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
Related authors
Elchin E. Jafarov, Hélène Genet, Velimir V. Vesselinov, Valeria Briones, Aiza Kabeer, Andrew L. Mullen, Benjamin Maglio, Tobey Carman, Ruth Rutter, Joy Clein, Chu-Chun Chang, Dogukan Teber, Trevor Smith, Joshua M. Rady, Christina Schädel, Jennifer D. Watts, Brendan M. Rogers, and Susan M. Natali
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 3857–3875, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3857-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3857-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study improves how we tune ecosystem models to reflect carbon and nitrogen storage in Arctic soils. By comparing model outputs with data from a black spruce forest in Alaska, we developed a clearer, more efficient method of matching observations. This is a key step towards understanding how Arctic ecosystems may respond to warming and release carbon, helping make future climate predictions more reliable.
Valeria Briones, Hélène Genet, Elchin E. Jafarov, Brendan M. Rogers, Jennifer D. Watts, Anna-Maria Virkkala, Annett Bartsch, Benjamin C. Maglio, Joshua Rady, and Susan M. Natali
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-226, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-226, 2025
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Arctic warming is causing permafrost to thaw, affecting ecosystems and climate. Since land cover, especially vegetation, shapes how permafrost responds, accurate maps are crucial. Using machine learning, we combined existing global and regional datasets to create a hybrid detailed 1-km map of Arctic-Boreal land cover, improving the representation of forests, shrubs, and wetlands across the circumpolar.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
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.
Elchin E. Jafarov, Hélène Genet, Velimir V. Vesselinov, Valeria Briones, Aiza Kabeer, Andrew L. Mullen, Benjamin Maglio, Tobey Carman, Ruth Rutter, Joy Clein, Chu-Chun Chang, Dogukan Teber, Trevor Smith, Joshua M. Rady, Christina Schädel, Jennifer D. Watts, Brendan M. Rogers, and Susan M. Natali
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 3857–3875, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3857-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3857-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study improves how we tune ecosystem models to reflect carbon and nitrogen storage in Arctic soils. By comparing model outputs with data from a black spruce forest in Alaska, we developed a clearer, more efficient method of matching observations. This is a key step towards understanding how Arctic ecosystems may respond to warming and release carbon, helping make future climate predictions more reliable.
Sergi Molins, Benjamin J. Andre, Jeffrey N. Johnson, Glenn E. Hammond, Benjamin N. Sulman, Konstantin Lipnikov, Marcus S. Day, James J. Beisman, Daniil Svyatsky, Hang Deng, Peter C. Lichtner, Carl I. Steefel, and J. David Moulton
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 3241–3263, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3241-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3241-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Developing scientific software and making sure it functions properly requires a significant effort. As we advance our understanding of natural systems, however, there is the need to develop yet more complex models and codes. In this work, we present a piece of software that facilitates this work, specifically with regard to reactive processes. Existing tried-and-true codes are made available via this new interface, freeing up resources to focus on the new aspects of the problems at hand.
Valeria Briones, Hélène Genet, Elchin E. Jafarov, Brendan M. Rogers, Jennifer D. Watts, Anna-Maria Virkkala, Annett Bartsch, Benjamin C. Maglio, Joshua Rady, and Susan M. Natali
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-226, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-226, 2025
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Arctic warming is causing permafrost to thaw, affecting ecosystems and climate. Since land cover, especially vegetation, shapes how permafrost responds, accurate maps are crucial. Using machine learning, we combined existing global and regional datasets to create a hybrid detailed 1-km map of Arctic-Boreal land cover, improving the representation of forests, shrubs, and wetlands across the circumpolar.
Charles E. 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 J. Wilson, Paul Wilson, Stan D. Wullschleger, Yonghong Yi, Howard A. Zebker, Yu Zhang, Yuhuan Zhao, and Scott J. Goetz
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2605–2624, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2605-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2605-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) conducted airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) surveys of over 120 000 km2 in Alaska and northwestern Canada during 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. This paper summarizes those results and provides links to 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.
