Articles | Volume 9, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-647-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-647-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Apr 2015
Research article |
| 08 Apr 2015
Warming permafrost and active layer variability at Cime Bianche, Western European Alps
P. Pogliotti
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Environmental Protection Agency of Valle d'Aosta, Saint Christophe, Italy
M. Guglielmin
Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Insubria University, Varese, Italy
E. Cremonese
Environmental Protection Agency of Valle d'Aosta, Saint Christophe, Italy
U. Morra di Cella
Environmental Protection Agency of Valle d'Aosta, Saint Christophe, Italy
G. Filippa
Environmental Protection Agency of Valle d'Aosta, Saint Christophe, Italy
C. Pellet
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Related authors
Francesco Avanzi, Giulia Ercolani, Simone Gabellani, Edoardo Cremonese, Paolo Pogliotti, Gianluca Filippa, Umberto Morra di Cella, Sara Ratto, Hervè Stevenin, Marco Cauduro, and Stefano Juglair
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2109–2131, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2109-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2109-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation tends to increase with elevation, but the magnitude and distribution of this enhancement remain poorly understood. By leveraging over 11 000 spatially distributed, manual measurements of snow depth (snow courses) upstream of two reservoirs in the western European Alps, we show that these courses bear a characteristic signature of orographic precipitation. This opens a window of opportunity for improved modeling accuracy and, ultimately, our understanding of the water budget.
Biagio Di Mauro, Roberto Garzonio, Micol Rossini, Gianluca Filippa, Paolo Pogliotti, Marta Galvagno, Umberto Morra di Cella, Mirco Migliavacca, Giovanni Baccolo, Massimiliano Clemenza, Barbara Delmonte, Valter Maggi, Marie Dumont, François Tuzet, Matthieu Lafaysse, Samuel Morin, Edoardo Cremonese, and Roberto Colombo
The Cryosphere, 13, 1147–1165, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1147-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1147-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The snow albedo reduction due to dust from arid regions alters the melting dynamics of the snowpack, resulting in earlier snowmelt. We estimate up to 38 days of anticipated snow disappearance for a season that was characterized by a strong dust deposition event. This process has a series of further impacts. For example, earlier snowmelts may alter the hydrological cycle in the Alps, induce higher sensitivity to late summer drought, and finally impact vegetation and animal phenology.
F. Magnin, P. Deline, L. Ravanel, J. Noetzli, and P. Pogliotti
The Cryosphere, 9, 109–121, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-109-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-109-2015, 2015
Clemens Moser, Umberto Morra di Cella, Christian Hauck, and Adrián Flores Orozco
The Cryosphere, 19, 143–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-143-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-143-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
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
The Cryosphere, 18, 5939–5963, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5939-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5939-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study highlights the importance of a multi-method and multi-disciplinary approach to better understand the influence of the internal structure of the Gruben glacier-forefield-connected rock glacier and adjacent debris-covered glacier on their driving thermo-mechanical processes and associated surface dynamics. We were able to discriminate glacial from periglacial processes as their spatio-temporal patterns of surface dynamics and geophysical signatures are (mostly) different.
Tamara Mathys, Muslim Azimshoev, Zhoodarbeshim Bektursunov, Christian Hauck, Christin Hilbich, Murataly Duishonakunov, Abdulhamid Kayumov, Nikolay Kassatkin, Vassily Kapitsa, Leo C. P. Martin, Coline Mollaret, Hofiz Navruzshoev, Eric Pohl, Tomas Saks, Intizor Silmonov, Timur Musaev, Ryskul Usubaliev, and Martin Hoelzle
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2795, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2795, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides a comprehensive geophysical dataset on permafrost in the data-scarce Tien Shan and Pamir mountain regions of Central Asia. It also introduces a novel modeling method to quantify ground ice content across different landforms. The findings indicate that this approach is well-suited for characterizing ice-rich permafrost, which is crucial for evaluating future water availability and assessing risks associated with thawing permafrost.
Cassandra E.M. Koenig, Christin Hilbich, Christian Hauck, Lukas U. Arenson, and Pablo Wainstein
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2244, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2244, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents an analysis of ground temperature data from 53 high-altitude boreholes in permafrost regions of the Central Andes. Results show that thermal characteristics of the region align with other mountain permafrost areas, while also showing unique features. The dataset could improve permafrost models and monitoring efforts, and inform mitigation strategies. The study highlights a notable collaboration between industry, academia, and regulators for advancing climate change research.
Mohammad Farzamian, Teddi Herring, Gonçalo Vieira, Miguel Angel de Pablo, Borhan Yaghoobi Tabar, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 18, 4197–4213, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4197-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4197-2024, 2024
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we apply an electrical method in a high-mountain permafrost terrain in the Italian Alps, where long-term borehole temperature data are available for validation. In particular, we investigate the frequency dependence of the electrical properties for seasonal and annual variations along a 3-year monitoring period. We demonstrate that our method is capable of resolving temporal changes in the thermal state and the ice / water ratio associated with seasonal freeze–thaw processes.
Wilfried Haeberli, Lukas U. Arenson, Julie Wee, Christian Hauck, and Nico Mölg
The Cryosphere, 18, 1669–1683, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1669-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1669-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Rock glaciers in ice-rich permafrost can be discriminated from debris-covered glaciers. The key physical phenomenon relates to the tight mechanical coupling between the moving frozen body at depth and the surface layer of debris in the case of rock glaciers, as opposed to the virtually inexistent coupling in the case of surface ice with a debris cover. Contact zones of surface ice with subsurface ice in permafrost constitute diffuse landforms beyond either–or-type landform classification.
Bernd Etzelmüller, Ketil Isaksen, Justyna Czekirda, Sebastian Westermann, Christin Hilbich, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 17, 5477–5497, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5477-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5477-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Permafrost (permanently frozen ground) is widespread in the mountains of Norway and Iceland. Several boreholes were drilled after 1999 for long-term permafrost monitoring. We document a strong warming of permafrost, including the development of unfrozen bodies in the permafrost. Warming and degradation of mountain permafrost may lead to more natural hazards.
Johannes Buckel, Jan Mudler, Rainer Gardeweg, Christian Hauck, Christin Hilbich, Regula Frauenfelder, Christof Kneisel, Sebastian Buchelt, Jan Henrik Blöthe, Andreas Hördt, and Matthias Bücker
The Cryosphere, 17, 2919–2940, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2919-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2919-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study reveals permafrost degradation by repeating old geophysical measurements at three Alpine sites. The compared data indicate that ice-poor permafrost is highly affected by temperature warming. The melting of ice-rich permafrost could not be identified. However, complex geomorphic processes are responsible for this rather than external temperature change. We suspect permafrost degradation here as well. In addition, we introduce a new current injection method for data acquisition.
M. M. Macelloni, A. Cina, N. Grasso, and U. Morra di Cella
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-2-W3-2023, 165–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W3-2023-165-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W3-2023-165-2023, 2023
Arthur Bayle, Bradley Z. Carlson, Anaïs Zimmer, Sophie Vallée, Antoine Rabatel, Edoardo Cremonese, Gianluca Filippa, Cédric Dentant, Christophe Randin, Andrea Mainetti, Erwan Roussel, Simon Gascoin, Dov Corenblit, and Philippe Choler
Biogeosciences, 20, 1649–1669, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1649-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1649-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier forefields have long provided ecologists with a model to study patterns of plant succession following glacier retreat. We used remote sensing approaches to study early succession dynamics as it allows to analyze the deglaciation, colonization, and vegetation growth within a single framework. We found that the heterogeneity of early succession dynamics is deterministic and can be explained well by local environmental context. This work has been done by an international consortium.
Adrian Wicki, Peter Lehmann, Christian Hauck, and Manfred Stähli
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1059–1077, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1059-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1059-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Soil wetness measurements are used for shallow landslide prediction; however, existing sites are often located in flat terrain. Here, we assessed the ability of monitoring sites at flat locations to detect critically saturated conditions compared to if they were situated at a landslide-prone location. We found that differences exist but that both sites could equally well distinguish critical from non-critical conditions for shallow landslide triggering if relative changes are considered.
Francesco Avanzi, Simone Gabellani, Fabio Delogu, Francesco Silvestro, Flavio Pignone, Giulia Bruno, Luca Pulvirenti, Giuseppe Squicciarino, Elisabetta Fiori, Lauro Rossi, Silvia Puca, Alexander Toniazzo, Pietro Giordano, Marco Falzacappa, Sara Ratto, Hervè Stevenin, Antonio Cardillo, Matteo Fioletti, Orietta Cazzuli, Edoardo Cremonese, Umberto Morra di Cella, and Luca Ferraris
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 639–660, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-639-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-639-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Snow cover has profound implications for worldwide water supply and security, but knowledge of its amount and distribution across the landscape is still elusive. We present IT-SNOW, a reanalysis comprising daily maps of snow amount and distribution across Italy for 11 snow seasons from September 2010 to August 2021. The reanalysis was validated using satellite images and snow measurements and will provide highly needed data to manage snow water resources in a warming climate.
Tamara Mathys, Christin Hilbich, Lukas U. Arenson, Pablo A. Wainstein, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 16, 2595–2615, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2595-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2595-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
With ongoing climate change, there is a pressing need to understand how much water is stored as ground ice in permafrost. Still, field-based data on permafrost in the Andes are scarce, resulting in large uncertainties regarding ground ice volumes and their hydrological role. We introduce an upscaling methodology of geophysical-based ground ice quantifications at the catchment scale. Our results indicate that substantial ground ice volumes may also be present in areas without rock glaciers.
