Articles | Volume 16, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-851-2022
© Author(s) 2022. 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-16-851-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Mar 2022
Research article |
| 11 Mar 2022
| 11 Mar 2022
The importance of freeze–thaw cycles for lateral tracer transport in ice-wedge polygons
Elchin E. Jafarov
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA 02540, USA
Daniil Svyatsky
Applied Mathematics and Plasma Physics Group, Theoretical Division,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Brent Newman
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Dylan Harp
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
David Moulton
Applied Mathematics and Plasma Physics Group, Theoretical Division,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Cathy Wilson
Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
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Jason A. Clark, Elchin E. Jafarov, Ken D. Tape, Benjamin M. Jones, and Victor Stepanenko
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7421–7448, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7421-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7421-2022, 2022
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Lakes in the Arctic are important reservoirs of heat. Under climate warming scenarios, we expect Arctic lakes to warm the surrounding frozen ground. We simulate water temperatures in three Arctic lakes in northern Alaska over several years. Our results show that snow depth and lake ice strongly affect water temperatures during the frozen season and that more heat storage by lakes would enhance thawing of frozen ground.
Dylan R. Harp, Vitaly Zlotnik, Charles J. Abolt, Bob Busey, Sofia T. Avendaño, Brent D. Newman, Adam L. Atchley, Elchin Jafarov, Cathy J. Wilson, and Katrina E. Bennett
The Cryosphere, 15, 4005–4029, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4005-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4005-2021, 2021
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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.
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The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-100, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-100, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Polygon shaped land forms 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.
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.
Elchin E. Jafarov, Dylan R. Harp, Ethan T. Coon, Baptiste Dafflon, Anh Phuong Tran, Adam L. Atchley, Youzuo Lin, and Cathy J. Wilson
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Improved subsurface parameterization and benchmarking data are needed to reduce current uncertainty in predicting permafrost response to a warming climate. We developed a subsurface parameter estimation framework that can be used to estimate soil properties where subsurface data are available. We utilize diverse geophysical datasets such as electrical resistance data, soil moisture data, and soil temperature data to recover soil porosity and soil thermal conductivity.
Kang Wang, Elchin Jafarov, Irina Overeem, Vladimir Romanovsky, Kevin Schaefer, Gary Clow, Frank Urban, William Cable, Mark Piper, Christopher Schwalm, Tingjun Zhang, Alexander Kholodov, Pamela Sousanes, Michael Loso, and Kenneth Hill
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Ground thermal and moisture data are important indicators of the rapid permafrost changes in the Arctic. To better understand the changes, we need a comprehensive dataset across various sites. We synthesize permafrost-related data in the state of Alaska. It should be a valuable permafrost dataset that is worth maintaining in the future. On a wider level, it also provides a prototype of basic data collection and management for permafrost regions in general.
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Respiration in frozen soils is limited to within the thin water films surrounding soil particles. We parameterize volumetric water content (VWC) in frozen soil to represent the fraction of thawed carbon to simulate substrate availability. Simulated VWC and respiration match in situ and soil incubation data. The parameterization is most applicable when simulating carbon dynamics in permafrost for time scales of 100 years or greater.
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The Cryosphere, 10, 465–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-465-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-465-2016, 2016
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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.
Charles Miller, Peter C. Griffith, Elizabeth Hoy, Naiara S. Pinto, Yunling Lou, Scott Hensley, Bruce D. Chapman, Jennifer Baltzer, Kazem Bakian-Dogaheh, W. Robert Bolton, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Richard H. Chen, Byung-Hun Choe, Leah K. Clayton, Thomas A. Douglas, Nancy French, Jean E. Holloway, Gang Hong, Lingcao Huang, Go Iwahana, Liza Jenkins, John S. Kimball, Tatiana Loboda, Michelle Mack, Philip Marsh, Roger J. Michaelides, Mahta Moghaddam, Andrew Parsekian, Kevin Schaefer, Paul R. Siqueira, Debjani Singh, Alireza Tabatabaeenejad, Merritt Turetsky, Ridha Touzi, Elizabeth Wig, Cathy Wilson, Paul Wilson, Stan D. Wullschleger, Yonghong Yi, Howard A. Zebker, Yu Zhang, Yuhuan Zhao, and Scott J. Goetz
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Revised manuscript accepted for ESSD
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NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) conducted airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) surveys of over 4 million km2 in Alaska and northwestern Canada during 2017, 2018, and 2019. This paper summarizes those results and gives details on ~80 individual flight lines. This paper is presented as a guide to enable interested readers to fully explore the ABoVE L- and P-band SAR data.
