The role of advective heat transport in talik development beneath lakes and ponds in discontinuous permafrost

Rowland, J. C.; Travis, B. J.; Wilson, Cathy J.

doi:10.1029/2011gl048497

Cited by 130 publications

(122 citation statements)

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“…Temperature ( T [°C]) distributions are calculated, following for example McKenzie et al [2007] and Rowland et al [2011], by considering the effects of latent heat ( L i [J m −3 ]) associated with melting/freezing in the advection‐diffusion equation describing heat‐transfer in porous media, as follows:

\nabla \cdot [κ_{a} \nabla T] - C_{w} \vec{q} \cdot \nabla T = C_{a} \frac{\partial T}{\partial t} + L_{i} \frac{\partial θ_{w}}{\partial t}

where C a [J m −3 K −1 ] is the effective heat capacity of the sediment/fluid/ice mixture, and κ a [W m −1 K −1 ] is the effective thermal conductivity, C w [J m −3 K −1 ] is the heat capacity of the fluid. The change in water‐content from fully water‐saturated conditions to full permafrost (ice‐saturated) conditions over the freezing interval is prescribed using a smoothed step‐function between 0°C and −0.25°C.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Transient temperature conditions have been observed underneath thaw lakes [ Mackay , 1997; Mackay and Burn , 2002], which model simulations have shown [ Zhou and Huang , 2004; Ling and Zhang , 2004] to likely result from repeated surface cooling and warming due to the cyclicity of drainage and filling of thaw lakes [e.g., Harada et al , 2006]. Recently, Rowland et al [2011] presented numerical modeling results suggesting that advective heat transport by upwelling groundwater into talik lakes can be an important process locally reducing permafrost thickness and preventing the closure of the talik by permafrost development. A combination of the processes listed above is likely to explain the kind of irregular, and erratic permafrost geometry shown in Figure 1, and which more recently was shown by Minsley et al [2012] to exist at a more local spatial scale (e.g., 100's of meters) as well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Permafrost degradation as a control on hydrogeological regime shifts in a warming climate

Kooi²,

et al. 2012

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[1] Using numerical models, we evaluate hydrogeological regime changes in high-latitude river basins under conditions of ground surface warming. These models describe transient heat-and fluid flow coupled to the hydrogeological impacts of phase-changes from ice to liquid water. We consider an idealized unconsolidated sedimentary aquifer system in which groundwater flow is driven by topography, representing a series of small drainage basins in riverine terrain of relatively subdued topography. Various temporal and spatial surface temperature conditions are considered to control the initial permafrost distributions for the simulations. The simulated rates of increase in groundwater contribution to streamflow during and after permafrost thaw, are in the order of magnitude comparable to hydrogeological regime changes over the past decades as reported for several (sub-)Arctic rivers. The simulations further show that two distinct features of the subsurface response control the temporal evolution of base flow increase: (1) shifts in aquifer permeability architecture during permafrost degradation and (2) uptake of water into aquifer storage when sub-permafrost hydraulic heads rise. Model analysis shows that the latter process delays base flow increase by several decades to centuries. In order to evaluate the relative importance of both processes in natural systems, the current hydraulic regime of sub-permafrost aquifer systems as well as patterns of permafrost heterogeneity, taliks and their hydraulic connectivity are insufficiently known.

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\nabla \cdot [κ_{a} \nabla T] - C_{w} \vec{q} \cdot \nabla T = C_{a} \frac{\partial T}{\partial t} + L_{i} \frac{\partial θ_{w}}{\partial t}

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Permafrost degradation as a control on hydrogeological regime shifts in a warming climate

Kooi²,

et al. 2012

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“…Several investigations have shown the significance of climate and advective heat transport in controlling the distribution of permafrost in hydrologic systems (Bense et al, 2009;Rowland et al, 2011;Wellman et al, 2013). These results yield important insight into the mechanistic behavior of coupled thermal-hydrologic systems and are a means for predicting the impact on permafrost from a wide range of climate and hydrologic conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of airborne geophysical data to sublacustrine and near-surface permafrost thaw

