New observations indicate the possible presence of permafrost in North Africa (Djebel Toubkal, High Atlas, Morocco)

Vieira, Gonçalo; Mora, Carla; Faleh, Ali

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1691-2017

Articles | Volume 11, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1691-2017

© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Special issue:

The evolution of permafrost in mountain regions

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1691-2017

© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 11, issue 4

Research article

|

21 Jul 2017

Research article |

| 21 Jul 2017

New observations indicate the possible presence of permafrost in North Africa (Djebel Toubkal, High Atlas, Morocco)

Gonçalo Vieira, Carla Mora, and Ali Faleh

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Final revised paper (published on 21 Jul 2017)
Preprint (discussion started on 27 Oct 2016)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC1: 'Ground surface temperatures indicate the probable presence of permafrost in North Africa (Djebel Toubkal, High Atlas, Morocco)', Enrique Serrano, 21 Dec 2016
- AC1: 'Reply to Prof Enrique Serrano', Gonçalo Vieira, 26 Jan 2017
RC2: 'RC2 - Interactive comment on “Ground surface temperatures indicate the presence of permafrost in North Africa" (tc-2016-234)', Benno Staub, 07 Jan 2017
- AC2: 'Reply to Dr Benno Staub', Gonçalo Vieira, 26 Jan 2017

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

AR by Gonçalo Vieira on behalf of the Authors (06 Mar 2017)

ED: Reconsider after major revisions (15 Mar 2017) by Marcia Phillips

AR by Gonçalo Vieira on behalf of the Authors (30 Apr 2017) Manuscript

ED: Reconsider after major revisions (03 May 2017) by Marcia Phillips

AR by Gonçalo Vieira on behalf of the Authors (03 Jun 2017) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (08 Jun 2017) by Marcia Phillips

AR by Gonçalo Vieira on behalf of the Authors (09 Jun 2017) Author's response Manuscript

Short summary

The Toubkal is the highest massif in North Africa (4167 m). Landforms and deposits above 3000 m show the effects of frost action in the present-day geomorphological dynamics, but data on ground temperatures were lacking. In this study ground surface temperature data measured across an altitudinal transect are presented and analysed for the first time. The highlight is the possible occurrence of permafrost at an elevation of 3800 m, which may be of high ecological and hydrological significance.