Articles | Volume 15, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4005-2021
© Author(s) 2021. 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-15-4005-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Aug 2021
Research article |
| 23 Aug 2021
| 23 Aug 2021
New insights into the drainage of inundated ice-wedge polygons using fundamental hydrologic principles
Dylan R. Harp
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
current address: Science and Analytics Team, The Freshwater Trust, 700 SW Taylor Street, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97205, USA
Vitaly Zlotnik
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0340, USA
Charles J. Abolt
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Bob Busey
International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Sofia T. Avendaño
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Brent D. Newman
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Adam L. Atchley
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Elchin Jafarov
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Cathy J. Wilson
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Katrina E. Bennett
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
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Short summary
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Katrina E. Bennett, Theodore J. Bohn, Kurt Solander, Nathan G. McDowell, Chonggang Xu, Enrique Vivoni, and Richard S. Middleton
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Randal D. Koster, Alan K. Betts, Paul A. Dirmeyer, Marc Bierkens, Katrina E. Bennett, Stephen J. Déry, Jason P. Evans, Rong Fu, Felipe Hernandez, L. Ruby Leung, Xu Liang, Muhammad Masood, Hubert Savenije, Guiling Wang, and Xing Yuan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3777–3798, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3777-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3777-2017, 2017
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Martyn P. Clark, Marc F. P. Bierkens, Luis Samaniego, Ross A. Woods, Remko Uijlenhoet, Katrina E. Bennett, Valentijn R. N. Pauwels, Xitian Cai, Andrew W. Wood, and Christa D. Peters-Lidard
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3427–3440, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3427-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3427-2017, 2017
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To improve the uncertainty in modeling of the permafrost carbon emission associated with the predicted climate warming, it is important to improve the simulation of the current permafrost carbon stock. This work shows how simulation of the frozen carbon in land system models can be improved by better addressing the coupling between plant photosynthesis, soil biogeochemistry, and soil thermodynamics.
A. A. Ali, C. Xu, A. Rogers, R. A. Fisher, S. D. Wullschleger, E. C. Massoud, J. A. Vrugt, J. D. Muss, N. G. McDowell, J. B. Fisher, P. B. Reich, and C. J. Wilson
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 587–606, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-587-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-587-2016, 2016
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We have developed a mechanistic model of leaf utilization of nitrogen for assimilation (LUNA V1.0) to predict the photosynthetic capacities at the global scale based on the optimization of key leaf-level metabolic processes. LUNA model predicts that future climatic changes would mostly affect plant photosynthetic capabilities in high-latitude regions and that Earth system models using fixed photosynthetic capabilities are likely to substantially overestimate future global photosynthesis.
D. R. Harp, A. L. Atchley, S. L. Painter, E. T. Coon, C. J. Wilson, V. E. Romanovsky, and J. C. Rowland
The Cryosphere, 10, 341–358, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-341-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-341-2016, 2016
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This paper investigates the uncertainty associated with permafrost thaw projections at an intensively monitored site. Permafrost thaw projections are simulated using a thermal hydrology model forced by a worst-case carbon emission scenario. The uncertainties associated with active layer depth, saturation state, thermal regime, and thaw duration are quantified and compared with the effects of climate model uncertainty on permafrost thaw projections.
A. L. Atchley, S. L. Painter, D. R. Harp, E. T. Coon, C. J. Wilson, A. K. Liljedahl, and V. E. Romanovsky
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 2701–2722, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2701-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2701-2015, 2015
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Development and calibration of a process-rich model representation of thaw-depth dynamics in Arctic tundra is presented. Improved understanding of polygonal tundra thermal hydrology processes, of thermal conduction, surface and subsurface saturation and snowpack dynamics is gained by using measured field data to calibrate and refine model structure. The refined model is then used identify future data needs and observational studies.
Related subject area
Discipline: Frozen ground | Subject: Frozen ground hydrology
Massive mobilization of toxic elements from an intact rock glacier in the central Eastern Alps
Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier
Future permafrost degradation under climate change in a headwater catchment of Central Siberia: quantitative assessment with a mechanistic modelling approach
Brief communication: Mountain permafrost acts as an aquitard during an infiltration experiment monitored with electrical resistivity tomography time-lapse measurements
Towards accurate quantification of ice content in permafrost of the Central Andes – Part 1: Geophysics-based estimates from three different regions
Impact of lateral groundwater flow on hydrothermal conditions of the active layer in a high-Arctic hillslope setting
Soil infiltration characteristics and pore distribution under freezing–thawing conditions
Invited perspective: What lies beneath a changing Arctic?
Sub-permafrost methane seepage from open-system pingos in Svalbard
Soil moisture and hydrology projections of the permafrost region – a model intercomparison
Hoda Moradi, Gerhard Furrer, Michael Margreth, David Mair, and Christoph Wanner
The Cryosphere, 18, 5153–5171, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5153-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5153-2024, 2024
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Detailed monitoring of a rock glacier spring in the Eastern Alps showed that more than 1 tonne of toxic solutes, such as aluminum, nickel, and manganese, is mobilized each year from a small permafrost area. The strong mobilization is caused by rock weathering and long-term accumulation of toxic solutes in permafrost ice. Today, climate-change-induced permafrost degradation leads to a quick and focused export in summer. This forms an unexpected, novel hazard for alpine and high-latitude areas.
