Geospatial analysis of permafrost thaw-induced slope processes and their hazard potential across the Arctic

Accelerating permafrost degradation is driving widespread thaw-induced mass wasting across Arctic and high-altitude landscapes, with retrogressive thaw slumps and active-layer detachment failures representing thaw-driven slope failure processes with significant geomorphic and societal consequences. This dissertation develops a multiscale framework integrating circumpolar susceptibility modelling, regional comparative analysis, infrastructure exposure assessment, and tourism risk synthesis to examine where these hazards occur, what environmental factors govern their distribution, and how they manifest across infrastructure, governance, and human activity. Findings reveal climatic and terrain controls at hemispheric scales alongside pronounced regional environmental heterogeneity, substantial infrastructure vulnerability in Alaska and northwestern Canada, and critical governance gaps at the interface of permafrost hazards and nature-based tourism in the Yukon. Collectively, the results advance an integrated, socioenvironmental perspective on permafrost thaw under continued Arctic warming.