Nathan Alec Conroy, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Emma Lathrop, Dea Musa, Brent D. Newman, Chonggang Xu, Rachael E. McCaully, Carli A. Arendt, Verity G. Salmon, Amy Breen, Vladimir Romanovsky, Katrina E. Bennett, Cathy J. Wilson, and Stan D. Wullschleger
The Cryosphere, 17, 3987–4006, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3987-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3987-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Katrina E. Bennett, Greta Miller, Robert Busey, Min Chen, Emma R. Lathrop, Julian B. Dann, Mara Nutt, Ryan Crumley, Shannon L. Dillard, Baptiste Dafflon, Jitendra Kumar, W. Robert Bolton, Cathy J. Wilson, Colleen M. Iversen, and Stan D. Wullschleger
The Cryosphere, 16, 3269–3293, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3269-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3269-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In the Arctic and sub-Arctic, climate shifts are changing ecosystems, resulting in alterations in snow, shrubs, and permafrost. Thicker snow under shrubs can lead to warmer permafrost because deeper snow will insulate the ground from the cold winter. In this paper, we use modeling to characterize snow to better understand the drivers of snow distribution. Eventually, this work will be used to improve models used to study future changes in Arctic and sub-Arctic snow patterns.
Rachael E. McCaully, Carli A. Arendt, Brent D. Newman, Verity G. Salmon, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Cathy J. Wilson, Sanna Sevanto, Nathan A. Wales, George B. Perkins, Oana C. Marina, and Stan D. Wullschleger
The Cryosphere, 16, 1889–1901, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1889-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Degrading permafrost and shrub expansion are critically important to tundra biogeochemistry. We observed significant variability in soil pore water NO3-N in an alder-dominated permafrost hillslope in Alaska. Proximity to alder shrubs and the presence or absence of topographic gradients and precipitation events strongly influence NO3-N availability and mobility. The highly dynamic nature of labile N on small spatiotemporal scales has implications for nutrient responses to a warming Arctic.
Karis J. McFarlane, Heather M. Throckmorton, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Brent D. Newman, Alexandra L. Hedgpeth, Marisa N. Repasch, Thomas P. Guilderson, and Cathy J. Wilson
Biogeosciences, 19, 1211–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
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.
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
Biogeosciences, 18, 1769–1786, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Humid tropical soils are important sources and sinks of methane. We used model simulation to understand how different kinds of microbes and observed soil moisture and oxygen dynamics contribute to production and consumption of methane along a wet tropical hillslope during normal and drought conditions. Drought alters the diffusion of oxygen and microbial substrates into and out of soil microsites, resulting in enhanced methane release from the entire hillslope during drought recovery.
Cited articles
Abolt, C. J. and Young, M. H.: High-resolution mapping of spatial
heterogeneity in ice wedge polygon geomorphology near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska,
Sci. Data, 7, 87, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0423-9, 2020.
Abolt, C. J., Young, M. H., Atchley, A. L., and Harp, D. R.: Microtopographic control on the ground thermal regime in ice wedge polygons, The Cryosphere, 12, 1957–1968, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018, 2018.
Andresen, C. G., Lawrence, D. M., Wilson, C. J., McGuire, A. D., Koven, C., Schaefer, K., Jafarov, E., Peng, S., Chen, X., Gouttevin, I., Burke, E., Chadburn, S., Ji, D., Chen, G., Hayes, D., and Zhang, W.: Soil moisture and hydrology projections of the permafrost region – a model intercomparison, The Cryosphere, 14, 445–459, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-445-2020, 2020.
Atchley, A. L., Painter, S. L., Harp, D. R., Coon, E. T., Wilson, C. J., Liljedahl, A. K., and Romanovsky, V. E.: Using field observations to inform thermal hydrology models of permafrost dynamics with ATS (v0.83), Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 2701–2722, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2701-2015, 2015.
Cable, W. L., Romanovsky, V. E., and Jorgenson, M. T.: Scaling-up permafrost thermal measurements in western Alaska using an ecotype approach, The Cryosphere, 10, 2517–2532, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2517-2016, 2016.
Coon, E., Svyatsky, D., Jan, A., Kikinzon, E., Berndt, M., Atchley, A.,
Harp, D., Manzini, G., Shelef, E., Lipnikov, K., Garimella, R., Xu, C.,
Moulton, D., Karra, S., Painter, S., Jafarov, E., and Molins, S.: Advanced
Terrestrial Simulator, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM
(United States), https://doi.org/10.11578/DC.20190911.1, 2019.
