Articles | Volume 14, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4627-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4627-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Dec 2020
Research article |
| 21 Dec 2020
| 21 Dec 2020
Numerical modelling of permafrost spring discharge and open-system pingo formation induced by basal permafrost aggradation
Department of Arctic Geology, The University Centre in Svalbard
(UNIS), 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University
of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Center for Permafrost, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Andrew Jonathan Hodson
Department of Arctic Geology, The University Centre in Svalbard
(UNIS), 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of
Applied Sciences, 6856 Sogndal, Norway
Søren Jessen
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University
of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Victor Bense
Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, 6708PB
Wageningen, the Netherlands
Kim Senger
Department of Arctic Geology, The University Centre in Svalbard
(UNIS), 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
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Methane stored below permafrost is an unknown quantity in the Arctic greenhouse gas budget. In coastal areas with rising sea levels, much of the methane seeps into the sea and is removed before it reaches the atmosphere. However, where land uplift outpaces rising sea levels, the former seabed freezes, pressurising methane-rich groundwater beneath, which then escapes via permafrost seepages called pingos. We describe this mechanism and the origins of the methane discharging from Svalbard pingos.
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The Cryosphere, 15, 5513–5528, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5513-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5513-2021, 2021
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At UNIS, located at 78° N in Longyearbyen in Arctic Norway, we use digital outcrop models (DOMs) actively in a new course (
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Joseph M. Cook, Andrew J. Tedstone, Christopher Williamson, Jenine McCutcheon, Andrew J. Hodson, Archana Dayal, McKenzie Skiles, Stefan Hofer, Robert Bryant, Owen McAree, Andrew McGonigle, Jonathan Ryan, Alexandre M. Anesio, Tristram D. L. Irvine-Fynn, Alun Hubbard, Edward Hanna, Mark Flanner, Sathish Mayanna, Liane G. Benning, Dirk van As, Marian Yallop, James B. McQuaid, Thomas Gribbin, and Martyn Tranter
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As Norwegian geologist Liestøl (1996) recognised,
in connection with formation of pingos there are a great many unsolved questions. Drillings and temperature measurements through the pingo mound and also through the surrounding permafrost are needed before the problems can be better understood. To shed light on pingo formation here we present the results of first drilling of pingo on Spitsbergen together with results of detailed hydrochemical and stable-isotope studies of massive-ice samples.
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T. Read, V. F. Bense, R. Hochreutener, O. Bour, T. Le Borgne, N. Lavenant, and J. S. Selker
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The monitoring and measurement of water flow in groundwater wells allows us to understand how aquifers transmit water. In this paper we develop a simple method, which we call T-POT, that allows flows to be estimated by tracking the movement of a small parcel of warmed water. The parcel is tracked using fibre optic temperature sensing - a technology that allows detailed measurements of temperature, and therefore flow using the T-POT method, to be made in the well.
Related subject area
Discipline: Other | Subject: Frozen ground hydrology
Brief communication: The hidden labyrinth: deep groundwater in Wright Valley, Antarctica
Warming temperatures are impacting the hydrometeorological regime of Russian rivers in the zone of continuous permafrost
Hilary A. Dugan, Peter T. Doran, Denys Grombacher, Esben Auken, Thue Bording, Nikolaj Foged, Neil Foley, Jill Mikucki, Ross A. Virginia, and Slawek Tulaczyk
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In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, a deep groundwater system has been hypothesized to connect Don Juan Pond and Lake Vanda, both surface waterbodies that contain very high concentrations of salt. This is unusual, since permafrost in polar landscapes is thought to prevent subsurface hydrologic connectivity. We show results from an airborne geophysical survey that reveals widespread unfrozen brine in Wright Valley and points to the potential for deep valley-wide brine conduits.
Olga Makarieva, Nataliia Nesterova, David Andrew Post, Artem Sherstyukov, and Lyudmila Lebedeva
The Cryosphere, 13, 1635–1659, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1635-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1635-2019, 2019
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The streamflow of Arctic rivers is changing. We analyzed available data (22 gauges, 1936–2015) in the basins of the Yana and Indigirka rivers completely located within the continuous permafrost zone. The results show that the main factor of increasing low flows is the shift from snow to rain due to warming. Other factors related to the release of water from permafrost, glaciers, or aufeis may fractionally contribute to streamflow increase but cannot be quantified based on available data.
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Short summary
In Arctic fjord valleys, considerable amounts of methane may be stored below the permafrost and escape directly to the atmosphere through springs. A new conceptual model of how such springs form and persist is presented and confirmed by numerical modelling experiments: in uplifted Arctic valleys, freezing pressure induced at the permafrost base can drive the flow of groundwater to the surface through vents in frozen ground. This deserves attention as an emission pathway for greenhouse gasses.
In Arctic fjord valleys, considerable amounts of methane may be stored below the permafrost and...
