Articles | Volume 18, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-321-2024
© Author(s) 2024. 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-18-321-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Jan 2024
Research article |
| 17 Jan 2024
| 17 Jan 2024
Coupled thermo–geophysical inversion for permafrost monitoring
Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Nordvej 119, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen
Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Nordvej 119, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Systematic errors in permafrost temperature monitoring data could constitute a non-negligible part of the temperature changes reported from some regions. Due to inherent drift-inducing mechanisms in different thermal sensor technologies, calibration best practices should be expanded to include periodic recalibration of individual sensors, reporting of sensor metadata and calibration histories, and calibration guidelines tailored to long-term monitoring and short-term measurement campaigns.
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This study models present and future rock wall temperatures in the mountains near Sisimiut, creating knowledge on mountain permafrost in Greenland for the first time. Bedrock is mostly frozen but also has temperatures near 0 oC, making it very sensitive to climate changes. Future climatic scenarios indicate a reduction in frozen rock wall areas. Since mountain permafrost thaw is linked to an increase in landslides, these results call for more efforts addressing mountain permafrost in Greenland.
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Systematic errors in permafrost temperature monitoring data could constitute a non-negligible part of the temperature changes reported from some regions. Due to inherent drift-inducing mechanisms in different thermal sensor technologies, calibration best practices should be expanded to include periodic recalibration of individual sensors, reporting of sensor metadata and calibration histories, and calibration guidelines tailored to long-term monitoring and short-term measurement campaigns.
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This study models present and future rock wall temperatures in the mountains near Sisimiut, creating knowledge on mountain permafrost in Greenland for the first time. Bedrock is mostly frozen but also has temperatures near 0 oC, making it very sensitive to climate changes. Future climatic scenarios indicate a reduction in frozen rock wall areas. Since mountain permafrost thaw is linked to an increase in landslides, these results call for more efforts addressing mountain permafrost in Greenland.
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This study presents a new model scheme for simulating ice segregation and thaw consolidation in permafrost environments, depending on ground properties and climatic forcing. It is embedded in the CryoGrid community model, a land surface model for the terrestrial cryosphere. We describe the model physics and functionalities, followed by a model validation and a sensitivity study of controlling factors.
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The CryoGrid community model is a new tool for simulating ground temperatures and the water and ice balance in cold regions. It is a modular design, which makes it possible to test different schemes to simulate, for example, permafrost ground in an efficient way. The model contains tools to simulate frozen and unfrozen ground, snow, glaciers, and other massive ice bodies, as well as water bodies.
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We assemble all available geothermal heat flow measurements collected in and around Greenland into a new database. We use this database of point measurements, in combination with other geophysical datasets, to model geothermal heat flow in and around Greenland. Our geothermal heat flow model is generally cooler than previous models of Greenland, especially in southern Greenland. It does not suggest any high geothermal heat flows resulting from Icelandic plume activity over 50 million years ago.
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Short summary
We present the results of a fully coupled modeling framework for simulating the ground thermal regime using only surface measurements to calibrate the thermal model. The heat conduction model is forced by surface ground temperature measurements and calibrated using the field measurements of time lapse apparent electrical resistivity. The resistivity-calibrated thermal model achieves a performance comparable to the traditional calibration of borehole temperature measurements.
We present the results of a fully coupled modeling framework for simulating the ground thermal...
