Research article
04 Apr 2022
Research article
| 04 Apr 2022
Seismic physics-based characterization of permafrost sites using surface waves
Hongwei Liu et al.
Related subject area
Discipline: Frozen ground | Subject: Frozen Ground
Three in one: GPS-IR measurements of ground surface elevation changes, soil moisture, and snow depth at a permafrost site in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Surface temperatures and their influence on the permafrost thermal regime in high-Arctic rock walls on Svalbard
Consequences of permafrost degradation for Arctic infrastructure – bridging the model gap between regional and engineering scales
Passive seismic recording of cryoseisms in Adventdalen, Svalbard
Projecting circum-Arctic excess-ground-ice melt with a sub-grid representation in the Community Land Model
Ground ice, organic carbon and soluble cations in tundra permafrost soils and sediments near a Laurentide ice divide in the Slave Geological Province, Northwest Territories, Canada
The ERA5-Land soil temperature bias in permafrost regions
Brief Communication: The reliability of gas extraction techniques for analysing CH4 and N2O compositions in gas trapped in permafrost ice wedges
Geochemical signatures of pingo ice and its origin in Grøndalen, west Spitsbergen
Mountain permafrost degradation documented through a network of permanent electrical resistivity tomography sites
Permafrost variability over the Northern Hemisphere based on the MERRA-2 reanalysis
Distinguishing ice-rich and ice-poor permafrost to map ground temperatures and ground ice occurrence in the Swiss Alps
New ground ice maps for Canada using a paleogeographic modelling approach
Origin, burial and preservation of late Pleistocene-age glacier ice in Arctic permafrost (Bylot Island, NU, Canada)
Characteristics and fate of isolated permafrost patches in coastal Labrador, Canada
Rock glaciers in Daxue Shan, south-eastern Tibetan Plateau: an inventory, their distribution, and their environmental controls
Microtopographic control on the ground thermal regime in ice wedge polygons
Jiahua Zhang, Lin Liu, Lei Su, and Tao Che
The Cryosphere, 15, 3021–3033, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3021-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3021-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We improve the commonly used GPS-IR algorithm for estimating surface soil moisture in permafrost areas, which does not consider the bias introduced by seasonal surface vertical movement. We propose a three-in-one framework to integrate the GPS-IR observations of surface elevation changes, soil moisture, and snow depth at one site and illustrate it by using a GPS site in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. This study is the first to use GPS-IR to measure environmental variables in the Tibetan Plateau.
Juditha Undine Schmidt, Bernd Etzelmüller, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Florence Magnin, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 15, 2491–2509, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2491-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2491-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents rock surface temperatures (RSTs) of steep high-Arctic rock walls on Svalbard from 2016 to 2020. The field data show that coastal cliffs are characterized by warmer RSTs than inland locations during winter seasons. By running model simulations, we analyze factors leading to that effect, calculate the surface energy balance and simulate different future scenarios. Both field data and model results can contribute to a further understanding of RST in high-Arctic rock walls.
Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Hanna Lee, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, Sebastian Westermann, Vladimir Romanovsky, Scott Lamoureux, Donald A. Walker, Sarah Chadburn, Erin Trochim, Lei Cai, Jan Nitzbon, Stephan Jacobi, and Moritz Langer
The Cryosphere, 15, 2451–2471, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2451-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2451-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Climate warming puts infrastructure built on permafrost at risk of failure. There is a growing need for appropriate model-based risk assessments. Here we present a modelling study and show an exemplary case of how a gravel road in a cold permafrost environment in Alaska might suffer from degrading permafrost under a scenario of intense climate warming. We use this case study to discuss the broader-scale applicability of our model for simulating future Arctic infrastructure failure.
Rowan Romeyn, Alfred Hanssen, Bent Ole Ruud, Helene Meling Stemland, and Tor Arne Johansen
The Cryosphere, 15, 283–302, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-283-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-283-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A series of unusual ground motion signatures were identified in geophone recordings at a frost polygon site in Adventdalen on Svalbard. By analysing where the ground motion originated in time and space, we are able to classify them as cryoseisms, also known as frost quakes, a ground-cracking phenomenon that occurs as a result of freezing processes. The waves travelling through the ground produced by these frost quakes also allow us to measure the structure of the permafrost in the near surface.