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This study combines field observations, non-parametric statistical analyses, and thermodynamic modeling to characterize the environmental causes of the spatial variability in soil pore water solute concentrations across two Arctic catchments with varying extents of permafrost. Vegetation type, soil moisture and redox conditions, weathering and hydrologic transport, and mineral solubility were all found to be the primary drivers of the existing spatial variability of some soil pore water solutes.
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Lakes in the Arctic are important reservoirs of heat. Under climate warming scenarios, we expect Arctic lakes to warm the surrounding frozen ground. We simulate water temperatures in three Arctic lakes in northern Alaska over several years. Our results show that snow depth and lake ice strongly affect water temperatures during the frozen season and that more heat storage by lakes would enhance thawing of frozen ground.
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Planetary warming is increasing seasonal thaw of permafrost, making this extensive old carbon stock vulnerable. In northern Alaska, we found more and older dissolved organic carbon in small drainages later in summer as more permafrost was exposed by deepening thaw. Younger and older carbon did not differ in chemical indicators related to biological lability suggesting this carbon can cycle through aquatic systems and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions as warming increases permafrost thaw.
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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.
Debjani Sihi, Xiaofeng Xu, Mónica Salazar Ortiz, Christine S. O'Connell, Whendee L. Silver, Carla López-Lloreda, Julia M. Brenner, Ryan K. Quinn, Jana R. Phillips, Brent D. Newman, and Melanie A. Mayes
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A. D. Collins, C. G. Andresen, L. M. Charsley-Groffman, T. Cochran, J. Dann, E. Lathrop, G. J. Riemersma, E. M. Swanson, A. Tapadinhas, and C. J. Wilson
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Dylan R. Harp, Vitaly Zlotnik, Charles J. Abolt, Brent D. Newman, Adam L. Atchley, Elchin Jafarov, and Cathy J. Wilson
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-100, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-100, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Polygon shaped land forms 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.
Nathan A. Wales, Jesus D. Gomez-Velez, Brent D. Newman, Cathy J. Wilson, Baptiste Dafflon, Timothy J. Kneafsey, Florian Soom, and Stan D. Wullschleger
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Rapid warming in the Arctic is causing increased permafrost temperatures and ground ice degradation. To study the effects of ice degradation on water distribution, tracer was applied to two end members of ice-wedge polygons – a ubiquitous landform in the Arctic. End member type was found to significantly affect water distribution as lower flux was observed with ice-wedge degradation. Results suggest ice degradation can influence partitioning of sequestered carbon as carbon dioxide or methane.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Elchin E. Jafarov, Dylan R. Harp, Ethan T. Coon, Baptiste Dafflon, Anh Phuong Tran, Adam L. Atchley, Youzuo Lin, and Cathy J. Wilson
The Cryosphere, 14, 77–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-77-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-77-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Improved subsurface parameterization and benchmarking data are needed to reduce current uncertainty in predicting permafrost response to a warming climate. We developed a subsurface parameter estimation framework that can be used to estimate soil properties where subsurface data are available. We utilize diverse geophysical datasets such as electrical resistance data, soil moisture data, and soil temperature data to recover soil porosity and soil thermal conductivity.
Charles J. Abolt, Michael H. Young, Adam L. Atchley, and Cathy J. Wilson
The Cryosphere, 13, 237–245, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-237-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-237-2019, 2019
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We present a workflow that uses a machine-learning algorithm known as a convolutional neural network (CNN) to rapidly delineate ice wedge polygons in high-resolution topographic datasets. Our workflow permits thorough assessments of polygonal microtopography at the kilometer scale or greater, which can improve understanding of landscape hydrology and carbon budgets. We demonstrate that a single CNN can be trained to delineate polygons with high accuracy in diverse tundra settings.
Kang Wang, Elchin Jafarov, Irina Overeem, Vladimir Romanovsky, Kevin Schaefer, Gary Clow, Frank Urban, William Cable, Mark Piper, Christopher Schwalm, Tingjun Zhang, Alexander Kholodov, Pamela Sousanes, Michael Loso, and Kenneth Hill
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 2311–2328, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2311-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2311-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Ground thermal and moisture data are important indicators of the rapid permafrost changes in the Arctic. To better understand the changes, we need a comprehensive dataset across various sites. We synthesize permafrost-related data in the state of Alaska. It should be a valuable permafrost dataset that is worth maintaining in the future. On a wider level, it also provides a prototype of basic data collection and management for permafrost regions in general.