Francesco Avanzi, Simone Gabellani, Fabio Delogu, Francesco Silvestro, Edoardo Cremonese, Umberto Morra di Cella, Sara Ratto, and Hervé Stevenin
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 4853–4879, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-4853-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-4853-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Knowing in real time how much snow and glacier ice has accumulated across the landscape has significant implications for water-resource management and flood control. This paper presents a computer model – S3M – allowing scientists and decision makers to predict snow and ice accumulation during winter and the subsequent melt during spring and summer. S3M has been employed for real-world flood forecasting since the early 2000s but is here being made open source for the first time.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Rafael Poyatos, Víctor Granda, Víctor Flo, Mark A. Adams, Balázs Adorján, David Aguadé, Marcos P. M. Aidar, Scott Allen, M. Susana Alvarado-Barrientos, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Luiza Maria Aparecido, M. Altaf Arain, Ismael Aranda, Heidi Asbjornsen, Robert Baxter, Eric Beamesderfer, Z. Carter Berry, Daniel Berveiller, Bethany Blakely, Johnny Boggs, Gil Bohrer, Paul V. Bolstad, Damien Bonal, Rosvel Bracho, Patricia Brito, Jason Brodeur, Fernando Casanoves, Jérôme Chave, Hui Chen, Cesar Cisneros, Kenneth Clark, Edoardo Cremonese, Hongzhong Dang, Jorge S. David, Teresa S. David, Nicolas Delpierre, Ankur R. Desai, Frederic C. Do, Michal Dohnal, Jean-Christophe Domec, Sebinasi Dzikiti, Colin Edgar, Rebekka Eichstaedt, Tarek S. El-Madany, Jan Elbers, Cleiton B. Eller, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Brent Ewers, Patrick Fonti, Alicia Forner, David I. Forrester, Helber C. Freitas, Marta Galvagno, Omar Garcia-Tejera, Chandra Prasad Ghimire, Teresa E. Gimeno, John Grace, André Granier, Anne Griebel, Yan Guangyu, Mark B. Gush, Paul J. Hanson, Niles J. Hasselquist, Ingo Heinrich, Virginia Hernandez-Santana, Valentine Herrmann, Teemu Hölttä, Friso Holwerda, James Irvine, Supat Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya, Paul G. Jarvis, Hubert Jochheim, Carlos A. Joly, Julia Kaplick, Hyun Seok Kim, Leif Klemedtsson, Heather Kropp, Fredrik Lagergren, Patrick Lane, Petra Lang, Andrei Lapenas, Víctor Lechuga, Minsu Lee, Christoph Leuschner, Jean-Marc Limousin, Juan Carlos Linares, Maj-Lena Linderson, Anders Lindroth, Pilar Llorens, Álvaro López-Bernal, Michael M. Loranty, Dietmar Lüttschwager, Cate Macinnis-Ng, Isabelle Maréchaux, Timothy A. Martin, Ashley Matheny, Nate McDowell, Sean McMahon, Patrick Meir, Ilona Mészáros, Mirco Migliavacca, Patrick Mitchell, Meelis Mölder, Leonardo Montagnani, Georgianne W. Moore, Ryogo Nakada, Furong Niu, Rachael H. Nolan, Richard Norby, Kimberly Novick, Walter Oberhuber, Nikolaus Obojes, A. Christopher Oishi, Rafael S. Oliveira, Ram Oren, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Teemu Paljakka, Oscar Perez-Priego, Pablo L. Peri, Richard L. Peters, Sebastian Pfautsch, William T. Pockman, Yakir Preisler, Katherine Rascher, George Robinson, Humberto Rocha, Alain Rocheteau, Alexander Röll, Bruno H. P. Rosado, Lucy Rowland, Alexey V. Rubtsov, Santiago Sabaté, Yann Salmon, Roberto L. Salomón, Elisenda Sánchez-Costa, Karina V. R. Schäfer, Bernhard Schuldt, Alexandr Shashkin, Clément Stahl, Marko Stojanović, Juan Carlos Suárez, Ge Sun, Justyna Szatniewska, Fyodor Tatarinov, Miroslav Tesař, Frank M. Thomas, Pantana Tor-ngern, Josef Urban, Fernando Valladares, Christiaan van der Tol, Ilja van Meerveld, Andrej Varlagin, Holm Voigt, Jeffrey Warren, Christiane Werner, Willy Werner, Gerhard Wieser, Lisa Wingate, Stan Wullschleger, Koong Yi, Roman Zweifel, Kathy Steppe, Maurizio Mencuccini, and Jordi Martínez-Vilalta
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2607–2649, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2607-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2607-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Transpiration is a key component of global water balance, but it is poorly constrained from available observations. We present SAPFLUXNET, the first global database of tree-level transpiration from sap flow measurements, containing 202 datasets and covering a wide range of ecological conditions. SAPFLUXNET and its accompanying R software package
sapfluxnetrwill facilitate new data syntheses on the ecological factors driving water use and drought responses of trees and forests.
Francesco Avanzi, Giulia Ercolani, Simone Gabellani, Edoardo Cremonese, Paolo Pogliotti, Gianluca Filippa, Umberto Morra di Cella, Sara Ratto, Hervè Stevenin, Marco Cauduro, and Stefano Juglair
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2109–2131, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2109-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2109-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation tends to increase with elevation, but the magnitude and distribution of this enhancement remain poorly understood. By leveraging over 11 000 spatially distributed, manual measurements of snow depth (snow courses) upstream of two reservoirs in the western European Alps, we show that these courses bear a characteristic signature of orographic precipitation. This opens a window of opportunity for improved modeling accuracy and, ultimately, our understanding of the water budget.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Jan Pisek, Angela Erb, Lauri Korhonen, Tobias Biermann, Arnaud Carrara, Edoardo Cremonese, Matthias Cuntz, Silvano Fares, Giacomo Gerosa, Thomas Grünwald, Niklas Hase, Michal Heliasz, Andreas Ibrom, Alexander Knohl, Johannes Kobler, Bart Kruijt, Holger Lange, Leena Leppänen, Jean-Marc Limousin, Francisco Ramon Lopez Serrano, Denis Loustau, Petr Lukeš, Lars Lundin, Riccardo Marzuoli, Meelis Mölder, Leonardo Montagnani, Johan Neirynck, Matthias Peichl, Corinna Rebmann, Eva Rubio, Margarida Santos-Reis, Crystal Schaaf, Marius Schmidt, Guillaume Simioni, Kamel Soudani, and Caroline Vincke
Biogeosciences, 18, 621–635, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-621-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-621-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Understory vegetation is the most diverse, least understood component of forests worldwide. Understory communities are important drivers of overstory succession and nutrient cycling. Multi-angle remote sensing enables us to describe surface properties by means that are not possible when using mono-angle data. Evaluated over an extensive set of forest ecosystem experimental sites in Europe, our reported method can deliver good retrievals, especially over different forest types with open canopies.
Silvia Terzago, Valentina Andreoli, Gabriele Arduini, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Lorenzo Campo, Claudio Cassardo, Edoardo Cremonese, Daniele Dolia, Simone Gabellani, Jost von Hardenberg, Umberto Morra di Cella, Elisa Palazzi, Gaia Piazzi, Paolo Pogliotti, and Antonello Provenzale
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4061–4090, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4061-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4061-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In mountain areas high-quality meteorological data to drive snow models are rarely available, so coarse-resolution data from spatial interpolation of the available in situ measurements or reanalyses are typically employed. We perform 12 experiments using six snow models with different degrees of complexity to show the impact of the accuracy of the forcing on snow depth and snow water equivalent simulations at the Alpine site of Torgnon, discussing the results in relation to the model complexity.
G. Forlani, F. Diotri, U. Morra di Cella, and R. Roncella
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIII-B2-2020, 9–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B2-2020-9-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B2-2020-9-2020, 2020
Maximilian Weigand, Florian M. Wagner, Jonas K. Limbrock, Christin Hilbich, Christian Hauck, and Andreas Kemna
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 9, 317–336, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-317-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-317-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In times of global warming, permafrost is starting to degrade at alarming rates, requiring new and improved characterization approaches. We describe the design and test installation, as well as detailed data quality assessment, of a monitoring system used to capture natural electrical potentials in the subsurface. These self-potential signals are of great interest for the noninvasive investigation of water flow in the non-frozen or partially frozen subsurface.
Mohammad Farzamian, Gonçalo Vieira, Fernando A. Monteiro Santos, Borhan Yaghoobi Tabar, Christian Hauck, Maria Catarina Paz, Ivo Bernardo, Miguel Ramos, and Miguel Angel de Pablo
The Cryosphere, 14, 1105–1120, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1105-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1105-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A 2-D automated electrical resistivity tomography (A-ERT) system was installed for the first time in Antarctica at Deception Island to (i) monitor subsurface freezing and thawing processes on a daily and seasonal basis and map the spatial and temporal variability of thaw depth and to (ii) study the impact of short-lived extreme meteorological events on active layer dynamics.
Coline Mollaret, Christin Hilbich, Cécile Pellet, Adrian Flores-Orozco, Reynald Delaloye, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 13, 2557–2578, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2557-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2557-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a long-term multisite electrical resistivity tomography monitoring network (more than 1000 datasets recorded from six mountain permafrost sites). Despite harsh and remote measurement conditions, the datasets are of good quality and show consistent spatio-temporal variations yielding significant added value to point-scale borehole information. Observed long-term trends are similar for all permafrost sites, showing ongoing permafrost thaw and ground ice loss due to climatic conditions.
Jan Mudler, Andreas Hördt, Anita Przyklenk, Gianluca Fiandaca, Pradip Kumar Maurya, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 13, 2439–2456, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2439-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2439-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The capacitively coupled resistivity (CCR) method enables the determination of frequency-dependent electrical parameters of the subsurface. CCR is well suited for application in cryospheric areas because it provides logistical advantages regarding coupling on hard surfaces and highly resistive grounds. With our new spectral two-dimensional inversion, we can identify subsurface structures based on full spectral information. We show the first results of the inversion method on the field scale.