Lei Cai, Hanna Lee, Kjetil Schanke Aas, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 14, 4611–4626, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4611-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4611-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A sub-grid representation of excess ground ice in the Community Land Model (CLM) is developed as novel progress in modeling permafrost thaw and its impacts under the warming climate. The modeled permafrost degradation with sub-grid excess ice follows the pathway that continuous permafrost transforms into discontinuous permafrost before it disappears, including surface subsidence and talik formation, which are highly permafrost-relevant landscape changes excluded from most land models.
Rupesh Subedi, Steven V. Kokelj, and Stephan Gruber
The Cryosphere, 14, 4341–4364, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4341-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4341-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Permafrost beneath tundra near Lac de Gras (Northwest Territories, Canada) contains more ice and less organic carbon than shown in global compilations. Excess-ice content of 20–60 %, likely remnant Laurentide basal ice, is found in upland till. This study is based on 24 boreholes up to 10 m deep. Findings highlight geology and glacial legacy as determinants of a mosaic of permafrost characteristics with potential for thaw subsidence up to several metres in some locations.
Bin Cao, Stephan Gruber, Donghai Zheng, and Xin Li
The Cryosphere, 14, 2581–2595, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2581-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2581-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study reports that ERA5-Land (ERA5L) soil temperature bias in permafrost regions correlates with the bias in air temperature and with maximum snow height. While global reanalyses are important drivers for permafrost study, ERA5L soil data are not well suited for directly informing permafrost research decision making due to their warm bias in winter. To address this, future soil temperature products in reanalyses will require permafrost-specific alterations to their land surface models.
Ji-Woong Yang, Jinho Ahn, Go Iwahana, Sangyoung Han, Kyungmin Kim, and Alexander Fedorov
The Cryosphere, 14, 1311–1324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1311-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1311-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Thawing permafrost may lead to decomposition of soil carbon and nitrogen and emission of greenhouse gases. Thus, methane and nitrous oxide compositions in ground ice may provide information on their production mechanisms in permafrost. We test conventional wet and dry extraction methods. We find that both methods extract gas from the easily extractable parts of the ice and yield similar results for mixing ratios. However, both techniques are unable to fully extract gas from the ice.
Nikita Demidov, Sebastian Wetterich, Sergey Verkulich, Aleksey Ekaykin, Hanno Meyer, Mikhail Anisimov, Lutz Schirrmeister, Vasily Demidov, and Andrew J. Hodson
The Cryosphere, 13, 3155–3169, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3155-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3155-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Coline Mollaret, Christin Hilbich, Cécile Pellet, Adrian Flores-Orozco, Reynald Delaloye, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 13, 2557–2578, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2557-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2557-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a long-term multisite electrical resistivity tomography monitoring network (more than 1000 datasets recorded from six mountain permafrost sites). Despite harsh and remote measurement conditions, the datasets are of good quality and show consistent spatio-temporal variations yielding significant added value to point-scale borehole information. Observed long-term trends are similar for all permafrost sites, showing ongoing permafrost thaw and ground ice loss due to climatic conditions.
Jing Tao, Randal D. Koster, Rolf H. Reichle, Barton A. Forman, Yuan Xue, Richard H. Chen, and Mahta Moghaddam
The Cryosphere, 13, 2087–2110, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2087-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2087-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The active layer thickness (ALT) in middle-to-high northern latitudes from 1980 to 2017 was produced at 81 km2 resolution by a global land surface model (NASA's CLSM) with forcing fields from a reanalysis data set, MERRA-2. The simulated permafrost distribution and ALTs agree reasonably well with an observation-based map and in situ measurements, respectively. The accumulated above-freezing air temperature and maximum snow water equivalent explain most of the year-to-year variability of ALT.
