Modeling the spatial structure of thermokarst lake fields in the cryolithozone of Northern Eurasia accounting lognormal law of their size distribution

Abstract

Power and exponential lake size distributions are now routinely used for modeling the spatial structure of thermokarst lake fields. Based on a combination of satellite images of moderate and high spatial resolution, a synthesized lake size distribution histogram is constructed, which is approximated by a lognormal distribution law using the Pearson criterion with a probability of 0.99. This distribution law takes into account small lakes which are considered as intensive sources of methane emission into the atmosphere from thermokarst lakes. Based on a geo-simulation approach, a model of the spatial structure of thermokarst lake fields is proposed taking into account the lognormal lake size distribution. Algorithms for modeling the spatial structure of thermokarst lake fields are presented. An example of modeling a field of thermokarst lakes with a lognormal lake size distribution is given.