Monitoring mountain permafrost evolution using electrical resistivity tomography: A 7‐year study of seasonal, annual, and long‐term variations at Schilthorn, Swiss Alps

Hilbich, Christin; Hauck, Christian; Hoelzle, Martin; Scherler, Martin; Schudel, L.; Völksch, Ingo; Mühll, Daniel Vonder; Mäusbacher, Roland

doi:10.1029/2007jf000799

Cited by 141 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…In the observation period from October 2003 to October 2004, the active layer extended to a depth of 7 m to 9 m below the surface. This is much deeper than in preceding years, reflecting the exceptionally warm summer of 2003 in the European Alps (see Schär et al, 2004;Hilbich et al, 2008).…”

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, these inaccuracies develop predominantly at greater depths, where the sensitivity of the method is diminished, below the area of largest resistivity increase or decrease (Rings et al, 2008;Marescot et al, 2003;Hilbich et al, 2008).…”

Section: Ertmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, low resistivity readings indicate high water content or high ionic strength, while high readings indicate low water content or low ionic strength. Assuming that pore space distribution and ionic strength of a measured soil profile do not change significantly between two measurements, resistivity differences over time can yield semi-quantitative information about changes in water or ice content (Hilbich et al, 2008). Two-dimensional ERT was used to give a rapid, qualitative overview of the evolution of soil moisture over a relatively large area.…”

Section: Two-dimensional Water Content Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 1999, a semi-automatic electrical resistivity array was permanently installed at the site. The array is situated on a small plateau perpendicular to the gradient (see Hilbich et al, 2008, Figure 2) and is used to monitor water and ice content distribution in the uppermost 10 m (Hauck, 2002;Hilbich et al, 2008).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, in this study, we used electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements combined with borehole temperature logs as alternative means to assess infiltration (French and Binley, 2004). This method can investigate spatial differences in the evolution of water and ice content over time spans of days to years (Hauck, 2002;Hilbich et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Scherler

Hauck

Hoelzle

et al. 2010

Permafrost & Periglacial

106

115

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A coupled heat and mass transfer model simulating mass and energy balance of the soil-snow-atmosphere boundary layer was applied to simulate ground temperatures, together with water and ice content evolution, in the active layer of an alpine permafrost site on Schilthorn, Swiss Alps. Abrupt shifts and subsequent fluctuations in ground temperature observed in alpine permafrost boreholes at the beginning of the zero curtain phase in summer were explained by snowmelt and meltwater infiltration. Simulated water contents were compared to values derived from inverted electrical resistivity measurements and yielded a further independent validation of the model results. The study shows that infiltration into frozen soil takes place as an oscillating process in the model. This process is constrained by initial ground temperatures, infiltrability and the availability of meltwater from the snow cover.

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Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ertmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Two-dimensional Water Content Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Scherler

Hauck

Hoelzle

et al. 2010

Permafrost & Periglacial

106

115

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Pseudo 3‐D P wave refraction seismic monitoring of permafrost in steep unstable bedrock

Krautblatter

Draebing

2014

JGR Earth Surface

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[1] Degrading permafrost in steep rock walls can cause hazardous rock creep and rock slope failure. Spatial and temporal patterns of permafrost degradation that operate at the scale of instability are complex and poorly understood. For the first time, we used P wave seismic refraction tomography (SRT) to monitor the degradation of permafrost in steep rock walls. A 2.5-D survey with five 80 m long parallel transects was installed across an unstable steep NE-SW facing crestline in the Matter Valley, Switzerland. P wave velocity was calibrated in the laboratory for water-saturated low-porosity paragneiss samples between 20°C and À5°C and increases significantly along and perpendicular to the cleavage by 0.55-0.66 km/s (10-13%) and 2.4-2.7 km/s (>100%), respectively, when freezing. Seismic refraction is, thus, technically feasible to detect permafrost in low-porosity rocks that constitute steep rock walls. Ray densities up to 100 and more delimit the boundary between unfrozen and frozen bedrock and facilitate accurate active layer positioning. SRT shows monthly (August and September 2006) and annual active layer dynamics (August 2006 and2007) and reveals a contiguous permafrost body below the NE face with annual changes of active layer depth from 2 to 10 m. Large ice-filled fractures, lateral onfreezing of glacierets, and a persistent snow cornice cause previously unreported permafrost patterns close to the surface and along the crestline which correspond to active seasonal rock displacements up to several mm/a. SRT provides a geometrically highly resolved subsurface monitoring of active layer dynamics in steep permafrost rocks at the scale of instability.Citation: Krautblatter, M., and D. Draebing (2014), Pseudo 3-D P wave refraction seismic monitoring of permafrost in steep unstable bedrock,

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Determination of warm, sensitive permafrost areas in near‐vertical rockwalls and evaluation of distributed models by electrical resistivity tomography

et al. 2015

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Alpine rockwalls with warm permafrost (near 0°C) are the most active rockfall detachment zones in the Mont Blanc massif (MBM, French Alps) with more than 380 recent events. Near-vertical rockwall permafrost is spatially controlled by variations in rock fractures, snow cover, and microtopography. A reliable method to validate the distribution of permafrost in critical and unstable areas does not yet exist. We present seven electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys measured on five near-vertical rockwalls in the MBM from 2012 and 2013 that have been calibrated with measurements on a granite sample in the laboratory. ERT shows consistent measurements of remaining sensitive permafrost relating to inferred temperatures from 0 to À1.5°C. ERT results demonstrate evidence of topographic controls on permafrost distribution and resistivity gradients that appear to reflect crest width. ERT results are compared to two permafrost index maps that use topoclimatic factors and combine effects of thin snow and fractures, where index model spatial resolution is crucial for the validation with ERT. In cryospheric environments, index maps seem to overestimate permafrost conditions in glacial environments. As a consequence, the sensitive areas of permafrost may slightly deviate from the results from distributed models that are only constrained by topoclimatic factors and interpreted with consideration of local fracture and snow conditions. This study demonstrates (i) that the sensitive and hazardous areas of permafrost in near-vertical rock faces can be assessed and monitored by the means of temperature-calibrated ERT and (ii) that ERT can be used for distributed model validation.

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Monitoring mountain permafrost evolution using electrical resistivity tomography: A 7‐year study of seasonal, annual, and long‐term variations at Schilthorn, Swiss Alps

Cited by 141 publications

References 42 publications

Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Pseudo 3‐D P wave refraction seismic monitoring of permafrost in steep unstable bedrock

Determination of warm, sensitive permafrost areas in near‐vertical rockwalls and evaluation of distributed models by electrical resistivity tomography

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