Corapcioglu, M. Y. and Sorab, P.: Thawing permafrost – simulation and
verification, in: Permafrost Fifth International Conference, 1988.
Davis, T. N.: Thawing permafrost – simulation and verification, Permafrost Fifth International Conference, Proceeding Volume 1, 2–5 August, 351 pp., 2001.
Frampton, A. and Destouni, G.: Impact of degrading permafrost on subsurface
solute transport pathways and travel times, Water Resour. Res., 51,
7680–7701, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016689, 2015.
Hinzman, L. D., Johnson, R. A., Kane, D. L., Farris, A. M., and Light, G. J.:
Measurements and modeling of benzene transport in a discontinuous permafrost
region, in: Contaminant Hydrology, CRC Press, ISBN 1-889963-19-4, 175–237, 2000.
Jafarov, E. and Svyatsky, D.: The Importance of Freeze/Thaw Cycles on Lateral Transport in Ice-Wedge Polygons: Modeling Archive. Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments Arctic Data Collection, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA [data set], https://doi.org/10.5440/1764110, 2021.
Jafarov, E. E., Coon, E. T., Harp, D. R., Wilson, C. J., Painter, S. L.,
Atchley, A. L., and Romanovsky, V. E.: Modeling the role of preferential
snow accumulation in through talik development and hillslope groundwater
flow in a transitional permafrost landscape, Environ. Res. Lett., 13,
105006, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aadd30, 2018.
Jafarov, E. E., Harp, D. R., Coon, E. T., Dafflon, B., Tran, A. P., Atchley, A. L., Lin, Y., and Wilson, C. J.: Estimation of subsurface porosities and thermal conductivities of polygonal tundra by coupled inversion of electrical resistivity, temperature, and moisture content data, The Cryosphere, 14, 77–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-77-2020, 2020.
Jan, A. and Painter, S. L.: Permafrost thermal conditions are sensitive to
shifts in snow timing, Environ. Res. Lett., 15, 084026,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8ec4, 2020.
Jan, A., Coon, E. T., and Painter, S. L.: Evaluating integrated surface/subsurface permafrost thermal hydrology models in ATS (v0.88) against observations from a polygonal tundra site, Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 2259–2276, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-2259-2020, 2020.
Johansen, O.: Thermal Conductivity of Soils, Cold regions research and
engineering lab Hanover NH, 1977.
Jorgenson, M. T. and Osterkamp, T. E.: Response of boreal ecosystems to
varying modes of permafrost degradation, Can. J. For. Res., 35, 2100–2111,
https://doi.org/10.1139/x05-153, 2005.
Karra, S., Painter, S. L., and Lichtner, P. C.: Three-phase numerical model for subsurface hydrology in permafrost-affected regions (PFLOTRAN-ICE v1.0), The Cryosphere, 8, 1935–1950, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1935-2014, 2014.
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, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674, 2016.
McGuire, A. D., Lawrence, D. M., Koven, C., Clein, J. S., Burke, E., Chen,
G., Jafarov, E., MacDougall, A. H., Marchenko, S., Nicolsky, D., Peng, S.,
Rinke, A., Ciais, P., Gouttevin, I., Hayes, D. J., Ji, D., Krinner, G.,
Moore, J. C., Romanovsky, V., Schädel, C., Schaefer, K., Schuur, E. A.
G., and Zhuang, Q.: Dependence of the evolution of carbon dynamics in the
northern permafrost region on the trajectory of climate change, P. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA, 115, 3882–3887, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719903115, 2018.
Mualem, Y.: A new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of
unsaturated porous media, Water Resour. Res., 12, 513–522,
https://doi.org/10.1029/WR012i003p00513, 1976.
Newman, B. D., Throckmorton, H. M., Graham, D. E., Gu, B., Hubbard, S. S.,
Liang, L., Wu, Y., Heikoop, J. M., Herndon, E. M., Phelps, T. J., Wilson, C.
J., and Wullschleger, S. D.: Microtopographic and depth controls on active
layer chemistry in Arctic polygonal ground, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42,
1808–1817, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062804, 2015.
