Abstract
Intensive development of South Yakutia, a mountainous area in the Russian sporadic permafrost zone, must be founded on knowledge about regional permafrost conditions. New permafrost maps for mountainous areas in South Yakutia (the Elkon Mountains and the Olekma-Chara Upland) are presented that provide a more detailed and updated description of permafrost distribution in the area than those that were hitherto available. These maps are based on the previously-developed and tested method of detecting permafrost and unfrozen ground using Landsat-5/TM satellite data with relatively high resolution. The method represents a scheme for permafrost identification based on a set of landscape indicators: terrain elevation, slope angle and exposition, vegetation, snow cover, and land surface temperature (LST). A correlation analysis of satellite data to full-scale field data has been carried out for the two areas under consideration. Indicator properties of LST obtained by Landsat-5/TM Band 6 Infrared have been characterized in detail for detection and regional mapping of permafrost. The effect of landscape factors (landscape cryo-indicators) on ground temperature and condition, frozen or unfrozen reflected in LST intensity, is demonstrated.
Highlights
Exploration of the mountainous areas in South Yakutia is of special significance due to concentration of various natural resources and their economic value
The method represents a scheme for permafrost identification based on a set of landscape indicators: terrain elevation, slope angle and exposition, vegetation, snow cover, and land surface temperature (LST)
Indicator properties of LST obtained by Landsat-5/TM Band 6 Infrared have been characterized in detail for detection and regional mapping of permafrost
Summary
Exploration of the mountainous areas in South Yakutia is of special significance due to concentration of various natural resources and their economic value. The use of remote sensing data (RSD) in geocryological studies is possible because most factors controlling ground temperature (which, in turn, determines whether ground is in frozen or unfrozen condition) in mountain terrain are physiognomic, and they are reflected in RSD (terrain elevation, slope angle and exposition, vegetation and snow cover). This allows a landscape-cryoindication study to be made using satellite imagery. Thermal infrared imagery indicates the intensity of the land surface radiation depending on the condition of bedrock, usually referred to Geosciences 2019, 9, 4; doi:10.3390/geosciences9010004 www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
