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Legend abbreviations and data sources
F+ : Field work showed open holes in ice caused by gas bubbling
F- : Field work showed no open holes in ice caused by gas bubbling
F(nd) : No field work was performed
A+ : Aerial photo survey showed open holes in ice
A- : Aerial photo survey showed no holes in ice
A(nd) : No aerial photo survey was performed
S+ : Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing indicates potential gas-rich ice
S- : Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing does not indicate gas-rich ice
**Lakes without colored pins were not included in the study.
**Symbols that appear over land indicate change in lake extent.
Field work was conducted from 2006-2021. Gas seep data are primarily from (Katey Walter Anthony. (2020). Methane ebullition hotspot point data locations in interior Alaska thermokarst lakes from April 2011 through October 2019. Arctic Data Center. doi:10.18739/A2NP1WK35., ref to Engram 2024 for N. Blair data)
Aerial photo analysis was performed on photos acquired on October 8, 2014. Data from (Anthony, K.W., P. Hanke, and P. Lindgren. 2021. ABoVE: Methane Ebullition Hotspots in Frozen Lakes near Fairbanks, Alaska, Oct 2014. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1861)
(SAR) remote sensing is L-band, five-year persistent high backscatter, from winters of 2006-7 to 2010-11. Data from (ORNL DAAC).
Alaska place name data from State of Alaska Geoportal, retrieved Nov. 2024.
Disclaimer: This map and the information therein is provided for informational purposes only. Weak ice and methane/gas seeps in lakes are shifting phenomena and this map might not reflect current ice conditions. The University of Alaska Fairbanks and the authors accept no liability for injuries or accidents that may occur on lake ice.
Additional resources
Related publications
Natalie A. Tyler, Melanie J. Engram, Hilary Nyström, Guido Grosse, Franz J. Meyer, and Katey M. Walter Anthony. Ebullition superseeps mapped in Arctic lakes using space-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) analysis, In preparation
Engram, M. J., Walter Anthony, K. M. 2024. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) detects large gas seeps in Alaska lakes. Environmental Research Letters, 19, 04403, doi. 10.1088/1748-9326/ad2b2a
Walter Anthony, K. M., Lindgren, P., Hanke, P., Engram, M., Anthony, P., Daanen, R. Bondurant, A., Liljedahl, A., Lenz, J., Grosse, G., Jones, B., Brosius, L., James, S., Minsley, B., Pastick, N., Munk, J. Chanton, J., Miller, C., Meyer, F. 2021. Decadal-scale hotspot CH4 ebullition in lakes following abrupt permafrost thaw. Environmental Research Letters, 16, 035010, doi. 10.1088/1748-9326/ abc848.
Engram, M., K. M. Walter Anthony, T. Sachs, K. Kohnert, A. Serafimovich, G. Grosse, F. Meyer. Remotesensing northern lake methane ebullition. 2020. Nature Climate Change, 10.1038/ s41558-020-0762-8
Lindgren, P. R., G. Grosse, F. Meyer, K. M. Walter Anthony. 2019. An object-based classification method to detect methane ebullition bubbles in early winter lake ice. Remote Sensing 11, 822, doi: 10.3390/rs11070822.
Lindgren, P. R., G. Grosse, K. M Walter Anthony, F. Meyer. 2016. Detection and spatiotemporal analysis of methane ebullition on thermokarst lake ice using high-resolution optical aerial imagery, Biogeosciences 13, 27-44.
Walter Anthony, K. M., and P. Anthony. 2013. Constraining spatial variability of methane ebullition seeps in thermokarst lakes using point process models, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci. 118, doi:10.1002/ jgrg.20087
Engram, M., K. M. Walter Anthony, F. J. Meyer, G. Grosse. 2012. Investigating synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscatter response from ice on thermokarst lakes, as an indicator of methane ebullition bubbles, on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing 38(6):1-16.
Walter Anthony, K. M., D. Vas, L. Brosius, F. S. Chapin III, S. A. Zimov, Q. Zhuang. 2010. Estimating methane emissions from northern lakes using ice bubble surveys. Limnology and Oceanography Methods 8, 592–609.
