scholarly journals Active layer thermal monitoring at Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1423-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. M. Michel ◽  
C. E. G. R. Schaefer ◽  
F. N. B. Simas ◽  
Francelino M. R. ◽  
E. I. Fernandes-Filho ◽  
...  

Abstract. International attention to the climate change phenomena has grown in the last decade; the active layer and permafrost are of great importance in understanding processes and future trends due to their role in energy flux regulation. The objective of the this paper is to present active layer temperature data for one CALM-S site located at Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica over an fifth seven month period (2008–2012). The monitoring site was installed during the summer of 2008 and consists of thermistors (accuracy of ± 0.2 °C), arranged vertically with probes at different depths, recording data at hourly intervals in a~high capacity data logger. A series of statistical analysis were performed to describe the soil temperature time series, including a linear fit in order to identify global trend and a series of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were tested in order to define the best fit for the data. The controls of weather on the thermal regime of the active layer have been identified, providing insights about the influence of climate chance over the permafrost. The active layer thermal regime in the studied period was typical of periglacial environment, with extreme variation at the surface during summer resulting in frequent freeze and thaw cycles. The active layer thickness (ALT) over the studied period showed variability related to different annual weather conditions, reaching a maximum of 117.5 cm in 2009. The ARIMA model was considered appropriate to treat the dataset, enabling more conclusive analysis and predictions when longer data sets are available. Despite the variability when comparing temperature readings and active layer thickness over the studied period, no warming trend was detected.

Solid Earth ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1361-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. M. Michel ◽  
C. E. G. R. Schaefer ◽  
F. M. B. Simas ◽  
M. R. Francelino ◽  
E. I. Fernandes-Filho ◽  
...  

Abstract. International attention to climate change phenomena has grown in the last decade; the active layer and permafrost are of great importance in understanding processes and future trends due to their role in energy flux regulation. The objective of this paper is to present active-layer temperature data for one Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring South hemisphere (CALM-S) site located on the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, maritime Antarctica over an 57-month period (2008–2012). The monitoring site was installed during the summer of 2008 and consists of thermistors (accuracy of ±0.2 °C), arranged vertically with probes at different depths, recording data at hourly intervals in a high-capacity data logger. A series of statistical analyses was performed to describe the soil temperature time series, including a linear fit in order to identify global trends, and a series of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models was tested in order to define the best fit for the data. The affects of weather on the thermal regime of the active layer have been identified, providing insights into the influence of climate change on permafrost. The active-layer thermal regime in the studied period was typical of periglacial environments, with extreme variation in surface during the summer resulting in frequent freeze and thaw cycles. The active-layer thickness (ALT) over the studied period shows a degree of variability related to different annual weather conditions, reaching a maximum of 117.5 cm in 2009. The ARIMA model could describe the data adequately and is an important tool for more conclusive analysis and predictions when longer data sets are available. Despite the variability when comparing temperature readings and ACT over the studied period, no trend can be identified.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Hrbáček ◽  
Daniel Nývlt ◽  
Kamil Láska ◽  
Michaela Kňažková ◽  
Barbora Kampová ◽  
...  

This study summarizes the current state of the active layer and permafrost research on James Ross Island. The analysis of climate parameters covers the reference period 2011–2017. The mean annual air temperature at the AWS-JGM site was -6.9°C (ranged from -3.9°C to -8.2°C). The mean annual ground temperature at the depth of 5 cm was -5.5°C (ranged from -3.3°C to -6.7°C) and it also reached -5.6°C (ranged from -4.0 to -6.8°C) at the depth of 50 cm. The mean daily ground temperature at the depth of 5 cm correlated moderately up to strongly with the air temperature depending on the season of the year. Analysis of the snow effect on the ground thermal regime confirmed a low insulating effect of snow cover when snow thickness reached up to 50 cm. A thicker snow accumulation, reaching at least 70 cm, can develop around the hyaloclastite breccia boulders where a well pronounced insulation effect on the near-surface ground thermal regime was observed. The effect of lithology on the ground physical properties and the active layer thickness was also investigated. Laboratory analysis of ground thermal properties showed variation in thermal conductivity (0.3 to 0.9 W m-1 K-1). The thickest active layer (89 cm) was observed on the Berry Hill slopes site, where the lowest thawing degree days index (321 to 382°C·day) and the highest value of thermal conductivity (0.9 W m-1 K-1) was observed. The clearest influence of lithological conditions on active layer thickness was observed on the CALM-S grid. The site comprises a sandy Holocene marine terrace and muddy sand of the Whisky Bay Formation. Surveying using a manual probe, ground penetrating radar, and an electromagnetic conductivity meter clearly showed the effect of the lithological boundary on local variability of the active layer thickness.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 4033-4074
Author(s):  
P. Pogliotti ◽  
M. Guglielmin ◽  
E. Cremonese ◽  
U. Morra di Cella ◽  
G. Filippa ◽  
...  