Robert Kenner, Jeannette Noetzli, Martin Hoelzle, Hugo Raetzo, and Marcia Phillips
The Cryosphere, 13, 1925–1941, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1925-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1925-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A new permafrost mapping method distinguishes between ice-poor and ice-rich permafrost. The approach was tested for the entire Swiss Alps and highlights the dominating influence of the factors elevation and solar radiation on the distribution of ice-poor permafrost. Our method enabled the indication of mean annual ground temperatures and the cartographic representation of permafrost-free belts, which are bounded above by ice-poor permafrost and below by permafrost-containing excess ice.
H. Brendan O'Neill, Stephen A. Wolfe, and Caroline Duchesne
The Cryosphere, 13, 753–773, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-753-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-753-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we present new models to depict ground ice in permafrost in Canada, incorporating knowledge from recent studies. The model outputs we present reproduce observed regional ground ice conditions and are generally comparable with previous mapping. However, our results are more detailed and more accurately reflect ground ice conditions in many regions. The new mapping is an important step toward understanding terrain response to permafrost degradation in Canada.
Stephanie Coulombe, Daniel Fortier, Denis Lacelle, Mikhail Kanevskiy, and Yuri Shur
The Cryosphere, 13, 97–111, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-97-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-97-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides a detailed description of relict glacier ice preserved in the permafrost of Bylot Island (Nunavut). We demonstrate that the 18O composition (-34.0 0.4 ‰) of the ice is consistent with the late Pleistocene age ice in the Barnes Ice Cap. As most of the glaciated Arctic landscapes are still strongly determined by their glacial legacy, the melting of these large ice bodies could have significant impacts on permafrost geosystem landscape dynamics and ecosystems.
Robert G. Way, Antoni G. Lewkowicz, and Yu Zhang
The Cryosphere, 12, 2667–2688, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2667-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2667-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Isolated patches of permafrost in southeast Labrador are among the southernmost lowland permafrost features in Canada. Local characteristics at six sites were investigated from Cartwright, NL (~ 54° N) to Blanc-Sablon, QC (~ 51° N). Annual ground temperatures varied from −0.7 °C to −2.3 °C with permafrost thicknesses of 1.7–12 m. Ground temperatures modelled for two sites showed permafrost disappearing at the southern site by 2060 and persistence beyond 2100 at the northern site only for RCP2.6.
Zeze Ran and Gengnian Liu
The Cryosphere, 12, 2327–2340, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2327-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2327-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This article provides the first rock glacier inventory of Daxue Shan, south- eastern Tibetan Plateau. This study provides important data for exploring the relation between maritime periglacial environments and the development of rock glaciers on the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). It may also highlight the characteristics typical of rock glaciers found in a maritime setting.
Charles J. Abolt, Michael H. Young, Adam L. Atchley, and Dylan R. Harp
The Cryosphere, 12, 1957–1968, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018, 2018
Short summary
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.
Cited articles
Albaric, J., Kühn, D., Ohrnberger, M., Langet, N., Harris, D., Polom, U.,
Lecomte, I., and Hillers, G.: Seismic monitoring of permafrost in Svalbard,
Arctic Norway, Seismol. Res. Lett., 92, 2891–2904, 2021. a
Bhuiyan, M. A. E., Witharana, C., and Liljedahl, A. K.: Use of very high
spatial resolution commercial satellite imagery and deep learning to
automatically map ice-wedge polygons across tundra vegetation types, J.
