Fiammetta Straneo, Michaël Ablain, Richard P. Allan, Paul M. Barker, Hugo Beltrami, Alejandro Blazquez, Tim Boyer, Lijing Cheng, John Church, Damien Desbruyeres, Han Dolman, Catia M. Domingues, Almudena García-García, Donata Giglio, John E. Gilson, Maximilian Gorfer, Leopold Haimberger, Maria Z. Hakuba, Stefan Hendricks, Shigeki Hosoda, Gregory C. Johnson, Rachel Killick, Brian King, Nicolas Kolodziejczyk, Anton Korosov, Gerhard Krinner, Mikael Kuusela, Felix W. Landerer, Moritz Langer, Thomas Lavergne, Isobel Lawrence, Yuehua Li, John Lyman, Florence Marti, Ben Marzeion, Michael Mayer, Andrew H. MacDougall, Trevor McDougall, Didier Paolo Monselesan, Jan Nitzbon, Inès Otosaka, Jian Peng, Sarah Purkey, Dean Roemmich, Kanako Sato, Katsunari Sato, Abhishek Savita, Axel Schweiger, Andrew Shepherd, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Leon Simons, Donald A. Slater, Thomas Slater, Andrea K. Steiner, Toshio Suga, Tanguy Szekely, Wim Thiery, Mary-Louise Timmermans, Inne Vanderkelen, Susan E. Wjiffels, Tonghua Wu, and Michael Zemp
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1675–1709, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1675-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1675-2023, 2023
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Earth's climate is out of energy balance, and this study quantifies how much heat has consequently accumulated over the past decades (ocean: 89 %, land: 6 %, cryosphere: 4 %, atmosphere: 1 %). Since 1971, this accumulated heat reached record values at an increasing pace. The Earth heat inventory provides a comprehensive view on the status and expectation of global warming, and we call for an implementation of this global climate indicator into the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake.
Ngai-Ham Chan, Moritz Langer, Bennet Juhls, Tabea Rettelbach, Paul Overduin, Kimberly Huppert, and Jean Braun
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 259–285, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-259-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-259-2023, 2023
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Arctic river deltas influence how nutrients and soil organic carbon, carried by sediments from the Arctic landscape, are retained or released into the Arctic Ocean. Under climate change, the deltas themselves and their ecosystems are becoming more vulnerable. We build upon previous models to reproduce for the first time an important feature ubiquitous to Arctic deltas and simulate its future under climate warming. This can impact the future of Arctic deltas and the carbon release they moderate.
M. Schott, S. Lautenbach, L. Größchen, and A. Zipf
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-4-W1-2022, 395–402, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-395-2022, 2022
M. Blinn, S. Lautenbach, J. Grade, G. Lennartz, A. Fischer, D. Weiss, and T. Kötter
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-4-W1-2022, 67–72, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-67-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-67-2022, 2022
Stefan Kruse, Simone M. Stuenzi, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Josias Gloy, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2395–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, 2022
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We coupled established models for boreal forest (LAVESI) and permafrost dynamics (CryoGrid) in Siberia to investigate interactions of the diverse vegetation layer with permafrost soils. Our tests showed improved active layer depth estimations and newly included species growth according to their species-specific limits. We conclude that the new model system can be applied to simulate boreal forest dynamics and transitions under global warming and disturbances, expanding our knowledge.
R. Hecht, M. Artmann, P. Brzoska, D. Burghardt, S. Cakir, A. Dunkel, M. Gröbe, M. Gugulica, K. Krellenberg, N. Kreutzarek, S. Lautenbach, C. Ludwig, D. Lümkemann, G. Meinel, M. Schorcht, A. Sonnenbichler, C. Stanley, J. Tenikl, M. Wurm, and A. Zipf
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., VIII-4-W1-2021, 65–72, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-VIII-4-W1-2021-65-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-VIII-4-W1-2021-65-2021, 2021
Léo C. P. Martin, Jan Nitzbon, Johanna Scheer, Kjetil S. Aas, Trond Eiken, Moritz Langer, Simon Filhol, Bernd Etzelmüller, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 15, 3423–3442, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3423-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3423-2021, 2021
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It is important to understand how permafrost landscapes respond to climate changes because their thaw can contribute to global warming. We investigate how a common permafrost morphology degrades using both field observations of the surface elevation and numerical modeling. We show that numerical models accounting for topographic changes related to permafrost degradation can reproduce the observed changes in nature and help us understand how parameters such as snow influence this phenomenon.
