Articles | Volume 18, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4197-2024
© 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-18-4197-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Sep 2024
Research article |
| 18 Sep 2024
| 18 Sep 2024
Employing automated electrical resistivity tomography for detecting short- and long-term changes in permafrost and active-layer dynamics in the maritime Antarctic
Mohammad Farzamian
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
Centre for Geographical Studies, Associate Laboratory TERRA, IGOT, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
Teddi Herring
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Gonçalo Vieira
Centre for Geographical Studies, Associate Laboratory TERRA, IGOT, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
Miguel Angel de Pablo
Unidad de Geología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
Borhan Yaghoobi Tabar
School of Mining, Petroleum and Geophysics, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran
Christian Hauck
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
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The Cryosphere, 19, 2653–2676, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2653-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2653-2025, 2025
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We use electrical conductivity and induced polarization in an imaging framework to quantify hydrogeological parameters in the active Gran Sometta rock glacier. The results show high spatial variability in the hydrogeological parameters across the rock glacier and are validated by saltwater tracer tests coupled with 3D electrical conductivity imaging. Hydrogeological information was linked to kinematic data to further investigate its role in rock glacier movement.
Julie Wee, Sebastián Vivero, Tamara Mathys, Coline Mollaret, Christian Hauck, Christophe Lambiel, Jan Beutel, and Wilfried Haeberli
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Theresa Maierhofer, Adrian Flores Orozco, Nathalie Roser, Jonas K. Limbrock, Christin Hilbich, Clemens Moser, Andreas Kemna, Elisabetta Drigo, Umberto Morra di Cella, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 18, 3383–3414, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3383-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3383-2024, 2024
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Giovanna Dragonetti, Mohammad Farzamian, Angelo Basile, Fernando Monteiro Santos, and Antonio Coppola
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5119–5136, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5119-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5119-2022, 2022
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Soil hydraulic and hydrodispersive properties are necessary for modeling water and solute fluxes in agricultural and environmental systems. Despite the major efforts in developing methods (e.g., lab-based, pedotransfer functions), their characterization at applicative scales remains an imperative requirement. Thus, this paper proposes a noninvasive in situ method integrating electromagnetic induction and hydrological modeling to estimate soil hydraulic and transport properties at the plot scale.
Tamara Mathys, Christin Hilbich, Lukas U. Arenson, Pablo A. Wainstein, and Christian Hauck
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C. Soncco, G. Vieira, G. Goyanes, and E. Castro
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Theresa Maierhofer, Christian Hauck, Christin Hilbich, Andreas Kemna, and Adrián Flores-Orozco
The Cryosphere, 16, 1903–1925, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1903-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1903-2022, 2022
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We extend the application of electrical methods to characterize alpine permafrost using the so-called induced polarization (IP) effect associated with the storage of charges at the interface between liquid and solid phases. We investigate different field protocols to enhance data quality and conclude that with appropriate measurement and processing procedures, the characteristic dependence of the IP response of frozen rocks improves the assessment of thermal state and ice content in permafrost.
Christin Hilbich, Christian Hauck, Coline Mollaret, Pablo Wainstein, and Lukas U. Arenson
The Cryosphere, 16, 1845–1872, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1845-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1845-2022, 2022
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In view of water scarcity in the Andes, the significance of permafrost as a future water resource is often debated focusing on satellite-detected features such as rock glaciers. We present data from > 50 geophysical surveys in Chile and Argentina to quantify the ground ice volume stored in various permafrost landforms, showing that not only rock glacier but also non-rock-glacier permafrost contains significant ground ice volumes and is relevant when assessing the hydrological role of permafrost.
Martin Hoelzle, Christian Hauck, Tamara Mathys, Jeannette Noetzli, Cécile Pellet, and Martin Scherler
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1531–1547, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1531-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1531-2022, 2022
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With ongoing climate change, it is crucial to understand the interactions of the individual heat fluxes at the surface and within the subsurface layers, as well as their impacts on the permafrost thermal regime. A unique set of high-altitude meteorological measurements has been analysed to determine the energy balance at three mountain permafrost sites in the Swiss Alps, where data have been collected since the late 1990s in collaboration with the Swiss Permafrost Monitoring Network (PERMOS).
