Articles | Volume 18, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4531-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4531-2024
Research article
 | 
02 Oct 2024
Research article |  | 02 Oct 2024

Modelling the effect of free convection on permafrost melting rates in frozen rock clefts

Amir Sedaghatkish, Frédéric Doumenc, Pierre-Yves Jeannin, and Marc Luetscher

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Cited articles

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. 
Arosemena, A.: Numerical Model of MeltingProblems, Master thesis, urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-221141, 2018. 
Bartelt, P. and Lehning, M.: A physical SNOWPACK model for the Swiss avalanche warning: Part I: numerical model, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 35, 123–145, 2002. 
Bartolomé, M., Cazenave, G., Luetscher, M., Spötl, C., Gázquez, F., Belmonte, Á., Turchyn, A. V., López-Moreno, J. I., and Moreno, A.: Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave, The Cryosphere, 17, 477–497, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023, 2023. 
Bejan, A.: Convection heat transfer, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-470-90037-6, 2013. 
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Short summary
We developed a model to simulate the natural convection of water within frozen rock crevices subject to daily warming in mountain permafrost regions. Traditional models relying on conduction and latent heat flux typically overlook free convection. The results reveal that free convection can significantly accelerate the melting rate by an order of magnitude compared to conduction-based models. Our results are important for assessing the impact of climate change on mountain infrastructure.
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