Microtopographic control on the ground thermal regime in ice wedge polygons

Abolt, Charles J.; Young, Michael H.; Atchley, Adam L.; Harp, Dylan R.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018

Articles | Volume 12, issue 6

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 6

Research article

|

11 Jun 2018

Research article |

| 11 Jun 2018

Microtopographic control on the ground thermal regime in ice wedge polygons

Charles J. Abolt, Michael H. Young, Adam L. Atchley, and Dylan R. Harp

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Final revised paper (published on 11 Jun 2018)
Supplement to the final revised paper
Preprint (discussion started on 12 Jan 2018)
Supplement to the preprint

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

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

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- Supplement

RC1: 'Review of: “Microtopographic control on the ground thermal regime in ice wedge polygons”', Anonymous Referee #1, 07 Feb 2018
- AC1: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #1', Charles Abolt, 22 Feb 2018
RC2: 'Referee comments', Anonymous Referee #2, 16 Apr 2018
- AC2: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #2', Charles Abolt, 30 Apr 2018

Peer-review completion

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

AR by Charles Abolt on behalf of the Authors (30 Apr 2018) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (15 May 2018) by Peter Morse

AR by Charles Abolt on behalf of the Authors (22 May 2018) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (24 May 2018) by Peter Morse

AR by Charles Abolt on behalf of the Authors (25 May 2018) Manuscript

Short summary

We investigate the relationship between ice wedge polygon topography and near-surface ground temperature using a combination of field work and numerical modeling. We analyze a year-long record of ground temperature across a low-centered polygon, then demonstrate that lower rims and deeper troughs promote warmer conditions in the ice wedge in winter. This finding implies that ice wedge cracking and growth, which are driven by cold conditions, can be impeded by rim erosion or trough subsidence.