Imaging., 6, 137, https://doi.org/10.3390/jimaging6120137, 2020. a
Brothers, L. L., Herman, B. M., Hart, P. E., and Ruppel, C. D.: Subsea
ice-bearing permafrost on the US Beaufort Margin: 1. Minimum seaward extent
defined from multichannel seismic reflection data, Geochem. Geophy. Geosy.,
17, 4354–4365, 2016. a
Buteau, S., Fortier, R., and Allard, M.: Permafrost weakening as a potential
impact of climatic warming, J. Cold. Reg. Eng., 24, 1–18, 2010. a
Carcione, J. M., Gurevich, B., and Cavallini, F.: A generalized Biot-Gassmann model for the acoustic properties of shaley sandstones1, Geophys. Prospect., 48, 539–557, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2478.2000.00198.x, 2000. a
Christiansen, H. H., Matsuoka, N., and Watanabe, T.: Progress in understanding
the dynamics, internal structure and palaeoenvironmental potential of ice
wedges and sand wedges, Permafrost. Periglac., 27, 365–376, 2016. a
Couture, N. J. and Pollard, W. H.: A model for quantifying ground-ice volume,
Yukon Coast, Western Arctic Canada, Permafrost. Periglac., 28, 534–542,
2017. a
Dobiński, W. and Leszkiewicz, J.: Active layer and permafrost occurrence in
the vicinity of the Polish Polar Station, Hornsund, Spitsbergen in the light
of geophysical research, Probl. Klim. Polar., 20, 129–142, 2010. a
Dolnicki, P., Grabiec, M., Puczko, D., Gawor, Ł., Budzik, T., and
Klementowski, J.: Variability of temperature and thickness of permafrost
active layer at coastal sites of Svalbard, Pol. Polar. Res., 34, 353–374,
2013. a
Glazer, M., Dobiński, W., Marciniak, A., Majdański, M., and
Błaszczyk, M.: Spatial distribution and controls of permafrost development
in non-glacial Arctic catchment over the Holocene, Fuglebekken, SW
Spitsbergen, Geomorphology, 107128, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107128, 2020. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m
Harry, D. and Gozdzik, J.: Ice wedges: growth, thaw transformation, and
palaeoenvironmental significance, J. Quaternary Sci., 3, 39–55, 1988. a
Hauck, C.: New concepts in geophysical surveying and data interpretation for
permafrost terrain, Permafrost Periglac., 24, 131–137, 2013. a
Horn, R. A. and Johnson, C. R.: Matrix analysis, Cambridge University Press, USA, 2nd edn., ISBN 0521548233,
2012. a
Kazemirad, S. and Mongeau, L.: Rayleigh wave propagation method for the
characterization of a thin layer of biomaterials, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 133,
4332–4342, 2013. a
Li, Z., Chen, J., and Sugimoto, M.: Pulsed NMR measurements of unfrozen water
content in partially frozen soil, J. Cold Reg. Eng., 34, 04020013, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CR.1943-5495.0000220, 2020. a
Liljedahl, A. K., Boike, J., Daanen, R. P., Fedorov, A. N., Frost, G. V., Grosse, G., Hinzman, L. D., Iijma, Y., Jorgenson, J. C., Matveyeva, N., Necsoiu, M., Raynolds, M. K., Romanovsky, V. E., Schulla, J.,Tape, K. D.,
Walker, D. A., Wilson, C. J.,Yabuki, H., and Zona, D.: Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its
influence on tundra hydrology, Nat. Geosci., 9, 312–318, 2016. a
Liu, H., Maghoul, P., Shalaby, A., and Bahari, A.: Thermo-hydro-mechanical
modeling of frost heave using the theory of poroelasticity for
frost-susceptible soils in double-barrel culvert sites, Transp. Geotech., 20, 100251, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2019.100251, 2019b. a, b
Liu, H., Maghoul, P., and Shalaby, A.: Laboratory-scale characterization of
saturated soil samples through ultrasonic techniques, Sci. Rep., 10, 1–17,
2020a. a
Liu, H., Maghoul, P., Shalaby, A., Bahari, A., and Moradi, F.: Integrated
approach for the MASW dispersion analysis using the spectral element
technique and trust region reflective method, Comput. Geotech., 125,
103689, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103689, 2020b. a
Liu, H., Maghoul, P., and Shalaby, A.: Quantitative and qualitative
characterization of permafrost sites using surface waves, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5159712,
2021. a
Mackay, J. R.: The world of underground ice, Annals of the Association of
American Geographers, 62, 1–22, 1972. a