O'Donnell, J., Douglas, T., Barker, A., and Guo, L.: Changing Biogeochemical
Cycles of Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Trace Elements in Arctic
Rivers, in: Arctic Hydrology, Permafrost and Ecosystems, edited by: Yang, D.
and Kane, D. L., Springer International Publishing, Cham, 315–348,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50930-9_11, 2021.
Painter, S. L. and Karra, S.: Constitutive Model for Unfrozen Water Content
in Subfreezing Unsaturated Soils, Vadose Zone J., 13, vzj2013.04.0071,
https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2013.04.0071, 2014.
Painter, S. L., Coon, E. T., Atchley, A. L., Berndt, M., Garimella, R.,
Moulton, J. D., Svyatskiy, D., and Wilson, C. J.: Integrated
surface/subsurface permafrost thermal hydrology: Model formulation and
proof-of-concept simulations: Integrated permafrost thermal hydrology, Water
Resour. Res., 52, 6062–6077, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR018427, 2016.
Peters-Lidard, C. D., Blackburn, E., Liang, X., and Wood, E. F.: The Effect
of Soil Thermal Conductivity Parameterization on Surface Energy Fluxes and
Temperatures, J. Atmos.Sci., 55, 1209–1224,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055<1209:TEOSTC>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Plaza, C., Pegoraro, E., Bracho, R., Celis, G., Crummer, K. G., Hutchings,
J. A., Hicks Pries, C. E., Mauritz, M., Natali, S. M., Salmon, V. G.,
Schädel, C., Webb, E. E., and Schuur, E. A. G.: Direct observation of
permafrost degradation and rapid soil carbon loss in tundra, Nat. Geosci.,
12, 627–631, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0387-6, 2019.
Raisbeck, J. M. and Mohtadi, M. F.: The environmental impacts of oil spills
on land in the arctic regions, Water Air Soil Pollut., 3, 195–208,
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00166630, 1974.
Romanovsky, V. E. and Osterkamp, T. E.: Effects of unfrozen water on heat
and mass transport processes in the active layer and permafrost, Permafr.
Periglac., 11, 219–239,
https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1530(200007/09)11:3<219::AID-PPP352>3.0.CO;2-7, 2000.
Strauss, J., Schirrmeister, L., Grosse, G., Wetterich, S., Ulrich, M.,
Herzschuh, U., and Hubberten, H.-W.: The deep permafrost carbon pool of the
Yedoma region in Siberia and Alaska, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 6165–6170,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058088, 2013.
Streletskiy, D. A., Shiklomanov, N. I., Little, J. D., Nelson, F. E., Brown,
J., Nyland, K. E., and Klene, A. E.: Thaw Subsidence in Undisturbed Tundra
Landscapes, Barrow, Alaska, 1962-2015: Barrow Subsidence, Permafr. Periglac., 28, 566–572, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1918, 2017.
van Genuchten, M. Th.: A Closed-form Equation for Predicting the Hydraulic
Conductivity of Unsaturated Soils, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44, 892–898,
https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x, 1980.
Wainwright, H. M., Dafflon, B., Smith, L. J., Hahn, M. S., Curtis, J. B.,
Wu, Y., Ulrich, C., Peterson, J. E., Torn, M. S., and Hubbard, S. S.:
Identifying multiscale zonation and assessing the relative importance of
polygon geomorphology on carbon fluxes in an Arctic tundra ecosystem, J.
Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 120, 788–808,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JG002799, 2015.
Wales, N. A., Gomez-Velez, J. D., Newman, B. D., Wilson, C. J., Dafflon, B., Kneafsey, T. J., Soom, F., and Wullschleger, S. D.: Understanding the relative importance of vertical and horizontal flow in ice-wedge polygons, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1109–1129, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1109-2020, 2020.
Wang, K., Jafarov, E., Overeem, I., Romanovsky, V., Schaefer, K., Clow, G., Urban, F., Cable, W., Piper, M., Schwalm, C., Zhang, T., Kholodov, A., Sousanes, P., Loso, M., and Hill, K.: A synthesis dataset of permafrost-affected soil thermal conditions for Alaska, USA, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 2311–2328, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2311-2018, 2018.
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...
