DARTS: Multi-year database of AI detected retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) in hotspots of the circum-arctic permafrost region - v1.3

This dataset, called DARTS, comprises footprints of active parts of retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) identified and quantified using an automated deep learning approach in RTS hotspots across the Arctic and Subarctic permafrost regions. We utilized multispectral PlanetScope imagery with a spatial resolution of ~3 meters (m), complemented by ArcticDEM (Digital Elevation Model) and derived datasets, including slope, relative elevation, and Landsat-derived change trends.
The dataset covers an area of 1.9 million square-kilometers (km²), with at least one coverage between 2016 and 2025, and provides annual coverage for approximately 570,000 km² between 2021 and 2025. In several highly active key sites, such as Banks Island, Peel Plateau, and Novaya Zemlya, we extended the data frequency and temporal coverage to before 2021. We mapped a total of more than 58,000 individual RTS and ALD, many of them multiple times. We offer two levels of datasets; Level 1: RTS footprints per image with timestamps; and Level 2: annually aggregated RTS footprints. Essential metadata includes image footprints, dataset coverage, timestamps, and model-specific information.
To enhance reproducibility and further use, the training labels, processing code, and model checkpoints are publicly available. This version, v1.3, is the updated first openly accessible release, extending version v1.2, which covered years 2018 through 2023. The dataset will be maintained and continuously updated in both spatial and temporal extent. It can be used for mapping and quantifying RTS, analyzing spatio-temporal patterns of RTS dynamics, or serving as input for landscape dynamics models.