Brief Communication: &amp;quot;An inventory of permafrost evidence for the European Alps&amp;quot;

Cremonese, Edoardo; Gruber, Stephan; Phillips, Marcia; Pogliotti, Paolo; Boeckli, Lorenz; Noetzli, Jeannette; Suter, C.; Bodin, Xavier; Crepaz, A.; Kellerer‐Pirklbauer, Andreas; Lang, K.; Letey, S.; Mair, Volkmar; Cella, Umberto Morra di; Ravanel, Ludovic; Scapozza, Cristian; Seppi, Roberto; Zischg, Andreas Paul

doi:10.5194/tc-5-651-2011

Cited by 64 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Here, a global extension of consistent evidence inventories (e.g., Cremonese et al, 2011) would be instrumental. Finally, quantifying the population living in permafrost regions would be an important additional metric to inform future research strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Derivation and analysis of a high-resolution estimate of global permafrost zonation

2012

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Abstract. Permafrost underlies much of Earth's surface and interacts with climate, eco-systems and human systems. It is a complex phenomenon controlled by climate and (sub-) surface properties and reacts to change with variable delay. Heterogeneity and sparse data challenge the modeling of its spatial distribution. Currently, there is no data set to adequately inform global studies of permafrost. The available data set for the Northern Hemisphere is frequently used for model evaluation, but its quality and consistency are difficult to assess. Here, a global model of permafrost extent and dataset of permafrost zonation are presented and discussed, extending earlier studies by including the Southern Hemisphere, by consistent data and methods, by attention to uncertainty and scaling. Established relationships between air temperature and the occurrence of permafrost are re-formulated into a model that is parametrized using published estimates. It is run with a high-resolution (< 1 km) global elevation data and air temperatures based on the NCAR-NCEP reanalysis and CRU TS 2.0. The resulting data provide more spatial detail and a consistent extrapolation to remote regions, while aggregated values resemble previous studies. The estimated uncertainties affect regional patterns and aggregate number, and provide interesting insight. The permafrost area, i.e. the actual surface area underlain by permafrost, north of 60 • S is estimated to be 13-18 × 10 6 km 2 or 9-14 % of the exposed land surface. The global permafrost area including Antarctic and sub-sea permafrost is estimated to be 16-21 × 10 6 km 2 . The global permafrost region, i.e. the exposed land surface below which some permafrost can be expected, is estimated to be 22 ± 3 × 10 6 km 2 . A large proportion of this exhibits considerable topography and spatially-discontinuous permafrost, underscoring the importance of attention to scaling issues and heterogeneity in large-area models.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Derivation and analysis of a high-resolution estimate of global permafrost zonation

2012

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“…APMOD is based on an Alpine-wide evidence collection (Cremonese et al, 2011) and uses mean annual air temperatures (MAAT), potential incoming solar radiation (PISR) and the mean annual sum of precipitation (PRECIP) as explanatory variables. APMOD involves two sub-models for two different land cover classes: The debris model has been calibrated using rock glacier inventories and predicts the probability of rock glaciers being intact as opposed to relict.…”

Section: A Permafrost Index Based On a Probability Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An additional measure describing the agreement of the terrain attributes (PF loc ) was calculated for each observation point. This is necessary because some observation points are not suitable for model evaluation and needed to be excluded (Cremonese et al, 2011), which were not used for model calibration in Boeckli et al (2012) and are thus available for evaluation. Blue dots represent rock glaciers, and red crosses represent evidence points (summarized in Table 3).…”

Section: Evaluation Of a Permafrost Index Mapmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3. Absolute difference between terrain variables calculated based on ASTER GDEM and the ones provided by the data contributor into the permafrost evidence collection (Cremonese et al, 2011). observation with one of the three measures = 0 is classified as "strongly disagree", whatever the other two measures are.…”

Section: Evaluation Of a Permafrost Index Mapmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on a systematic collection of permafrost evidence (Cremonese et al, 2011), an Alpine-wide Permafrost MODel (APMOD) has been developed recently (Boeckli et al, 2012). Compared to previous studies, APMOD has a unique data basis that is distributed over the entire Alps.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Permafrost distribution in the European Alps: calculation and evaluation of an index map and summary statistics

et al. 2012

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Abstract. The objective of this study is the production of an Alpine Permafrost Index Map (APIM) covering the entire European Alps. A unified statistical model that is based on Alpine-wide permafrost observations is used for debris and bedrock surfaces across the entire Alps. The explanatory variables of the model are mean annual air temperatures, potential incoming solar radiation and precipitation. Offset terms were applied to make model predictions for topographic and geomorphic conditions that differ from the terrain features used for model fitting. These offsets are based on literature review and involve some degree of subjective choice during model building. The assessment of the APIM is challenging because limited independent test data are available for comparison and these observations represent point information in a spatially highly variable topography. The APIM provides an index that describes the spatial distribution of permafrost and comes together with an interpretation key that helps to assess map uncertainties and to relate map contents to their actual expression in the terrain. The map can be used as a first resource to estimate permafrost conditions at any given location in the European Alps in a variety of contexts such as research and spatial planning.Results show that Switzerland likely is the country with the largest permafrost area in the Alps, followed by Italy, Austria, France and Germany. Slovenia and Liechtenstein may have marginal permafrost areas. In all countries the permafrost area is expected to be larger than the glacier-covered area.

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Impact of mountain permafrost on flow path and runoff response in a high alpine catchment

Rogger

Chirico

Hausmann

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

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Permafrost in high alpine catchments is expected to disappear in future warmer climates, but the hydrological impact of such changes is poorly understood. This paper investigates the flow paths and the hydrological response in a 5 km2 high alpine catchment in the Ötztal Alps, Austria, and their changes resulting from a loss of permafrost. Spatial permafrost distribution, depth to the permafrost table, and depth to the bedrock were mapped by geophysical methods. Catchment runoff and meteorological variables were monitored from June 2008 to December 2011. These data were used along with field experience to infer conceptual schemes of the dominant flow paths in four types of hillslopes that differ in terms of their unconsolidated sediment characteristics and the presence of permafrost. The four types are: talus fans, rock glaciers, Little Ice Age (LIA) till, and pre‐LIA till. Permafrost tends to occur in the first three types, but is absent from pre‐LIA till. Based on these flow path concepts, runoff was simulated for present conditions and for future conditions when permafrost has completely disappeared. The simulations indicate that complete disappearance of permafrost will reduce flood peaks by up to 17% and increase runoff during recession by up to 19%. It is argued that change modeling needs to account for flow path types and their changes based on geophysical surveys and field investigations.

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Brief Communication: "An inventory of permafrost evidence for the European Alps"

Cited by 64 publications

References 7 publications

Derivation and analysis of a high-resolution estimate of global permafrost zonation

Derivation and analysis of a high-resolution estimate of global permafrost zonation

Permafrost distribution in the European Alps: calculation and evaluation of an index map and summary statistics

Impact of mountain permafrost on flow path and runoff response in a high alpine catchment

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