The change data provided by the Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX) has been updated. In the latest version of the tool, users can now explore landscape changes between 2005 and 2024. The previous comparison period (2003 to 2022) remains available, enabling easy comparison between the two periods using the ‘fade’ function with the ‘difference’ blend mode.

Alongside the data update, the underlying processing has been further optimized. The tool now incorporates Landsat-9 OLI-2 imagery and compares annually aggregated data rather than individual scenes. By using an updated image collection and refined parameter settings, the overall data quality has been improved – most notably through a reduction in striping artifacts.

The Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX) was developed by the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, as part of the EU-funded Arctic PASSION project. The web portal is designed to support communities and stakeholders in understanding rapid changes in pan-Arctic permafrost regions. It provides insights into permafrost dynamics throughout the circum-Arctic permafrost region over the last 20 years.

For more details on the dataset see PANGAEA.

A research team from the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research posing in front of a small thaw slump near Kotzebue, Alaska during fieldwork in September 2023. Photo by: Guido Grosse