N. Bruno, E. Coïsson, F. Diotri, L. Ferrari, S. Mikolajewska, U. Morra di Cella, R. Roncella, and A. Zerbi
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-2-W11, 317–323, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W11-317-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W11-317-2019, 2019
Biagio Di Mauro, Roberto Garzonio, Micol Rossini, Gianluca Filippa, Paolo Pogliotti, Marta Galvagno, Umberto Morra di Cella, Mirco Migliavacca, Giovanni Baccolo, Massimiliano Clemenza, Barbara Delmonte, Valter Maggi, Marie Dumont, François Tuzet, Matthieu Lafaysse, Samuel Morin, Edoardo Cremonese, and Roberto Colombo
The Cryosphere, 13, 1147–1165, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1147-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1147-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The snow albedo reduction due to dust from arid regions alters the melting dynamics of the snowpack, resulting in earlier snowmelt. We estimate up to 38 days of anticipated snow disappearance for a season that was characterized by a strong dust deposition event. This process has a series of further impacts. For example, earlier snowmelts may alter the hydrological cycle in the Alps, induce higher sensitivity to late summer drought, and finally impact vegetation and animal phenology.
Mauro Guglielmin, Marco Donatelli, Matteo Semplice, and Stefano Serra Capizzano
Clim. Past, 14, 709–724, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-709-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-709-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The reconstruction of ground surface temperature for the last 500 years, obtained at the deepest mountain permafrost borehole of the world (Stelvio Pass, 3000 m a.s.l., Italian Alps), is presented here. The main difference with respect to MAAT reconstructions obtained through other proxy data for all of Europe relates to post Little Ice Age (LIA) events. Indeed at this site a stronger cooling of ca 1 °C between 1940 and 1989 and even a more abrupt warming between 1990 and 2011 was detected.
Martin Beniston, Daniel Farinotti, Markus Stoffel, Liss M. Andreassen, Erika Coppola, Nicolas Eckert, Adriano Fantini, Florie Giacona, Christian Hauck, Matthias Huss, Hendrik Huwald, Michael Lehning, Juan-Ignacio López-Moreno, Jan Magnusson, Christoph Marty, Enrique Morán-Tejéda, Samuel Morin, Mohamed Naaim, Antonello Provenzale, Antoine Rabatel, Delphine Six, Johann Stötter, Ulrich Strasser, Silvia Terzago, and Christian Vincent
The Cryosphere, 12, 759–794, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-759-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-759-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper makes a rather exhaustive overview of current knowledge of past, current, and future aspects of cryospheric issues in continental Europe and makes a number of reflections of areas of uncertainty requiring more attention in both scientific and policy terms. The review paper is completed by a bibliography containing 350 recent references that will certainly be of value to scholars engaged in the fields of glacier, snow, and permafrost research.
Benjamin Mewes, Christin Hilbich, Reynald Delaloye, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 11, 2957–2974, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2957-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2957-2017, 2017
Cécile Pellet and Christian Hauck
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3199–3220, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3199-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3199-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a detailed description of the new Swiss soil moisture monitoring network SOMOMOUNT, which comprises six stations distributed along an elevation gradient ranging from 1205 to 3410 m. The liquid soil moisture (LSM) data collected during the first 3 years are discussed with regard to their soil type and climate dependency as well as their altitudinal distribution. The elevation dependency of the LSM was found to be non-linear with distinct dynamics at high and low elevation.
Jonas Wicky and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 11, 1311–1325, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1311-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1311-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Talus slopes are a widespread geomorphic feature, which may show permafrost conditions even at low elevation due to cold microclimates induced by a gravity-driven internal air circulation. We show for the first time a numerical simulation of this internal air circulation of a field-scale talus slope. Results indicate that convective heat transfer leads to a pronounced ground cooling in the lower part of the talus slope favoring the persistence of permafrost.
Antoine Marmy, Jan Rajczak, Reynald Delaloye, Christin Hilbich, Martin Hoelzle, Sven Kotlarski, Christophe Lambiel, Jeannette Noetzli, Marcia Phillips, Nadine Salzmann, Benno Staub, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 10, 2693–2719, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2693-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2693-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new semi-automated method to calibrate the 1-D soil model COUP. It is the first time (as far as we know) that this approach is developed for mountain permafrost. It is applied at six test sites in the Swiss Alps. In a second step, the calibrated model is used for RCM-based simulations with specific downscaling of RCM data to the borehole scale. We show projections of the permafrost evolution at the six sites until the end of the century and according to the A1B scenario.
L. Wingate, J. Ogée, E. Cremonese, G. Filippa, T. Mizunuma, M. Migliavacca, C. Moisy, M. Wilkinson, C. Moureaux, G. Wohlfahrt, A. Hammerle, L. Hörtnagl, C. Gimeno, A. Porcar-Castell, M. Galvagno, T. Nakaji, J. Morison, O. Kolle, A. Knohl, W. Kutsch, P. Kolari, E. Nikinmaa, A. Ibrom, B. Gielen, W. Eugster, M. Balzarolo, D. Papale, K. Klumpp, B. Köstner, T. Grünwald, R. Joffre, J.-M. Ourcival, M. Hellstrom, A. Lindroth, C. George, B. Longdoz, B. Genty, J. Levula, B. Heinesch, M. Sprintsin, D. Yakir, T. Manise, D. Guyon, H. Ahrends, A. Plaza-Aguilar, J. H. Guan, and J. Grace
Biogeosciences, 12, 5995–6015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5995-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5995-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The timing of plant development stages and their response to climate and management were investigated using a network of digital cameras installed across different European ecosystems. Using the relative red, green and blue content of images we showed that the green signal could be used to estimate the length of the growing season in broadleaf forests. We also developed a model that predicted the seasonal variations of camera RGB signals and how they relate to leaf pigment content and area well.
A. Ekici, S. Chadburn, N. Chaudhary, L. H. Hajdu, A. Marmy, S. Peng, J. Boike, E. Burke, A. D. Friend, C. Hauck, G. Krinner, M. Langer, P. A. Miller, and C. Beer
The Cryosphere, 9, 1343–1361, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1343-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1343-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This paper compares the performance of different land models in estimating soil thermal regimes at distinct cold region landscape types. Comparing models with different processes reveal the importance of surface insulation (snow/moss layer) and soil internal processes (heat/water transfer). The importance of model processes also depend on site conditions such as high/low snow cover, dry/wet soil types.
B. Staub, A. Marmy, C. Hauck, C. Hilbich, and R. Delaloye
Geogr. Helv., 70, 45–62, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-70-45-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-70-45-2015, 2015
F. Magnin, P. Deline, L. Ravanel, J. Noetzli, and P. Pogliotti
The Cryosphere, 9, 109–121, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-109-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-109-2015, 2015
A. Ekici, C. Beer, S. Hagemann, J. Boike, M. Langer, and C. Hauck
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 631–647, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-631-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-631-2014, 2014
M. Scherler, S. Schneider, M. Hoelzle, and C. Hauck
Earth Surf. Dynam., 2, 141–154, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2-141-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2-141-2014, 2014
S. Schneider, S. Daengeli, C. Hauck, and M. Hoelzle
Geogr. Helv., 68, 265–280, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-68-265-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-68-265-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Frozen Ground
High-resolution 4D electrical resistivity tomography and below-ground point sensor monitoring of High Arctic deglaciated sediments capture zero-curtain effects, freeze–thaw transitions, and mid-winter thawing
Spectral induced polarization survey for the estimation of hydrogeological parameters in an active rock glacier
Quantifying permafrost ground ice contents in the Tien Shan and Pamir (Central Asia): A Petrophysical Joint Inversion approach using the Geometric Mean model
Thermal State of Permafrost in the Central Andes (27° S–34° S)
Effect of surficial geology mapping scale on modelled ground ice in Canadian Shield terrain
InSAR-measured permafrost degradation of palsa peatlands in northern Sweden
The evolution of Arctic permafrost over the last 3 centuries from ensemble simulations with the CryoGridLite permafrost model
Permafrost saline water and Early to mid-Holocene permafrost aggradation in Svalbard
Environmental spaces for palsas and peat plateaus are disappearing at a circumpolar scale
Post-Little Ice Age rock wall permafrost evolution in Norway
Modelling rock glacier ice content based on InSAR-derived velocity, Khumbu and Lhotse valleys, Nepal
The temperature-dependent shear strength of ice-filled joints in rock mass considering the effect of joint roughness, opening and shear rates
Significant underestimation of peatland permafrost along the Labrador Sea coastline in northern Canada
Estimation of stream water components and residence time in a permafrost catchment in the central Tibetan Plateau using long-term water stable isotopic data
Brief communication: Improving ERA5-Land soil temperature in permafrost regions using an optimized multi-layer snow scheme
Towards accurate quantification of ice content in permafrost of the Central Andes – Part 2: An upscaling strategy of geophysical measurements to the catchment scale at two study sites
Long-term analysis of cryoseismic events and associated ground thermal stress in Adventdalen, Svalbard
Seismic physics-based characterization of permafrost sites using surface waves
Three in one: GPS-IR measurements of ground surface elevation changes, soil moisture, and snow depth at a permafrost site in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Surface temperatures and their influence on the permafrost thermal regime in high-Arctic rock walls on Svalbard
Consequences of permafrost degradation for Arctic infrastructure – bridging the model gap between regional and engineering scales
Passive seismic recording of cryoseisms in Adventdalen, Svalbard
Projecting circum-Arctic excess-ground-ice melt with a sub-grid representation in the Community Land Model
Ground ice, organic carbon and soluble cations in tundra permafrost soils and sediments near a Laurentide ice divide in the Slave Geological Province, Northwest Territories, Canada
The ERA5-Land soil temperature bias in permafrost regions
Brief Communication: The reliability of gas extraction techniques for analysing CH4 and N2O compositions in gas trapped in permafrost ice wedges
Geochemical signatures of pingo ice and its origin in Grøndalen, west Spitsbergen
Mountain permafrost degradation documented through a network of permanent electrical resistivity tomography sites
Permafrost variability over the Northern Hemisphere based on the MERRA-2 reanalysis
Distinguishing ice-rich and ice-poor permafrost to map ground temperatures and ground ice occurrence in the Swiss Alps
New ground ice maps for Canada using a paleogeographic modelling approach
Origin, burial and preservation of late Pleistocene-age glacier ice in Arctic permafrost (Bylot Island, NU, Canada)
Characteristics and fate of isolated permafrost patches in coastal Labrador, Canada
Rock glaciers in Daxue Shan, south-eastern Tibetan Plateau: an inventory, their distribution, and their environmental controls
Microtopographic control on the ground thermal regime in ice wedge polygons
Change in frozen soils and its effect on regional hydrology, upper Heihe basin, northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau
Climate warming over the past half century has led to thermal degradation of permafrost on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Decadal changes of surface elevation over permafrost area estimated using reflected GPS signals
Characterizing permafrost active layer dynamics and sensitivity to landscape spatial heterogeneity in Alaska
Resolution capacity of geophysical monitoring regarding permafrost degradation induced by hydrological processes
A new map of permafrost distribution on the Tibetan Plateau
Distinguishing between old and modern permafrost sources in the northeast Siberian land–shelf system with compound-specific δ2H analysis
Modelling rock wall permafrost degradation in the Mont Blanc massif from the LIA to the end of the 21st century
New observations indicate the possible presence of permafrost in North Africa (Djebel Toubkal, High Atlas, Morocco)
Transient modeling of the ground thermal conditions using satellite data in the Lena River delta, Siberia
Wind-driven snow conditions control the occurrence of contemporary marginal mountain permafrost in the Chic-Choc Mountains, south-eastern Canada: a case study from Mont Jacques-Cartier
Numerical modelling of convective heat transport by air flow in permafrost talus slopes
Cryostratigraphy, sedimentology, and the late Quaternary evolution of the Zackenberg River delta, northeast Greenland
Response of seasonal soil freeze depth to climate change across China
Soil moisture redistribution and its effect on inter-annual active layer temperature and thickness variations in a dry loess terrace in Adventdalen, Svalbard
Mihai O. Cimpoiasu, Oliver Kuras, Harry Harrison, Paul B. Wilkinson, Philip Meldrum, Jonathan E. Chambers, Dane Liljestrand, Carlos Oroza, Steven K. Schmidt, Pacifica Sommers, Lara Vimercati, Trevor P. Irons, Zhou Lyu, Adam Solon, and James A. Bradley
The Cryosphere, 19, 401–421, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-401-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-401-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Young Arctic sediments, uncovered by retreating glaciers, are in continuous development, shaped by how water infiltrates and is stored in the near subsurface. Harsh weather conditions at high latitudes make direct observation of these environments very difficult. To address this, we deployed two automated sensor installations in August 2021 on a glacier forefield in Svalbard. These sensors recorded continuously for 1 year, revealing unprecedented images of the ground’s freeze–thaw transition.