Marescot, L., Loke, M., Chapellier, D., Delaloye, R., Lambiel, C., and Reynard, E.: Assessing reliability of 2D resistivity imaging in mountain permafrost studies using the depth of investigation index method, Near Surf. Geophys., 1, 57–67, 2003. a
Munroe, J. S., Doolittle, J. A., Kanevskiy, M. Z., Hinkel, K. M., Nelson,
F. E., Jones, B. M., Shur, Y., and Kimble, J. M.: Application of
ground-penetrating radar imagery for three-dimensional visualisation of
near-surface structures in ice-rich permafrost, Barrow, Alaska, Permafrost
Periglac., 18, 309–321, 2007. a
Overduin, P. P., Haberland, C., Ryberg, T., Kneier, F., Jacobi, T., Grigoriev, M. N., and Ohrnberger, M.: Submarine permafrost depth from ambient seismic noise, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 7581–7588, 2015. a
Porter, T. J. and Opel, T.: Recent advances in paleoclimatological studies of
Arctic wedge-and pore-ice stable-water isotope records, Permafrost Periglac., 31, 429–441, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2052, 2020. a
Riseborough, D., Shiklomanov, N., Etzelmüller, B., Gruber, S., and
Marchenko, S.: Recent advances in permafrost modelling, Permafrost Periglac., 19, 137–156, 2008. a
Scapozza, C., Lambiel, C., Baron, L., Marescot, L., and Reynard, E.: Internal
structure and permafrost distribution in two alpine periglacial talus slopes, Valais, Swiss Alps, Geomorphology, 132, 208–221, 2011. a
Schmid, S., Panozzo, R., and Bauer, S.: Simple shear experiments on calcite
rocks: rheology and microfabric, J. Struct. Geol., 9, 747–778, 1987. a
Schuur, E. A., McGuire, A. D., Schädel, C., Grosse, G., Harden, J., Hayes, D. J., Hugelius, G., Koven, C. D., Kuhry, P., Lawrence, D. M., Natali, S. M., Olefeldt, D., Romanovsky, V. E., Schaefer, K., Turetsky, M. R., Treat, C. C., and Vonk, J. E.:
Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback, Nature, 520, 171–179,
2015. a, b, c, d
Shur, Y. and Goering, D. J.: Climate change and foundations of buildings in
permafrost regions, in: Permafrost Soils, 251–260, Springer, 2009. a
Shur, Y., Jorgenson, M. T., and Kanevskiy, M.: Permafrost, in: Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers, edited by: Singh, V. P., Singh, P., and Haritashya, U. K., Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, Dordrecht, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2, 2011. a
Williams, K., Haltigin, T., and Pollard, W.: Ground penetrating radar detection of ice wedge geometry: implications for climate change monitoring, AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 2011, C41C–0420, 2011. a
Witharana, C., Bhuiyan, M. A. E., Liljedahl, A. K., Kanevskiy, M., Epstein,
H. E., Jones, B. M., Daanen, R., Griffin, C. G., Kent, K., and Jones, M.
K. W.: Understanding the synergies of deep learning and data fusion of
multispectral and panchromatic high resolution commercial satellite imagery
for automated ice-wedge polygon detection, ISPRS J. Photogramm, Remote Sens., 170, 174–191, 2020. a
Zhang, M., Zhang, X., Lai, Y., Lu, J., and Wang, C.: Variations of the
temperatures and volumetric unfrozen water contents of fine-grained soils
during a freezing-thawing process, Acta Geotech., 15, 595–601, 2020. a
Zhang, W., Witharana, C., Liljedahl, A. K., and Kanevskiy, M.: Deep
convolutional neural networks for automated characterization of arctic
ice-wedge polygons in very high spatial resolution aerial imagery, Remote
Sens., 10, 1487, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10091487, 2018. a
Zomorodian, S. A. and Hunaidi, O.: Inversion of SASW dispersion curves based on maximum flexibility coefficients in the wave number domain, Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng., 26, 735–752, 2006. a
Short summary
The knowledge of physical and mechanical properties of permafrost and its location is critical for the management of permafrost-related geohazards. Here, we developed a hybrid inverse and multiphase poromechanical approach to quantitatively estimate the physical and mechanical properties of a permafrost site. Our study demonstrates the potential of surface wave techniques coupled with our proposed data-processing algorithm to characterize a permafrost site more accurately.
The knowledge of physical and mechanical properties of permafrost and its location is critical...