Bernd Etzelmüller, Justyna Czekirda, Florence Magnin, Pierre-Allain Duvillard, Ludovic Ravanel, Emanuelle Malet, Andreas Aspaas, Lene Kristensen, Ingrid Skrede, Gudrun D. Majala, Benjamin Jacobs, Johannes Leinauer, Christian Hauck, Christin Hilbich, Martina Böhme, Reginald Hermanns, Harald Ø. Eriksen, Tom Rune Lauknes, Michael Krautblatter, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 97–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-97-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-97-2022, 2022
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This paper is a multi-authored study documenting the possible existence of permafrost in permanently monitored rockslides in Norway for the first time by combining a multitude of field data, including geophysical surveys in rock walls. The paper discusses the possible role of thermal regime and rockslide movement, and it evaluates the possible impact of atmospheric warming on rockslide dynamics in Norwegian mountains.
Adrian Wicki, Per-Erik Jansson, Peter Lehmann, Christian Hauck, and Manfred Stähli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4585–4610, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4585-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4585-2021, 2021
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Soil moisture information was shown to be valuable for landslide prediction. Soil moisture was simulated at 133 sites in Switzerland, and the temporal variability was compared to the regional occurrence of landslides. We found that simulated soil moisture is a good predictor for landslides, and that the forecast goodness is similar to using in situ measurements. This encourages the use of models for complementing existing soil moisture monitoring networks for regional landslide early warning.
Gonçalo Vieira, Carla Mora, Pedro Pina, Ricardo Ramalho, and Rui Fernandes
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3179–3201, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3179-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3179-2021, 2021
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Fogo in Cabo Verde is one of the most active ocean island volcanoes on Earth, posing important hazards to local populations and at a regional level. The last eruption occurred from November 2014 to February 2015. A survey of the Chã das Caldeiras area was conducted using a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle. A point cloud, digital surface model and orthomosaic with 10 and 25 cm resolutions are provided, together with the full aerial survey projects and datasets.
Mohammad Farzamian, Dario Autovino, Angelo Basile, Roberto De Mascellis, Giovanna Dragonetti, Fernando Monteiro Santos, Andrew Binley, and Antonio Coppola
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1509–1527, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1509-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1509-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Soil salinity is a serious threat in numerous arid and semi-arid areas of the world. Given this threat, efficient field assessment methods are needed to monitor the dynamics of soil salinity in salt-affected lands efficiently. We demonstrate that rapid and non-invasive geophysical measurements modelled by advanced numerical analysis of the signals and coupled with hydrological modelling can provide valuable information to assess the spatio-temporal variability in soil salinity over large areas.
Christian Halla, Jan Henrik Blöthe, Carla Tapia Baldis, Dario Trombotto Liaudat, Christin Hilbich, Christian Hauck, and Lothar Schrott
The Cryosphere, 15, 1187–1213, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1187-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1187-2021, 2021
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In the semi-arid to arid Andes of Argentina, rock glaciers contain invisible and unknown amounts of ground ice that could become more important in future for the water availability during the dry season. The study shows that the investigated rock glacier represents an important long-term ice reservoir in the dry mountain catchment and that interannual changes of ground ice can store and release significant amounts of annual precipitation.
Maria Catarina Paz, Mohammad Farzamian, Ana Marta Paz, Nádia Luísa Castanheira, Maria Conceição Gonçalves, and Fernando Monteiro Santos
SOIL, 6, 499–511, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-499-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-499-2020, 2020
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In this study electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys and soil sampling were repeated over time to monitor soil salinity dynamics in an important agricultural area that faces risk of soil salinization. EMI data were converted to electromagnetic conductivity imaging through a mathematical inversion algorithm and converted to 2-D soil salinity maps until a depth of 1.35 m through a regional calibration. This is a non-invasive and cost-effective methodology that can be employed over large areas.
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Short summary
An automated electrical resistivity tomography (A-ERT) system was developed and deployed in Antarctica to monitor permafrost and active-layer dynamics. The A-ERT, coupled with an efficient processing workflow, demonstrated its capability to monitor real-time thaw depth progression, detect seasonal and surficial freezing–thawing events, and assess permafrost stability. Our study showcased the potential of A-ERT to contribute to global permafrost monitoring networks.
An automated electrical resistivity tomography (A-ERT) system was developed and deployed in...
