Permafrost landform and environmental variable dataset for 7.5 x 7.5 km grid cells coverin

Northwest Territories Geological Survey data for 7.5 x 7.5 km grid cells covering 14 Level IV Ecoregions. The dataset contains 41 attributes, including 33 thermokarst landform presence/absence indicators and 8 environmental predictor variables. It was published in 2026 by principal investigator Steve Kokelj.

Use Cases

• Modeling the presence of retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) based on environmental predictors like temperature and precipitation.
• Analyzing relationships between wildfire burn area and the development of thermokarst ponds or lake drainage.
• Classifying regional permafrost vulnerability using geomorphon variety and Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) metrics.
• Mapping the distribution of specific permafrost landforms like pingos or polygonal terrain across different ecoregions.

Strengths

• Includes 33 distinct thermokarst landform and process indicators as response variables.
• Environmental predictor variables are derived from a 30-year climate normal period (1991-2020).
• Spatially explicit data covers 14 distinct Level IV Ecoregions within the Northwest Territories.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download from separate supplementary files.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific 14 ecoregions of the Northwest Territories.

Provenance

Source

Northwest Territories Geological Survey, principal investigator Steve Kokelj.

Collection Method

Likely derived from remote sensing, field observations, and climate model outputs aggregated to 7.5 km grid cells.

Time Range

Environmental variables represent a 30-year mean (1991-2020); wildfire data spans 1996-2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-29 07:03:07; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northwest Territories, Canada, covering 14 Level IV Ecoregions.