Clemens Moser, Umberto Morra di Cella, Christian Hauck, and Adrián Flores Orozco
The Cryosphere, 19, 143–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-143-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-143-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Tamara Mathys, Muslim Azimshoev, Zhoodarbeshim Bektursunov, Christian Hauck, Christin Hilbich, Murataly Duishonakunov, Abdulhamid Kayumov, Nikolay Kassatkin, Vassily Kapitsa, Leo C. P. Martin, Coline Mollaret, Hofiz Navruzshoev, Eric Pohl, Tomas Saks, Intizor Silmonov, Timur Musaev, Ryskul Usubaliev, and Martin Hoelzle
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2795, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2795, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides a comprehensive geophysical dataset on permafrost in the data-scarce Tien Shan and Pamir mountain regions of Central Asia. It also introduces a novel modeling method to quantify ground ice content across different landforms. The findings indicate that this approach is well-suited for characterizing ice-rich permafrost, which is crucial for evaluating future water availability and assessing risks associated with thawing permafrost.
Cassandra E.M. Koenig, Christin Hilbich, Christian Hauck, Lukas U. Arenson, and Pablo Wainstein
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2244, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2244, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents an analysis of ground temperature data from 53 high-altitude boreholes in permafrost regions of the Central Andes. Results show that thermal characteristics of the region align with other mountain permafrost areas, while also showing unique features. The dataset could improve permafrost models and monitoring efforts, and inform mitigation strategies. The study highlights a notable collaboration between industry, academia, and regulators for advancing climate change research.
H. Brendan O'Neill, Stephen A. Wolfe, Caroline Duchesne, and Ryan J. H. Parker
The Cryosphere, 18, 2979–2990, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2979-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2979-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Maps that show ground ice in permafrost at circumpolar or hemispherical scales offer only general depictions of broad patterns in ice content. In this paper, we show that using more detailed surficial geology in a ground ice computer model significantly improves the depiction of ground ice and makes the mapping useful for assessments of the effects of permafrost thaw and for reconnaissance planning of infrastructure routing.
Samuel Valman, Matthias B. Siewert, Doreen Boyd, Martha Ledger, David Gee, Betsabé de la Barreda-Bautista, Andrew Sowter, and Sofie Sjögersten
The Cryosphere, 18, 1773–1790, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1773-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1773-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Climate warming is thawing permafrost that makes up palsa (frost mound) peatlands, risking ecosystem collapse and carbon release as methane. We measure this regional degradation using radar satellite technology to examine ground elevation changes and show how terrain roughness measurements can be used to estimate local permafrost damage. We find that over half of Sweden's largest palsa peatlands are degrading, with the worse impacts to the north linked to increased winter precipitation.
Moritz Langer, Jan Nitzbon, Brian Groenke, Lisa-Marie Assmann, Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Simone Maria Stuenzi, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 18, 363–385, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-363-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Using a model that can simulate the evolution of Arctic permafrost over centuries to millennia, we find that post-industrialization permafrost warming has three "hotspots" in NE Canada, N Alaska, and W Siberia. The extent of near-surface permafrost has decreased substantially since 1850, with the largest area losses occurring in the last 50 years. The simulations also show that volcanic eruptions have in some cases counteracted the loss of near-surface permafrost for a few decades.
Dotan Rotem, Vladimir Lyakhovsky, Hanne Hvidtfeldt Christiansen, Yehudit Harlavan, and Yishai Weinstein
The Cryosphere, 17, 3363–3381, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3363-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3363-2023, 2023
Short summary
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.
Oona Leppiniemi, Olli Karjalainen, Juha Aalto, Miska Luoto, and Jan Hjort
The Cryosphere, 17, 3157–3176, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3157-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3157-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
For the first time, suitable environments for palsas and peat plateaus were modeled for the whole Northern Hemisphere. The hotspots of occurrences were in northern Europe, western Siberia, and subarctic Canada. Climate change was predicted to cause almost complete loss of the studied landforms by the late century. Our predictions filled knowledge gaps in the distribution of the landforms, and they can be utilized in estimation of the pace and impacts of the climate change over northern regions.
Justyna Czekirda, Bernd Etzelmüller, Sebastian Westermann, Ketil Isaksen, and Florence Magnin
The Cryosphere, 17, 2725–2754, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2725-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We assess spatio-temporal permafrost variations in selected rock walls in Norway over the last 120 years. Ground temperature is modelled using the two-dimensional ground heat flux model CryoGrid 2D along nine profiles. Permafrost probably occurs at most sites. All simulations show increasing ground temperature from the 1980s. Our simulations show that rock wall permafrost with a temperature of −1 °C at 20 m depth could thaw at this depth within 50 years.
Yan Hu, Stephan Harrison, Lin Liu, and Joanne Laura Wood
The Cryosphere, 17, 2305–2321, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2305-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2305-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Rock glaciers are considered to be important freshwater reservoirs in the future climate. However, the amount of ice stored in rock glaciers is poorly quantified. Here we developed an empirical model to estimate ice content in rock the glaciers in the Khumbu and Lhotse valleys, Nepal. The modelling results confirmed the hydrological importance of rock glaciers in the study area. The developed approach shows promise in being applied to permafrost regions to assess water storage of rock glaciers.
Shibing Huang, Haowei Cai, Zekun Xin, and Gang Liu
The Cryosphere, 17, 1205–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1205-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1205-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, the warming degradation mechanism of ice-filled joints is revealed, and the effect of temperature, normal stress, shear rate and joint opening on the shear strength of rough ice-filled joints is investigated. The shear rupture modes include shear cracking of joint ice and debonding of the ice–rock interface, which is related to the above factors. The bonding strength of the ice–rock interface is larger than the shear strength of joint ice when the temperature is below −1 ℃.
Yifeng Wang, Robert G. Way, Jordan Beer, Anika Forget, Rosamond Tutton, and Meredith C. Purcell
The Cryosphere, 17, 63–78, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-63-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-63-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Peatland permafrost in northeastern Canada has been misrepresented by models, leading to significant underestimates of peatland permafrost and permafrost distribution along the Labrador Sea coastline. Our multi-stage, multi-mapper, consensus-based inventorying process, supported by field- and imagery-based validation efforts, identifies peatland permafrost complexes all along the coast. The highest density of complexes is found to the south of the current sporadic discontinuous permafrost limit.
Shaoyong Wang, Xiaobo He, Shichang Kang, Hui Fu, and Xiaofeng Hong
The Cryosphere, 16, 5023–5040, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5023-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5023-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study used the sine-wave exponential model and long-term water stable isotopic data to estimate water mean residence time (MRT) and its influencing factors in a high-altitude permafrost catchment (5300 m a.s.l.) in the central Tibetan Plateau (TP). MRT for stream and supra-permafrost water was estimated at 100 and 255 d, respectively. Climate and vegetation factors affected the MRT of stream and supra-permafrost water mainly by changing the thickness of the permafrost active layer.
Bin Cao, Gabriele Arduini, and Ervin Zsoter
The Cryosphere, 16, 2701–2708, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2701-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2701-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We implemented a new multi-layer snow scheme in the land surface scheme of ERA5-Land with revised snow densification parameterizations. The revised HTESSEL improved the representation of soil temperature in permafrost regions compared to ERA5-Land; in particular, warm bias in winter was significantly reduced, and the resulting modeled near-surface permafrost extent was improved.
