Aspects of the thaw lake cycle were investigated in Old Crow Flats (OCF), a 5600 km2 peatland with thousands of thermokarst lakes in the continuous permafrost of northern Yukon. It is located in the traditional territory of the Vuntut Gwitch'n, who expressed concern that climatic change may be affecting the permafrost and lakes of OCF. Field data collected in 2008-2011 provided the first assessment of spatial variability in permafrost temperatures across the treeline ecotone in OCF. Lake-bottom temperatures were recorded near the shores of four thermokarst lakes and talik configuration was defined beneath the lakes by jet-drilling to determine conditions controlling permafrost degradation in the area. Analytical and thermal models [...]
