Articles | Volume 11, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1691-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1691-2017
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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Cited articles

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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.