Tamara Mathys, Christin Hilbich, Lukas U. Arenson, Pablo A. Wainstein, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 16, 2595–2615, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2595-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2595-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
With ongoing climate change, there is a pressing need to understand how much water is stored as ground ice in permafrost. Still, field-based data on permafrost in the Andes are scarce, resulting in large uncertainties regarding ground ice volumes and their hydrological role. We introduce an upscaling methodology of geophysical-based ground ice quantifications at the catchment scale. Our results indicate that substantial ground ice volumes may also be present in areas without rock glaciers.
Rowan Romeyn, Alfred Hanssen, and Andreas Köhler
The Cryosphere, 16, 2025–2050, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2025-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2025-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We have investigated a long-term record of ground vibrations, recorded by a seismic array installed in Adventdalen, Svalbard. This record contains a large number of
frost quakes, a type of ground shaking that can be produced by cracks that form as the ground cools rapidly. We use underground temperatures measured in a nearby borehole to model forces of thermal expansion and contraction that can cause these cracks. We also use the seismic measurements to estimate where these cracks occurred.
Hongwei Liu, Pooneh Maghoul, and Ahmed Shalaby
The Cryosphere, 16, 1157–1180, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1157-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1157-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The knowledge of physical and mechanical properties of permafrost and its location is critical for the management of permafrost-related geohazards. Here, we developed a hybrid inverse and multiphase poromechanical approach to quantitatively estimate the physical and mechanical properties of a permafrost site. Our study demonstrates the potential of surface wave techniques coupled with our proposed data-processing algorithm to characterize a permafrost site more accurately.
Jiahua Zhang, Lin Liu, Lei Su, and Tao Che
The Cryosphere, 15, 3021–3033, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3021-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3021-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We improve the commonly used GPS-IR algorithm for estimating surface soil moisture in permafrost areas, which does not consider the bias introduced by seasonal surface vertical movement. We propose a three-in-one framework to integrate the GPS-IR observations of surface elevation changes, soil moisture, and snow depth at one site and illustrate it by using a GPS site in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. This study is the first to use GPS-IR to measure environmental variables in the Tibetan Plateau.
Juditha Undine Schmidt, Bernd Etzelmüller, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Florence Magnin, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 15, 2491–2509, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2491-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2491-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents rock surface temperatures (RSTs) of steep high-Arctic rock walls on Svalbard from 2016 to 2020. The field data show that coastal cliffs are characterized by warmer RSTs than inland locations during winter seasons. By running model simulations, we analyze factors leading to that effect, calculate the surface energy balance and simulate different future scenarios. Both field data and model results can contribute to a further understanding of RST in high-Arctic rock walls.
Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Hanna Lee, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, Sebastian Westermann, Vladimir Romanovsky, Scott Lamoureux, Donald A. Walker, Sarah Chadburn, Erin Trochim, Lei Cai, Jan Nitzbon, Stephan Jacobi, and Moritz Langer
The Cryosphere, 15, 2451–2471, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2451-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2451-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Climate warming puts infrastructure built on permafrost at risk of failure. There is a growing need for appropriate model-based risk assessments. Here we present a modelling study and show an exemplary case of how a gravel road in a cold permafrost environment in Alaska might suffer from degrading permafrost under a scenario of intense climate warming. We use this case study to discuss the broader-scale applicability of our model for simulating future Arctic infrastructure failure.
Rowan Romeyn, Alfred Hanssen, Bent Ole Ruud, Helene Meling Stemland, and Tor Arne Johansen
The Cryosphere, 15, 283–302, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-283-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-283-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A series of unusual ground motion signatures were identified in geophone recordings at a frost polygon site in Adventdalen on Svalbard. By analysing where the ground motion originated in time and space, we are able to classify them as cryoseisms, also known as frost quakes, a ground-cracking phenomenon that occurs as a result of freezing processes. The waves travelling through the ground produced by these frost quakes also allow us to measure the structure of the permafrost in the near surface.
Lei Cai, Hanna Lee, Kjetil Schanke Aas, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 14, 4611–4626, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4611-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4611-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A sub-grid representation of excess ground ice in the Community Land Model (CLM) is developed as novel progress in modeling permafrost thaw and its impacts under the warming climate. The modeled permafrost degradation with sub-grid excess ice follows the pathway that continuous permafrost transforms into discontinuous permafrost before it disappears, including surface subsidence and talik formation, which are highly permafrost-relevant landscape changes excluded from most land models.
Rupesh Subedi, Steven V. Kokelj, and Stephan Gruber
The Cryosphere, 14, 4341–4364, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4341-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4341-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Permafrost beneath tundra near Lac de Gras (Northwest Territories, Canada) contains more ice and less organic carbon than shown in global compilations. Excess-ice content of 20–60 %, likely remnant Laurentide basal ice, is found in upland till. This study is based on 24 boreholes up to 10 m deep. Findings highlight geology and glacial legacy as determinants of a mosaic of permafrost characteristics with potential for thaw subsidence up to several metres in some locations.
Bin Cao, Stephan Gruber, Donghai Zheng, and Xin Li
The Cryosphere, 14, 2581–2595, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2581-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2581-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study reports that ERA5-Land (ERA5L) soil temperature bias in permafrost regions correlates with the bias in air temperature and with maximum snow height. While global reanalyses are important drivers for permafrost study, ERA5L soil data are not well suited for directly informing permafrost research decision making due to their warm bias in winter. To address this, future soil temperature products in reanalyses will require permafrost-specific alterations to their land surface models.
Ji-Woong Yang, Jinho Ahn, Go Iwahana, Sangyoung Han, Kyungmin Kim, and Alexander Fedorov
The Cryosphere, 14, 1311–1324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1311-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1311-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Thawing permafrost may lead to decomposition of soil carbon and nitrogen and emission of greenhouse gases. Thus, methane and nitrous oxide compositions in ground ice may provide information on their production mechanisms in permafrost. We test conventional wet and dry extraction methods. We find that both methods extract gas from the easily extractable parts of the ice and yield similar results for mixing ratios. However, both techniques are unable to fully extract gas from the ice.
Nikita Demidov, Sebastian Wetterich, Sergey Verkulich, Aleksey Ekaykin, Hanno Meyer, Mikhail Anisimov, Lutz Schirrmeister, Vasily Demidov, and Andrew J. Hodson
The Cryosphere, 13, 3155–3169, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3155-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3155-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
As Norwegian geologist Liestøl (1996) recognised,
in connection with formation of pingos there are a great many unsolved questions. Drillings and temperature measurements through the pingo mound and also through the surrounding permafrost are needed before the problems can be better understood. To shed light on pingo formation here we present the results of first drilling of pingo on Spitsbergen together with results of detailed hydrochemical and stable-isotope studies of massive-ice samples.
Coline Mollaret, Christin Hilbich, Cécile Pellet, Adrian Flores-Orozco, Reynald Delaloye, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 13, 2557–2578, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2557-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2557-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a long-term multisite electrical resistivity tomography monitoring network (more than 1000 datasets recorded from six mountain permafrost sites). Despite harsh and remote measurement conditions, the datasets are of good quality and show consistent spatio-temporal variations yielding significant added value to point-scale borehole information. Observed long-term trends are similar for all permafrost sites, showing ongoing permafrost thaw and ground ice loss due to climatic conditions.
Jing Tao, Randal D. Koster, Rolf H. Reichle, Barton A. Forman, Yuan Xue, Richard H. Chen, and Mahta Moghaddam
The Cryosphere, 13, 2087–2110, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2087-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2087-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The active layer thickness (ALT) in middle-to-high northern latitudes from 1980 to 2017 was produced at 81 km2 resolution by a global land surface model (NASA's CLSM) with forcing fields from a reanalysis data set, MERRA-2. The simulated permafrost distribution and ALTs agree reasonably well with an observation-based map and in situ measurements, respectively. The accumulated above-freezing air temperature and maximum snow water equivalent explain most of the year-to-year variability of ALT.
Robert Kenner, Jeannette Noetzli, Martin Hoelzle, Hugo Raetzo, and Marcia Phillips
The Cryosphere, 13, 1925–1941, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1925-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1925-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A new permafrost mapping method distinguishes between ice-poor and ice-rich permafrost. The approach was tested for the entire Swiss Alps and highlights the dominating influence of the factors elevation and solar radiation on the distribution of ice-poor permafrost. Our method enabled the indication of mean annual ground temperatures and the cartographic representation of permafrost-free belts, which are bounded above by ice-poor permafrost and below by permafrost-containing excess ice.
H. Brendan O'Neill, Stephen A. Wolfe, and Caroline Duchesne
The Cryosphere, 13, 753–773, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-753-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-753-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we present new models to depict ground ice in permafrost in Canada, incorporating knowledge from recent studies. The model outputs we present reproduce observed regional ground ice conditions and are generally comparable with previous mapping. However, our results are more detailed and more accurately reflect ground ice conditions in many regions. The new mapping is an important step toward understanding terrain response to permafrost degradation in Canada.
Stephanie Coulombe, Daniel Fortier, Denis Lacelle, Mikhail Kanevskiy, and Yuri Shur
The Cryosphere, 13, 97–111, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-97-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-97-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides a detailed description of relict glacier ice preserved in the permafrost of Bylot Island (Nunavut). We demonstrate that the 18O composition (-34.0 0.4 ‰) of the ice is consistent with the late Pleistocene age ice in the Barnes Ice Cap. As most of the glaciated Arctic landscapes are still strongly determined by their glacial legacy, the melting of these large ice bodies could have significant impacts on permafrost geosystem landscape dynamics and ecosystems.