Alexander Bast, Robert Kenner, and Marcia Phillips
The Cryosphere, 18, 3141–3158, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024, 2024
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We monitor ground temperature, water pressure, and relative ice/water contents in a creeping ice-rich rock glacier in mountain permafrost to study its characteristics during a deceleration period with dry conditions and a summer heat wave. The snowpack has an important role as a provider of water and as a thermal insulator. Snow-poor winters, followed by dry summers, induce cooling and drying of the permafrost, leading to rock glacier deceleration.
Thibault Xavier, Laurent Orgogozo, Anatoly S. Prokushkin, Esteban Alonso-González, Simon Gascoin, and Oleg S. Pokrovsky
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3074, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3074, 2024
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Permafrost (permanently frozen soil at depth) is thawing as a result of climate change. However, estimating its future degradation is particularly challenging due to the complex multi-physical processes involved. In this work, we designed and ran numerical simulations for months on a supercomputer to quantify the impact of climate change in a forested valley of Central Siberia. There, climate change could increase the thickness of the seasonally thawed soil layer in summer by up to 45 % by 2100.
Mirko Pavoni, Jacopo Boaga, Alberto Carrera, Giulia Zuecco, Luca Carturan, and Matteo Zumiani
The Cryosphere, 17, 1601–1607, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, 2023
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In the last decades, geochemical investigations at the springs of rock glaciers have been used to estimate their drainage processes, and the frozen layer is typically considered to act as an aquiclude or aquitard. In this work, we evaluated the hydraulic behavior of a mountain permafrost site by executing a geophysical monitoring experiment. Several hundred liters of salt water have been injected into the subsurface, and geoelectrical measurements have been performed to define the water flow.
Christin Hilbich, Christian Hauck, Coline Mollaret, Pablo Wainstein, and Lukas U. Arenson
The Cryosphere, 16, 1845–1872, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1845-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1845-2022, 2022
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In view of water scarcity in the Andes, the significance of permafrost as a future water resource is often debated focusing on satellite-detected features such as rock glaciers. We present data from > 50 geophysical surveys in Chile and Argentina to quantify the ground ice volume stored in various permafrost landforms, showing that not only rock glacier but also non-rock-glacier permafrost contains significant ground ice volumes and is relevant when assessing the hydrological role of permafrost.
Alexandra Hamm and Andrew Frampton
The Cryosphere, 15, 4853–4871, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4853-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4853-2021, 2021
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To investigate the effect of groundwater flow on the active layer on slopes in permafrost landscapes, we conducted several modeling experiments. We find that groundwater moving downslope in the subsurface causes areas uphill to be warmer than downhill. This effect is explained by differences in heat capacity, conductivity, and infiltration. Therefore, in a changing climate, higher soil moisture could have a cooling effect on the active layer and attenuate warming from higher air temperatures.
Ruiqi Jiang, Tianxiao Li, Dong Liu, Qiang Fu, Renjie Hou, Qinglin Li, Song Cui, and Mo Li
The Cryosphere, 15, 2133–2146, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2133-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2133-2021, 2021
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This paper outlines the results from laboratory tests of soil freezing impacts on infiltration rates, hydraulic conductivity, and soil pore distribution characteristics. The results indicated that macropores (> 5 mm) accounted for < 1 % of the pore-volume-contributed half of the flow in unfrozen conditions and that the freezing of macropores resulted in considerable decreases in hydraulic conductivity. The results should be of interest for cold region hydrology in general.
Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Barret L. Kurylyk, Michelle A. Walvoord, Victor F. Bense, Daniel Fortier, Christopher Spence, and Christophe Grenier
The Cryosphere, 15, 479–484, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-479-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-479-2021, 2021
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Groundwater is an underappreciated catalyst of environmental change in a warming Arctic. We provide evidence of how changing groundwater systems underpin surface changes in the north, and we argue for research and inclusion of cryohydrogeology, the study of groundwater in cold regions.
Andrew J. Hodson, Aga Nowak, Mikkel T. Hornum, Kim Senger, Kelly Redeker, Hanne H. Christiansen, Søren Jessen, Peter Betlem, Steve F. Thornton, Alexandra V. Turchyn, Snorre Olaussen, and Alina Marca
The Cryosphere, 14, 3829–3842, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3829-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3829-2020, 2020
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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.
Christian G. Andresen, David M. Lawrence, Cathy J. Wilson, A. David McGuire, Charles Koven, Kevin Schaefer, Elchin Jafarov, Shushi Peng, Xiaodong Chen, Isabelle Gouttevin, Eleanor Burke, Sarah Chadburn, Duoying Ji, Guangsheng Chen, Daniel Hayes, and Wenxin Zhang
The Cryosphere, 14, 445–459, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-445-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-445-2020, 2020
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Widely-used land models project near-surface drying of the terrestrial Arctic despite increases in the net water balance driven by climate change. Drying was generally associated with increases of active-layer depth and permafrost thaw in a warming climate. However, models lack important mechanisms such as thermokarst and soil subsidence that will change the hydrological regime and add to the large uncertainty in the future Arctic hydrological state and the associated permafrost carbon feedback.
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Short summary
Polygon-shaped landforms present in relatively flat Arctic tundra result in complex landscape-scale water drainage. The drainage pathways and the time to transition from inundated conditions to drained have important implications for heat and carbon transport. Using fundamental hydrologic principles, we investigate the drainage pathways and timing of individual polygons, providing insights into the effects of polygon geometry and preferential flow direction on drainage pathways and timing.
Polygon-shaped landforms present in relatively flat Arctic tundra result in complex...
