Articles | Volume 17, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3363-2023
© Author(s) 2023. 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-17-3363-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Aug 2023
Research article |
| 21 Aug 2023
| 21 Aug 2023
Permafrost saline water and Early to mid-Holocene permafrost aggradation in Svalbard
Dotan Rotem
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University,
Ramat Gan 529002, Israel
Arctic Geophysics Department, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen 9170, Norway
Vladimir Lyakhovsky
Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'yahu Leibowitz, Jerusalem
9692100, Israel
Hanne Hvidtfeldt Christiansen
Arctic Geophysics Department, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen 9170, Norway
Yehudit Harlavan
Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'yahu Leibowitz, Jerusalem
9692100, Israel
Yishai Weinstein
Department of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University,
Ramat Gan 529002, Israel
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Short summary
Frozen saline pore water, left over from post-glacial marine ingression, was found in shallow permafrost in a Svalbard fjord valley. This suggests that freezing occurred immediately after marine regression due to isostatic rebound. We conducted top-down freezing simulations, which confirmed that with Early to mid-Holocene temperatures (e.g. −4 °C), freezing could progress down to 20–40 m within 200 years. This, in turn, could inhibit flow through the sediment, therefore preserving saline fluids.
Frozen saline pore water, left over from post-glacial marine ingression, was found in shallow...