Robert G. Way, Antoni G. Lewkowicz, and Yu Zhang
The Cryosphere, 12, 2667–2688, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2667-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2667-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Isolated patches of permafrost in southeast Labrador are among the southernmost lowland permafrost features in Canada. Local characteristics at six sites were investigated from Cartwright, NL (~ 54° N) to Blanc-Sablon, QC (~ 51° N). Annual ground temperatures varied from −0.7 °C to −2.3 °C with permafrost thicknesses of 1.7–12 m. Ground temperatures modelled for two sites showed permafrost disappearing at the southern site by 2060 and persistence beyond 2100 at the northern site only for RCP2.6.
Zeze Ran and Gengnian Liu
The Cryosphere, 12, 2327–2340, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2327-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2327-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This article provides the first rock glacier inventory of Daxue Shan, south- eastern Tibetan Plateau. This study provides important data for exploring the relation between maritime periglacial environments and the development of rock glaciers on the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). It may also highlight the characteristics typical of rock glaciers found in a maritime setting.
Charles J. Abolt, Michael H. Young, Adam L. Atchley, and Dylan R. Harp
The Cryosphere, 12, 1957–1968, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the relationship between ice wedge polygon topography and near-surface ground temperature using a combination of field work and numerical modeling. We analyze a year-long record of ground temperature across a low-centered polygon, then demonstrate that lower rims and deeper troughs promote warmer conditions in the ice wedge in winter. This finding implies that ice wedge cracking and growth, which are driven by cold conditions, can be impeded by rim erosion or trough subsidence.
Bing Gao, Dawen Yang, Yue Qin, Yuhan Wang, Hongyi Li, Yanlin Zhang, and Tingjun Zhang
The Cryosphere, 12, 657–673, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-657-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-657-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study developed a distributed hydrological model coupled with cryospherical processes and applied it in order to simulate the long-term change of frozen ground and its effect on hydrology in the upper Heihe basin. Results showed that the permafrost area shrank by 8.8%, and the frozen depth of seasonally frozen ground decreased. Runoff in cold seasons and annual liquid soil moisture increased due to frozen soils change. Groundwater recharge was enhanced due to the degradation of permafrost.
Youhua Ran, Xin Li, and Guodong Cheng
The Cryosphere, 12, 595–608, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-595-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-595-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Approximately 88 % of the permafrost area in the 1960s has been thermally degraded in the past half century over the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The mean elevations of the very cold, cold, cool, warm, very warm, and likely thawing permafrost areas increased by 88 m, 97 m, 155 m, 185 m, 161 m, and 250 m, respectively. This degradation may lead to increases in risks to infrastructure, flood, reductions in ecosystem resilience, and positive climate feedback.
Lin Liu and Kristine M. Larson
The Cryosphere, 12, 477–489, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-477-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-477-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate the use of reflected GPS signals to measure elevation changes over a permafrost area in northern Alaska. For the first time, we construct a daily-sampled time series of elevation changes over 12 summers. Our results show regular thaw subsidence within each summer and a secular subsidence trend of 0.3 cm per year. This method promises a new way to utilize GPS data in cold regions for studying frozen ground consistently and sustainably over a long time.
Yonghong Yi, John S. Kimball, Richard H. Chen, Mahta Moghaddam, Rolf H. Reichle, Umakant Mishra, Donatella Zona, and Walter C. Oechel
The Cryosphere, 12, 145–161, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-145-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-145-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
An important feature of the Arctic is large spatial heterogeneity in active layer conditions. We developed a modeling framework integrating airborne longwave radar and satellite data to investigate active layer thickness (ALT) sensitivity to landscape heterogeneity in Alaska. We find uncertainty in spatial and vertical distribution of soil organic carbon is the largest factor affecting ALT accuracy. Advances in remote sensing of soil conditions will enable more accurate ALT predictions.
Benjamin Mewes, Christin Hilbich, Reynald Delaloye, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 11, 2957–2974, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2957-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2957-2017, 2017
Defu Zou, Lin Zhao, Yu Sheng, Ji Chen, Guojie Hu, Tonghua Wu, Jichun Wu, Changwei Xie, Xiaodong Wu, Qiangqiang Pang, Wu Wang, Erji Du, Wangping Li, Guangyue Liu, Jing Li, Yanhui Qin, Yongping Qiao, Zhiwei Wang, Jianzong Shi, and Guodong Cheng
The Cryosphere, 11, 2527–2542, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2527-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2527-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The area and distribution of permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau are unclear and controversial. This paper generated a benchmark map based on the modified remote sensing products and validated it using ground-based data sets. Compared with two existing maps, the new map performed better and showed that permafrost covered areas of 1.06 × 106 km2. The results provide more detailed information on the permafrost distribution and basic data for use in future research on the Tibetan Plateau permafrost.
Jorien E. Vonk, Tommaso Tesi, Lisa Bröder, Henry Holmstrand, Gustaf Hugelius, August Andersson, Oleg Dudarev, Igor Semiletov, and Örjan Gustafsson
The Cryosphere, 11, 1879–1895, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1879-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1879-2017, 2017
Florence Magnin, Jean-Yves Josnin, Ludovic Ravanel, Julien Pergaud, Benjamin Pohl, and Philip Deline
The Cryosphere, 11, 1813–1834, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1813-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1813-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Permafrost degradation in high mountain rock walls provokes destabilisation, constituting a threat for human activities. In the Mont Blanc massif, more than 700 rockfalls have been inventoried in recent years (2003, 2007–2015). Understanding permafrost evolution is thus crucial to sustain this densely populated area. This study investigates the changes in rock wall permafrost from 1850 to the recent period and possible optimistic or pessimistic evolutions during the 21st century.
Gonçalo Vieira, Carla Mora, and Ali Faleh
The Cryosphere, 11, 1691–1705, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1691-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1691-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The Toubkal is the highest massif in North Africa (4167 m). Landforms and deposits above 3000 m show the effects of frost action in the present-day geomorphological dynamics, but data on ground temperatures were lacking. In this study ground surface temperature data measured across an altitudinal transect are presented and analysed for the first time. The highlight is the possible occurrence of permafrost at an elevation of 3800 m, which may be of high ecological and hydrological significance.
Sebastian Westermann, Maria Peter, Moritz Langer, Georg Schwamborn, Lutz Schirrmeister, Bernd Etzelmüller, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 11, 1441–1463, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1441-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1441-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate a remote-sensing-based scheme estimating the evolution of ground temperature and active layer thickness by means of a ground thermal model. A comparison to in situ observations from the Lena River delta in Siberia indicates that the model is generally capable of reproducing the annual temperature regime and seasonal thawing of the ground. The approach could hence be a first step towards remote detection of ground thermal conditions in permafrost areas.
Gautier Davesne, Daniel Fortier, Florent Domine, and James T. Gray
The Cryosphere, 11, 1351–1370, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1351-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1351-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents data from Mont Jacques-Cartier, the highest summit in the Appalachians of south-eastern Canada, to demonstrate that the occurrence of contemporary permafrost body is associated with a very thin and wind-packed winter snow cover which brings local azonal topo-climatic conditions on the dome-shaped summit. This study is an important preliminary step in modelling the regional spatial distribution of permafrost on the highest summits in eastern North America.
Jonas Wicky and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 11, 1311–1325, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1311-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1311-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Talus slopes are a widespread geomorphic feature, which may show permafrost conditions even at low elevation due to cold microclimates induced by a gravity-driven internal air circulation. We show for the first time a numerical simulation of this internal air circulation of a field-scale talus slope. Results indicate that convective heat transfer leads to a pronounced ground cooling in the lower part of the talus slope favoring the persistence of permafrost.
Graham L. Gilbert, Stefanie Cable, Christine Thiel, Hanne H. Christiansen, and Bo Elberling
The Cryosphere, 11, 1265–1282, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1265-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1265-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the Holocene development of the Zackenberg River delta (northeast Greenland) using a combination of sedimentology, cryostratigraphy, and geochronology. We distinguish four major depositional environments and identify three cryofacies. We apply the principles of cryostratigraphy to infer the aggradational history of permafrost. This paper contains an archive of ground ice in epigenetic permafrost in northeast Greenland.
Xiaoqing Peng, Tingjun Zhang, Oliver W. Frauenfeld, Kang Wang, Bin Cao, Xinyue Zhong, Hang Su, and Cuicui Mu
The Cryosphere, 11, 1059–1073, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1059-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1059-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Previous research has paid significant attention to permafrost, e.g. active layer thickness, soil temperature, area extent, and associated degradation leading to other changes. However, less focus has been given to seasonally frozen ground and vast area extent. We combined data from more than 800 observation stations, as well as gridded data, to investigate soil freeze depth across China. The results indicate that soil freeze depth decreases with climate warming.
Carina Schuh, Andrew Frampton, and Hanne Hvidtfeldt Christiansen
The Cryosphere, 11, 635–651, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-635-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-635-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates how soil moisture retention characteristics impact ice and moisture redistribution, heat transport and active layer thickness under permafrost conditions. This is relevant for understanding how climate change interacts with permafrost, which is important because there is much stored carbon in permafrost, which may be released to the atmosphere as permafrost degrades and may then act to further enhance climate warming.
Cited articles
Allen, S. K. and Huggel, C.: Extremely warm temperatures as a potential cause of recent high mountain rockfall, Global Planet. Change, 107, 59–69, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.04.007, 2013.
Anisimov, O., Shiklomanov, N., and Nelson, F.: Variability of seasonal thaw depth in permafrost regions: a stochastic modeling approach, Ecol. Model., 153, 217–227, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3800(02)00016-9, 2002.
Beltrami, H.: Climate from borehole data: Energy fluxes and temperatures since 1500, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 2111, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL015702, 2002.
Bence, J. R.: Analysis of short time series: correcting for autocorrelation, Ecology, 76, 628–639, 1995.
Bommer, C., Phillips, M., and Arenson, L. U.: Practical recommendations for planning, constructing and maintaining infrastructure in mountain Permafrost, Permafrost Periglac., 21, 97–104, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.679, 2010.
