Landscape influence on permafrost ground ice geochemistry in a polar desert environment, Resolute Bay, Nunavut

Arctic permafrost is degrading and is thus releasing nutrients, solutes, sediment and water into soils and freshwater ecosystems. The impacts of this degradation depends on the geochemical characteristics and in large part on the spatial distribution of ground ice and solutes, which is not well-known in the High Arctic polar desert ecosystems. This research links ground ice and solute concentrations, to establish a framework for identifying locations vulnerable to permafrost degradation. It builds on landscape classifications and cryostratigraphic interpretations of permafrost history. Well-vegetated wetland sites with syngenetic permafrost aggradation show a different geochemical signature from polar desert and epigenetic sites. In wetlands, where ground ice contents were high (<97% volume), total dissolved solute concentrations were relatively low (mean 283.0 ± 327.8 ppm), reflecting a carbonate terrestrial/freshwater setting. In drier sites with epigenetic origin, such as polar deserts, ice contents are low (