Wildfires are increasing not only in their frequency but also their severity around the world, and Siberian region is not an exception. Even worse, wildfires in the Arctic will promote permafrost degradation that can last for years, which are responsible for changing local topography and ecosystem and can further release the organic carbon stored in the frozen soil for millennia. However, because of their remote location, it has been uncertain how post-wildfire permafrost degradation was proceeding.

Kazuki Yanagiya, a doctor student,  and Prof. Masato Furuya, at  Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, clarified the detailed spatial and temporal evolution of ground subsidence associated with the 2014 wildfire in Batagay, Eastern Siberia, using the satellite radar images acquired by Japanese ALOS2 and European Sentinel-1.

News：https://eos.org/articles/wildfires-trigger-long-term-permafrost-thaw
Article：https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019JF005473

J-ARC Net Joint Research Reports：https://j-arcnet.arc.hokudai.ac.jp/joint_research/joint_research_report/