Brenning, A., Gruber, S., and Hoelzle, M.: Sampling and statistical analyses of BTS measurements, Permafrost Periglac., 16, 383–393, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.541, 2005.
Bronaugh, D., Werner, A., and For the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium: zyp: Zhang + Yue-Pilon trends package, available at: http://cran.r-project.org/package=zyp (last access: July 2014), 2013.
Burn, C. and Smith, C.: Observations of the "Thermal Offset" in near-surface mean annual ground temperatures at several sites near Mayo, Yukon Territory, Canada, Arctic, 41, 99–104, https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic1700, 1988.
Christiansen, H. H.: Meteorological control on interannual spatial and temporal variations in snow cover and ground thawing in two northeast Greenlandic Circumpolar-Active-Layer-Monitoring(CALM) sites, Permafrost Periglac., 15, 155–169, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.489, 2004.
Christiansen, H. H., Etzelmüller, B., Isaksen, K., Juliussen, H., Farbrot, H., Humlum, O., Johansson, M., Ingeman-Nielsen, T., Kristensen, L., Hjort, J., and Others, A.: The thermal state of permafrost in the nordic area during the international polar year 2007–2009, Permafrost Periglac., 21, 156–181, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.687, 2010.
Cleveland, R., Cleveland, W., McRae, J. E., and Terpenning, I.: STL: A seasonal-trend decomposition procedure based on loess, J. Official Stat., 6, 3–73, 1990.
Cleveland, W.: Robust locally weighted regression and smoothing scatterplots, J. Am. Stat. Assoc., 74, 829–836, https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1979.10481038, 1979.
Cremonese, E., Gruber, S., Phillips, M., Pogliotti, P., Boeckli, L., Noetzli, J., Suter, C., Bodin, X., Crepaz, A., Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Lang, K., Letey, S., Mair, V., Morra di Cella, U., Ravanel, L., Scapozza, C., Seppi, R., and Zischg, A.: Brief Communication: "An inventory of permafrost evidence for the European Alps", The Cryosphere, 5, 651–657, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-651-2011, 2011.
Dal Piaz, G. V.: Le Alpi dal M. Bianco al Lago Maggiore: 13 Itinerari Automobilistici e 97 Escursioni a Piedi, Vol. 1, Seven Hills Books, Padova, Italy, 1992.
Etzelmüller, B.: The regional distribution of mountain permafrost in Iceland, Permafrost Periglac., 199, 185–199, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.583, 2007.
Etzelmüller, B.: Recent advances in mountain permafrost research, Permafrost Periglac., 24, 99–107, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1772, 2013.
Evans, I. S. and Cox, N. J.: Global variations of local asymmetry in glacier altitude: separation of north–south and east–west components, J. Glaciol., 51, 469–482, 2005.
Farbrot, H., Isaksen, K., Etzelmüller, B., and Gisnås, K.: Ground thermal regime and permafrost distribution under a changing climate in Northern Norway, Permafrost Periglac., 24, 20–38, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1763, 2013.
Fischer, L., Purves, R. S., Huggel, C., Noetzli, J., and Haeberli, W.: On the influence of topographic, geological and cryospheric factors on rock avalanches and rockfalls in high-mountain areas, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 12, 241–254, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-12-241-2012, 2012.
Fischer, L., Huggel, C., Kääb, A., and Haeberli, W.: Slope failures and erosion rates on a glacierized high-mountain face under climatic changes, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 38, 836–846, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3355, 2013.
Frei, C. and Schär, C.: A precipitation climatology of the alps from high-resolution rain-gauge observations, Int. J. Climatol., 18, 873–900, 1998.
Geotomosoft: Res2dinv software Tutorial: 2-D and 3-D electrical imaging surveys, available at: www.geotomosoft.com, last access: July 2014.
Gisnås, K., Westermann, S., Schuler, T. V., Litherland, T., Isaksen, K., Boike, J., and Etzelmüller, B.: A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover, The Cryosphere, 8, 2063–2074, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014, 2014.
Gocic, M. and Trajkovic, S.: Analysis of changes in meteorological variables using Mann–Kendall and Sen's slope estimator statistical tests in Serbia, Global Planet. Change, 100, 172–182, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.10.014, 2013.
Goodrich, L. E.: The influence of snow cover on the ground thermal regime, Can. Geotech. J., 19, 421–432, https://doi.org/10.1139/t82-047, 1982.
Gruber, S.: Permafrost thaw and destabilization of Alpine rock walls in the hot summer of 2003, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L13504, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL020051, 2004.
Gruber, S. and Haeberli, W.: Permafrost in steep bedrock slopes and its temperature related destabilization following climate change, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 112, F02S18, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000547, 2007.
Gruber, S. and Haeberli, W.: Mountain permafrost, in: Permafrost Soils, Springer, Innsbruck, Austria, 33–44, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69371-0, 2009.
Gruber, S. and Hoelzle, M.: The cooling effect of coarse blocks revisited: a modeling study of a purely conductive mechanism, in: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Permafrost, 29 June–3 July 2008, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, 557–561, 2008.
Gubler, S., Fiddes, J., Keller, M., and Gruber, S.: Scale-dependent measurement and analysis of ground surface temperature variability in alpine terrain, The Cryosphere, 5, 431–443, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-431-2011, 2011.
Guglielmin, M.: Ground surface temperature (GST), active layer and permafrost monitoring in continental Antarctica, Permafrost Periglac., 17, 133–143, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.553, 2006.
Guglielmin, M. and Cannone, N.: A permafrost warming in a cooling Antarctica?, Climatic Change, 111, 177–195, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0137-2, 2012.
Guglielmin, M. and Vannuzzo, C.: Studio della distribuzione del permafrost e delle relazioni con i ghiacciai della piccola età glaciale nell'alta valtournenche (Valle d'Aosta, Italia), Atti Ticinesi di Scienze della Terra, 38, 119–127, 1995.
Guglielmin, M., Aldighieri, B., and Testa, B.: PERMACLIM: a model for the distribution of mountain permafrost, based on climatic observations, Geomorphology, 51, 245–257, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00221-0, 2003.
Guglielmin, M., Dalle Fratte, M., and Cannone, N.: Permafrost warming and vegetation changes in continental Antarctica, Environ. Res. Lett., 9, 045001, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/4/045001, 2014a.
Guglielmin, M., Worland, M. R., Baio, F., and Convey, P.: Permafrost and snow monitoring at Rothera Point (Adelaide Island, Maritime Antarctica): implications for rock weathering in cryotic conditions, Geomorphology, 225, 47–56, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.03.051, 2014b.
Haeberli, W.: Mountain permafrost research frontiers and a special long-term challenge, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 96, 71–76, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2013.02.004, 2013.
Haeberli, W., Noetzli, J., Arenson, L. U., Delaloye, R., Gärtner-Roer, I., Gruber, S., Isaksen, K., Kneisel, C., Krautblatter, M., and Phillips, M.: Mountain permafrost: development and challenges of a young research field, J. Glaciol., 56, 1043–1058, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214311796406121, 2010.
Hamed, K.: Enhancing the effectiveness of prewhitening in trend analysis of hydrologic data, J. Hydrol., 368, 143–155, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.01.040, 2009.
Harris, C.: Warming permafrost in European mountains, Global Planet. Change, 39, 215–225, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2003.04.001, 2003.
Harris, C. and Haeberli, W.: Permafrost monitoring in the high mountains of Europe: the PACE project in its global context, Permafrost Periglac., 11, 3–11, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.377, 2001.
Harris, C., Arenson, L. U., Christiansen, H. H., Etzelmüller, B., Frauenfelder, R., Gruber, S., Haeberli, W., Hauck, C., Hölzle, M., Humlum, O., Isaksen, K., Kääb, A., Kern-Lütschg, M., Lehning, M., Matsuoka, N., Murton, J., Nötzli, J., Phillips, M., Ross, N., Seppälä, M., Springman, S., and Vonder Mühll, D.: Permafrost and climate in Europe: monitoring and modelling thermal, geomorphological and geotechnical responses, Earth-Sci. Rev., 92, 117–171, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.12.002, 2009.
Hauck, C.: Frozen ground monitoring using DC resistivity tomography, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 12-1–12-4, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL014995, 2002.
Helsel, D. R. and Hirsch, R. M.: Trend analysis, in: Statistical Methods in Water Resources, chap. 12, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Holland, 1992.
Hilbich, C., Hauck, C., Hoelzle, M., Scherler, M., Schudel, L., Völksch, I., Vonder Mühll, D., and Mäusbacher, R.: Monitoring mountain permafrost evolution using electrical resistivity tomography: a 7-year study of seasonal, annual, and long-term variations at Schilthorn, Swiss Alps, J. Geophys. Res., 113, F01S90, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000799, 2008.
Hilbich, C., Marescot, L., Hauck, C., Loke, M.H. and Mäusbacher, R.: Applicability of Electrical Resistivity Tomography Monitoring to coarse blocky and ice-rich permafrost landforms, Permafrost Periglac., 20, 269–284, 2009.
Hipp, T., Etzelmüller, B., and Westermann, S.: Permafrost in Alpine Rock faces from Jotunheimen and Hurrungane, Southern Norway, Permafrost Periglac., 25, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1799, 2014.
Hoelzle, M., Haeberli, W., and Stocker-Mittaz, C.: Miniature ground temperature data logger measurements 2000–2002 in the Murtèl-Corvatsch area, Eastern Swiss Alps, in: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost, 1, 7–12, available at: http://www.geo.uzh.ch/ hoelzle/hoelzleetal2003b.pdf (last access: July 2014), 2003.
Isaksen K., Holmlund, P., Sollid, J. L., and Harris, C.: Three deep alpine-permafrost boreholes in svalbard and scandinavia, Permafrost Periglac., 12, 13–25, 2001.
Isaksen, K., Sollid, J. L., Holmlund, P., and Harris, C.: Recent warming of mountain permafrost in Svalbard and Scandinavia, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F02S04, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000522, 2007.
