A Comprehensive Database of Thawing Permafrost Locations Across Alaska

Abstract. The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the global average, leading to widespread permafrost thaw degradation with profound implications for ecosystems, infrastructure, and global climate feedbacks. While gradual permafrost thaw occurs over decades, abrupt thaw events – such as thermokarst formation or retrogressive thaw slumps – can rapidly alter ecosystems and severely damage infrastructure. Although abrupt thaw is increasingly widespread, comprehensive datasets that map its spatial distribution at regional scales for land managers and local governments are still lacking. To address this gap, we created the Alaska Permafrost Thaw Database, an open-access, collaborative database which compiles 19,540 permafrost thaw and thermokarst locations across Alaska from 44 sources, integrating field observations, remote sensing products, and the published literature. This database spans observations from 1950 through present and incorporates datasets of varying spatial resolution, ranging from field-based point measurements to remotely sensed products (1–125 m), providing statewide coverage across Alaska. The dataset includes abrupt thaw features and sites experiencing gradual top-down thaw that can help to support comparative analysis and predictive modeling. We used this database to explore relationships between thaw type (abrupt vs. non-abrupt) and topographic metrics (i.e., slope, relative elevation, and potential incoming solar radiation), analyze the distribution of various thaw features across Alaska’s major ecoregions, and compare the database to current spatial datasets of ground ice and Yedoma. Our analysis shows abrupt thaw features are more prevalent in lowlands and depressions while gradual top-down and lateral thaw features are more commonly associated with areas receiving higher potential incoming solar radiation such as south facing slopes and open clearings. We also found substantial mismatches between ice-driven thaw processes and existing ground ice and Yedoma maps, likely reflecting the coarse resolution of current mapping products relative to the fine-scale nature of field measurements and highlighting the limitations of current datasets for local-scale prediction. The database provides direct, empirical evidence of actively thawing and stable permafrost locations and can be used to inform and validate ground ice mapping. By comparing the database with physiographic characteristics and remotely sensed measurements, the database can guide future field campaigns in areas with little to no observations. As permafrost thaw transforms Arctic landscapes, high-resolution, accessible spatial data – such as our thaw database – will be critical for informing climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. The Alaska Permafrost Thaw Database is openly available at Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16996415), which provides a link to the GitHub repository and access to all versions; this paper describes version 2.0.0.

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