NERC-NSF-GEO: Investigating Peatland Initiation in Retreating Glacier Environments

Peatlands are organic-rich wetlands that store large amounts of carbon and are widespread across Alaska. As glaciers retreat, they expose newly ice-free landscapes, creating natural laboratories for studying the processes that control when, where, and how rapidly these peatlands form. The InsPIRE project investigates these processes by examining how glacier retreat sets the stage for peatland formation and evaluating the factors that govern the accumulation and preservation of organic carbon in these emerging ecosystems. Particular attention will be given to the role of permafrost in stabilizing and preserving newly formed peat deposits. The project will produce high-resolution inventories of glacier-associated peatlands across Alaska, along with a briefing report and interactive mapping products to support land managers, policymakers, and local communities in understanding and planning for landscape change. This award was made possible through the NSF/GEO-UKRI/NERC lead agency opportunity. Rapid glacier change is exposing proglacial landscapes that are among the fastest-changing biogeochemical environments on Earth. The development and persistence of peatlands in these settings are governed by complex interactions between glacier-meltwater regimes, geomorphic pre-conditioning of the substrate, and permafrost aggradation. This study will explicitly measure these combined controls and evaluate the vulnerability of nascent peat patches on the long-term stabilization and preservation of organic material. The investigators will use high-resolution remote sensing data from the Arctic Digital Elevation Model to update paleo-glacier extents from the Last Glacial Maximum and Little Ice Age, building a statewide chronosequence of peat initiation. In addition, the investigators will conduct laboratory analyses of peat cores to reconstruct developmental trajectories, establish the dependence of these systems on glacial meltwater, and investigate how permafrost aggradation stabilizes organic-rich deposits. Observational data will then be integrated with the Open Global Glacier Model and the process-based DigiBog model to simulate Alaskan peatland responses to environmental change. The results will be used by the investigators to co-produce vulnerability maps and outreach through stakeholder workshops and 3D visualizations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.