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
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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.
Kevin Schaefer and Elchin Jafarov
Biogeosciences, 13, 1991–2001, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1991-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1991-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Respiration in frozen soils is limited to within the thin water films surrounding soil particles. We parameterize volumetric water content (VWC) in frozen soil to represent the fraction of thawed carbon to simulate substrate availability. Simulated VWC and respiration match in situ and soil incubation data. The parameterization is most applicable when simulating carbon dynamics in permafrost for time scales of 100 years or greater.
Elchin Jafarov and Kevin Schaefer
The Cryosphere, 10, 465–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-465-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-465-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
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: Arctic (e.g. Greenland)
Characterization of atmospheric methane release in the outer Mackenzie River delta from biogenic and thermogenic sources
Accelerated mobilization of organic carbon from retrogressive thaw slumps on the northern Taymyr Peninsula
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The cryostratigraphy of the Yedoma cliff of Sobo-Sise Island (Lena delta) reveals permafrost dynamics in the central Laptev Sea coastal region during the last 52 kyr
Thermokarst lake inception and development in syngenetic ice-wedge polygon terrain during a cooling climatic trend, Bylot Island (Nunavut), eastern Canadian Arctic
The current state and 125 kyr history of permafrost on the Kara Sea shelf: modeling constraints
Estimation of subsurface porosities and thermal conductivities of polygonal tundra by coupled inversion of electrical resistivity, temperature, and moisture content data
A distributed temperature profiling method for assessing spatial variability in ground temperatures in a discontinuous permafrost region of Alaska
New insights into the environmental factors controlling the ground thermal regime across the Northern Hemisphere: a comparison between permafrost and non-permafrost areas
Circumpolar patterns of potential mean annual ground temperature based on surface state obtained from microwave satellite data
Daniel Wesley, Scott Dallimore, Roger MacLeod, Torsten Sachs, and David Risk
The Cryosphere, 17, 5283–5297, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5283-2023, 2023
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The Mackenzie River delta (MRD) is an ecosystem with high rates of methane production from biologic and geologic sources, but little research has been done to determine how often geologic or biogenic methane is emitted to the atmosphere. Stable carbon isotope analysis was used to identify the source of CH4 at several sites. Stable carbon isotope (δ13C-CH4) signatures ranged from −42 to −88 ‰ δ13C-CH4, indicating that CH4 emission in the MRD is caused by biologic and geologic sources.
Philipp Bernhard, Simon Zwieback, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 16, 2819–2835, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2819-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2819-2022, 2022
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With climate change, Arctic hillslopes above ice-rich permafrost are vulnerable to enhanced carbon mobilization. In this work elevation change estimates generated from satellite observations reveal a substantial acceleration of carbon mobilization on the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia between 2010 and 2021. The strong increase occurring in 2020 coincided with a severe Siberian heatwave and highlights that carbon mobilization can respond sharply and non-linearly to increasing temperatures.
Tyler C. Herrington, Christopher G. Fletcher, and Heather Kropp
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-5, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-5, 2022
Revised manuscript accepted for TC
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Here we validate soil temperatures from eight reanalysis products across the pan-Arctic, and compare their performance to a newly calculated ensemble mean soil temperature product. We find that most products are biased cold by 2–7 K, especially in the cold season, and that the ensemble mean product outperforms individual reanalysis products. As such, we recommend the product for a wide range of applications – including validation of climate models, or as input to permafrost models.
Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander Kizyakov, Michael Fritz, Juliane Wolter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Hanno Meyer, Matthias Fuchs, Aleksei Aksenov, Heidrun Matthes, Lutz Schirrmeister, and Thomas Opel
The Cryosphere, 14, 4525–4551, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, 2020
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In the present study, we analysed geochemical and sedimentological properties of relict permafrost and ground ice exposed at the Sobo-Sise Yedoma cliff in the eastern Lena delta in NE Siberia. We obtained insight into permafrost aggradation and degradation over the last approximately 52 000 years and the climatic and morphodynamic controls on regional-scale permafrost dynamics of the central Laptev Sea coastal region.