Abstract. The objective of this paper is to provide a first synthesis on the state and recent evolution of permafrost at the monitoring site of Cime Bianche (3100 m a.s.l.). The analysis is based on seven years of ground temperatures observations in two boreholes and seven surface points. The analysis aims to quantify the spatial and temporal variability of ground surface temperatures in relation to snow cover, the small scale spatial variability of the active layer thickness and the warming trends on deep permafrost temperatures. Results show that the heterogeneity of snow cover thickness, both in space and time, is the main factor controlling ground surface temperatures and leads to a mean range of spatial variability (2.5±0.15°C) which far exceeds the mean range of observed inter-annual variability (1.6±0.12°C). The active layer thickness measured in two boreholes 30 m apart, shows a mean difference of 2.03±0.15 m with the active layer of one borehole consistently lower. As revealed by temperature analysis and geophysical soundings, such a difference is mainly driven by the ice/water content in the sub-surface and not by the snow cover regimes. The analysis of deep temperature time series reveals that permafrost is warming. The detected linear trends are statistically significant starting from depth below 8 m, span the range 0.1–0.01°C year−1 and decrease exponentially with depth. Our findings are discussed in the context of the existing literature.


Geomorphology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 225 ◽  
pp. 36-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan C.C. Almeida ◽  
Carlos Ernesto G.R. Schaefer ◽  
Raphael B.A. Fernandes ◽  
Thiago T.C. Pereira ◽  
Alexandre Nieuwendam ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 647-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pogliotti ◽  
M. Guglielmin ◽  
E. Cremonese ◽  
U. Morra di Cella ◽  
G. Filippa ◽  
...  

Abstract. The objective of this paper is to provide a first synthesis on the state and recent evolution of permafrost at the monitoring site of Cime Bianche (3100 m a.s.l.) on the Italian side of the Western Alps. The analysis is based on 7 years of ground temperature observations in two boreholes and seven surface points. The analysis aims to quantify the spatial and temporal variability of ground surface temperature in relation to snow cover, the small-scale spatial variability of the active layer thickness and current temperature trends in deep permafrost. Results show that the heterogeneity of snow cover thickness, both in space and time, is the main factor controlling ground surface temperatures and leads to a mean range of spatial variability (2.5 ± 0.1 °C) which far exceeds the mean range of observed inter-annual variability (1.6 ± 0.1 °C). The active layer thickness measured in two boreholes at a distance of 30 m shows a mean difference of 2.0 ± 0.1 m with the active layer of one borehole consistently deeper. As revealed by temperature analysis and geophysical soundings, such a difference is mainly driven by the ice/water content in the sub-surface and not by the snow cover regimes. The analysis of deep temperature time series reveals that permafrost is warming. The detected trends are statistically significant starting from a depth below 8 m with warming rates between 0.1 and 0.01 °C yr−1.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeny Abakumov

Natural and anthropogenically-affected Cryosols of the Fildes Peninsula (King George Island, NWAntarcticPeninsula) from the surroundings of Russian polar station Bellingshausen were investigated by vertical electric sounding. The aim of the study was to asses the thawing depth and active layer thickness. Natural Turbic Croysols showed lesser thickness of active layer than the soils of former reclaimed wastes disposals. Average thickness of the active layer was 0.3-0.4 m in natural soil and 1.3-1.4 m in anthropogenically-affected ones. This was affected by the change in the temperature regime of soils, and related to the destruction of upper organic layer and mechanical disturbance of the active soil layer on the waste polygons. Itwasshown,thattheuseof vertical electric soundingmethodologyinthesoilsurveysisusefulfor the identificationofthe permafrostdepthwithoutdiggingofsoilpit.Thismethodallowstheidentificationofsoilheterogeneity, because the electric resistivity (ER) values are strongly affected by soil properties. ER also intensively changes on the border of differentgeochemicalregimes,i.e.ontheborderoftheactivelayerandthepermafrost. The lowest ER values were found for the upper organic horizons, the highest for permafrost table. Technogenic Superficial Formations exhibit lower resistivity values than natural soils. Therefore, disposition of WP and disturbance of the soil surface, results in permafrost degradation and an increase in the active layer thickness. 


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