Isaksen, K., Ødegård, R. S., Etzelmüller, B., Hilbich, C., Hauck, C., Farbrot, H., Eiken, T., Hygen, H. O., and Hipp, T. F.: Degrading mountain permafrost in Southern Norway: spatial and temporal variability of mean ground temperatures, 1999–2009, Permafrost Periglac., 22, 361–377, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.728, 2011.
Jonsell, U., Hock, R., and Duguay, M.: Recent air and ground temperature increases at Tarfala Research Station, Sweden, Polar Res., 1, 1–11, available at: http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/19807 (last access: July 2014), 2013.
Kane, D. L., Hinkel, K. M., Goering, D. J., Hinzman, L. D., and Outcalt, S. I.: Non-conductive heat transfer associated with frozen soils, Global Planet. Change, 29, 275–292, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8181(01)00095-9, 2001.
Karunaratne, K. C. and Burn, C. R.: Relations between air and surface temperature in discontinuous permafrost terrain near Mayo, Yukon Territory, Can. J. Earth Sci., 1451, 1437–1451, https://doi.org/10.1139/E04-082, 2004.
Keller, F.: Automated mapping of mountain permafrost using the program PERMAKART within the geographical information system ARC/INFO, Permafrost Periglac., 3, 133–138, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.3430030210, 1992.
Keller, F. and Gubler, H. U.: Interaction between snow cover and high mountain permafrost, Murtel-Corvatsch, Swiss Alps, in: vol. 1, Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Permafrost, Beijing, 21–25 July, Zurich, Switzerland, 332–337, 1993.
Kendall, M. G.: Rank Correlation Methods, Griffin, Oxford, England, 1948.
Kousari, M. R., Ahani, H., and Hendi-zadeh, R.: Temporal and spatial trend detection of maximum air temperature in Iran during 1960–2005, Global Planet. Change, 111, 97–110, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.08.011, 2013.
Langer, M., Westermann, S., Heikenfeld, M., Dorn, W., and Boike, J.: Satellite-based modeling of permafrost temperatures in a tundra lowland landscape, Remote Sens. Environ., 135, 12–24, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.03.011, 2013.
Luetschg, M., Lehning, M., and Haeberli, W.: A sensitivity study of factors influencing warm/thin permafrost in the Swiss Alps, J. Glaciol., 54, 696–704, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214308786570881, 2008.
Mann, H. B.: Nonparametric tests against trend, Econometrics, 13, 245–259, 1945.
Mercalli, L. and Cat Berro, D.: Atlante Climatico Della Valle d'Aosta, Vol. 2, SMS, Oxford, England, 2003.
Noetzli, J. and Gruber, S.: Transient thermal effects in Alpine permafrost, The Cryosphere, 3, 85–99, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-3-85-2009, 2009.
Noetzli, J., Gruber, S., Kohl, T., Salzmann, N., and Haeberli, W.: Three-dimensional distribution and evolution of permafrost temperatures in idealized high-mountain topography, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F02S13, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000545, 2007.
Ødegård, R. and Isaksen, K.: MAGST in mountain permafrost, Dovrefjell, southern Norway, 2001–2006, in: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Permafrost, 1311–1315, available at: https://www.matnat.uio.no/geo/english/research/projects/cryolink/publications/NICOP oedegaard et al.pdf (last access: July 2014), 2008.
Osterkamp, T. E.: The recent warming of permafrost in Alaska, Global Planet. Change, 49, 187–202, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2005.09.001, 2005.
Osterkamp, T. E.: Characteristics of the recent warming of permafrost in Alaska, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F02S02, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000578, 2007.
PERMOS: Permafrost in Switzerland 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, Glaciological Report Permafrost No. 6/7, Tech. Rep. 6, Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland, 2009.
PERMOS: Permafrost in Switzerland 2008/2009 and 2009/2010, Glaciological Report Permafrost No. 10/11, Tech. Rep. 10, Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland, 2013.
Phillips, M. and Mutter, E.: Rapid degradation of ground ice in a ventilated talus slope: flüela Pass, Swiss Alps, Permafrost Periglac., 14, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.638, 2009.
Pogliotti, P.: Influence of Snow Cover on MAGST over Complex Morphologies in Mountain Permafrost Regions, PhD thesis, University of Turin, Turin, Italy, 2010.
R Core Team: R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, available at: http://www.r-project.org/, last access: July 2014.
Rist, A. and Phillips, M.: First results of investigations on hydrothermal processes within the active layer above alpine permafrost in steep terrain, Norsk Geogr. Tidsskr., 59, 177–183, https://doi.org/10.1080/00291950510020574, 2005.
Rödder, T. and Kneisel, C.: Influence of snow cover and grain size on the ground thermal regime in the discontinuous permafrost zone, Swiss Alps, Geomorphology, 175–176, 176–189, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.07.008, 2012.
Romanovsky, V. E., Burgess, M., Smith, S., Yoshikawa, K., and Brown, J.: Permafrost temperature records: indicators of climate change, EOS T. Am. Geophys. Un., 83, 589, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002EO000402, 2002.
Romanovsky, V. E., Sergueev, D. O., and Osterkamp, T. E.: Temporal variations in the active layer and near-surface permafrost temperatures at the long-term observatories in northern Alaska, Month, 8, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost, 21–25 July, Zurich, Switzerland, 2003.
Romanovsky, V. E., Drozdov, D. S., Oberman, N. G., Malkova, G. V., Kholodov, A. L., Marchenko, S. S., Moskalenko, N. G., Sergeev, D. O., Ukraintseva, N. G., Abramov, A., Gilichinsky, D., and Vasiliev, A. A.: Thermal state of permafrost in Russia, Permafrost Periglac., 21, 136–155, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.683, 2010.
Sandmeier: ReflexW Scientific Software, Sandmeier geophysical research, available at: www.sandmeier-geo.de, last access: 2 April 2015, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2014.
Scherler, M., Hauck, C., Hoelzle, M., Stähli, M., and Völksch, I.: Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site, Permafrost Periglac., 21, 325–334, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.694, 2010.
Schmid, M.-O., Gubler, S., Fiddes, J., and Gruber, S.: Inferring snowpack ripening and melt-out from distributed measurements of near-surface ground temperatures, The Cryosphere, 6, 1127–1139, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1127-2012, 2012.
Schneider, S., Hoelzle, M., and Hauck, C.: Influence of surface and subsurface heterogeneity on observed borehole temperatures at a mountain permafrost site in the Upper Engadine, Swiss Alps, The Cryosphere, 6, 517–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-517-2012, 2012.
Sen, P. K.: Estimates of the regression coefficient based on Kendall's tau, J. Am. Stat. Assoc., 63, 1379–1389, https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1968.10480934, 1968.
Smith, M. and Riseborough, D.: Permafrost monitoring and detection of climate change, Permafrost Periglac., 7, 301–309, 1996.
Smith, S. L., Burgess, M., Riseborough, D., and Mark Nixon, F.: Recent trends from Canadian permafrost thermal monitoring network sites, Permafrost Periglac., 16, 19–30, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.511, 2005.
Smith, S. L., Romanovsky, V. E., Lewkowicz, A. G., Burn, C. R., Allard, M., Clow, G., Yoshikawa, K., and Throop, J.: Thermal state of permafrost in North America: a contribution to the international polar year, Permafrost Periglac., 21, 117–135, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.690, 2010.
Springman, S. and Arenson, L. U.: Recent advances in permafrost geotechnics, in: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Permafrost, 29 June–3 July 2008, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, 1685–1694, 2008.
Stoffel, M., Tiranti, D., and Huggel, C.: Climate change impacts on mass movements – case studies from the European Alps, Sci. Total Environ., 493, 1255–1266, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.102, 2014.
van Everdingen, R. O.: Multi-language glossary of permafrost and related ground-ice terms, Tech. rep., International Permafrost Association, Boulder, Colorado, available at: https://nsidc.org/fgdc/glossary/ (last access: July 2014), 2005.
von Storch, H. and Navarra, A.: Analysis of climate variability: applications of statistical techniques, Springer, Berlin, Germany, 1999.
Vonder Mühll, D.: Thermal variations of mountain permafrost: an example of measurements since 1987 in the Swiss Alps, in: Global Change and Protected Areas, Springer Netherlands, 83–95, 2001.
Wollschläger, U., Gerhards, H., Yu, Q., and Roth, K.: Multi-channel ground-penetrating radar to explore spatial variations in thaw depth and moisture content in the active layer of a permafrost site, The Cryosphere, 4, 269–283, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-4-269-2010, 2010.
Wright, N., Hayashi, M., and Quinton, W. L.: Spatial and temporal variations in active layer thawing and their implication on runoff generation in peat-covered permafrost terrain, Water Resour. Res., 45, W05414, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR006880, 2009.
Wu, Q. and Zhang, T.: Recent permafrost warming on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D13108,https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009539, 2008.
Zenklusen Mutter, E. and Phillips, M.: Active layer characteristics at ten borehole sites in Alpine permafrost terrain, Switzerland, Permafrost Periglac., 23, 138–151, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1738, 2012.
Zenklusen Mutter, E., Blanchet, J., and Phillips, M.: Analysis of ground temperature trends in Alpine permafrost using generalized least squares, J. Geophys. Res., 115, F04009, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JF001648, 2010.
Zhang, T.: Influence of the seasonal snow cover on the ground thermal regime: an overview, Rev. Geophys., 43, RG4002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004RG000157, 2005.
Short summary
This study presents the thermal state and recent evolution of permafrost at Cime Bianche.
The analysis reveals that (i) spatial variability of MAGST is greater than its interannual variability and is controlled by snow duration and air temperature during the snow-free period, (ii) the ALT has a pronounced spatial variability caused by a different subsurface ice and water content, and (iii) permafrost is warming at significant rates below 8m of depth.
This study presents the thermal state and recent evolution of permafrost at Cime Bianche.
The...