Frédéric Bouchard, Daniel Fortier, Michel Paquette, Vincent Boucher, Reinhard Pienitz, and Isabelle Laurion
The Cryosphere, 14, 2607–2627, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2607-2020, 2020
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We combine lake mapping, landscape observations and sediment core analyses to document the evolution of a thermokarst (thaw) lake in the Canadian Arctic over the last millennia. We conclude that temperature is not the only driver of thermokarst development, as the lake likely started to form during a cooler period around 2000 years ago. The lake is now located in frozen layers with an organic carbon content that is an order of magnitude higher than the usually reported values across the Arctic.
Anatoliy Gavrilov, Vladimir Pavlov, Alexandr Fridenberg, Mikhail Boldyrev, Vanda Khilimonyuk, Elena Pizhankova, Sergey Buldovich, Natalia Kosevich, Ali Alyautdinov, Mariia Ogienko, Alexander Roslyakov, Maria Cherbunina, and Evgeniy Ospennikov
The Cryosphere, 14, 1857–1873, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1857-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1857-2020, 2020
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The geocryological study of the Arctic shelf remains insufficient for economic activity. The article presents a study of its evolution by methods of math modeling of heat transfer in rocks. As a result, a model of the evolution and current state of the cryolithozone of the Kara shelf was created based on ideas about the history of its geocryological development over the past 125 kyr. The modeling results are correlated to the available field data and are presented as a geocryological map.
Elchin E. Jafarov, Dylan R. Harp, Ethan T. Coon, Baptiste Dafflon, Anh Phuong Tran, Adam L. Atchley, Youzuo Lin, and Cathy J. Wilson
The Cryosphere, 14, 77–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-77-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-77-2020, 2020
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Improved subsurface parameterization and benchmarking data are needed to reduce current uncertainty in predicting permafrost response to a warming climate. We developed a subsurface parameter estimation framework that can be used to estimate soil properties where subsurface data are available. We utilize diverse geophysical datasets such as electrical resistance data, soil moisture data, and soil temperature data to recover soil porosity and soil thermal conductivity.
Emmanuel Léger, Baptiste Dafflon, Yves Robert, Craig Ulrich, John E. Peterson, Sébastien C. Biraud, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, and Susan S. Hubbard
The Cryosphere, 13, 2853–2867, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2853-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2853-2019, 2019
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We propose a new strategy called distributed temperature profiling (DTP) for improving the estimation of soil thermal properties through the use of an unprecedented number of laterally and vertically distributed temperature measurements. We tested a DTP system prototype by moving it sequentially across a discontinuous permafrost environment. The DTP enabled high-resolution identification of near-surface permafrost location and covariability with topography, vegetation, and soil properties.
Olli Karjalainen, Miska Luoto, Juha Aalto, and Jan Hjort
The Cryosphere, 13, 693–707, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-693-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-693-2019, 2019
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Using a statistical modelling framework, we examined the environmental factors controlling ground thermal regimes inside and outside the Northern Hemisphere permafrost domain. We found that climatic factors were paramount in both regions, but with varying relative importance and effect size. The relationships were often non-linear, especially in permafrost conditions. Our results suggest that these non-linearities should be accounted for in future ground thermal models at the hemisphere scale.
Christine Kroisleitner, Annett Bartsch, and Helena Bergstedt
The Cryosphere, 12, 2349–2370, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2349-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2349-2018, 2018
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Knowledge about permafrost extent is required with respect to climate change. We used borehole temperature records from across the Arctic for the assessment of surface status information (frozen or unfrozen) derived from space-borne microwave sensors for permafrost extent mapping. The comparison to mean annual ground temperature (MAGT) at the coldest sensor depth revealed that not only extent but also temperature can be obtained from C-band-derived surface state with a residual error of 2.22 °C.
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Short summary
Recent research indicates the importance of lateral transport of dissolved carbon in the polygonal tundra, suggesting that the freeze-up period could further promote lateral carbon transport. We conducted subsurface tracer simulations on high-, flat-, and low-centered polygons to test the importance of the freeze–thaw cycle and freeze-up time for tracer mobility. Our findings illustrate the impact of hydraulic and thermal gradients on tracer mobility, as well as of the freeze-up time.
Recent research indicates the importance of lateral transport of dissolved carbon in the...