Minsley¹,

Wellman²,

Walvoord

et al. 2015

The Cryosphere

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Abstract.A coupled hydrogeophysical forward and inverse modeling approach is developed to illustrate the ability of frequency-domain airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data to characterize subsurface physical properties associated with sublacustrine permafrost thaw during lake-talik formation. Numerical modeling scenarios are evaluated that consider non-isothermal hydrologic responses to variable forcing from different lake depths and for different hydrologic gradients. A novel physical property relationship connects the dynamic distribution of electrical resistivity to ice saturation and temperature outputs from the SUTRA groundwater simulator with freeze-thaw physics. The influence of lithology on electrical resistivity is controlled by a surface conduction term in the physical property relationship. Resistivity models, which reflect changes in subsurface conditions, are used as inputs to simulate AEM data in order to explore the sensitivity of geophysical observations to permafrost thaw. Simulations of sublacustrine talik formation over a 1000-year period are modeled after conditions found in the Yukon Flats, Alaska. Synthetic AEM data are analyzed with a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm that quantifies geophysical parameter uncertainty and resolution. Major lithological and permafrost features are well resolved by AEM data in the examples considered. The subtle geometry of partial ice saturation beneath lakes during talik formation cannot be resolved using AEM data, but the gross characteristics of sub-lake resistivity models reflect bulk changes in ice content and can identify the presence of a talik. A final synthetic example compares AEM and ground-based electromagnetic responses for their ability to resolve shallow permafrost and thaw features in the upper 1-2 m below ground outside the lake margin.

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“…Heat transport into permafrost is typically modeled as a diffusive process (Riseborough et al, 2008). However, once melting occurs at the surface, advection of heat by liquid water (Rowland et al, 2011) could make our estimates of seasonal ground temperature fluctuations at depth conservative. Heat is also lost by the ground due to latent heating during the melt of the pore ice and gained during the freeze of the pore water, which would reduce our diffusive estimates of seasonal ground temperature fluctuations at depth by a factor that depends on the concentration of ice in the regolith.…”

Section: Thermal Diffusion In Sandy Regolithmentioning

confidence: 99%

New constraints on equatorial temperatures during a Late Neoproterozoic snowball Earth glaciation

Ewing

Eisenman

Lamb

et al. 2014

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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Intense glaciation during the end of Cryogenian time (∼635 million years ago) marks the coldest climate state in Earth history -a time when glacial deposits accumulated at low, tropical paleolatitudes. The leading idea to explain these deposits, the snowball Earth hypothesis, predicts globally frozen surface conditions and subfreezing temperatures, with global climate models placing surface temperatures in the tropics between −20 • C and −60 • C. However, precise paleosurface temperatures based upon geologic constraints have remained elusive and the global severity of the glaciation undetermined. Here we make new geologic observations of tropical periglacial, aeolian and fluvial sedimentary structures formed during the end-Cryogenian, Marinoan glaciation in South Australia; these observations allow us to constrain ancient surface temperatures. We find periglacial sand wedges and associated deformation suggest that ground temperatures were sufficiently warm to allow for ductile deformation of a sandy regolith. The wide range of deformation structures likely indicate the presence of a paleoactive layer that penetrated 2-4 m below the ground surface. These observations, paired with a model of ground temperature forced by solar insolation, constrain the local mean annual surface temperature to within a few degrees of freezing. This temperature constraint matches well with our observations of fluvial deposits, which require temperatures sufficiently warm for surface runoff. Although this estimate coincides with one of the coldest near sea-level tropical temperatures in Earth history, if these structures represent peak Marinaon glacial conditions, they do not support the persistent deep freeze of the snowball Earth hypothesis. Rather, surface temperatures near 0 • C allow for regions of seasonal surface melting, atmosphere-ocean coupling and possible tropical refugia for early metazoans. If instead these structures formed during glacial onset or deglaciation, then they have implications for the timescale and character for the transition into or out of a snowball state.

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The role of advective heat transport in talik development beneath lakes and ponds in discontinuous permafrost

Cited by 130 publications

References 29 publications

Permafrost degradation as a control on hydrogeological regime shifts in a warming climate

Permafrost degradation as a control on hydrogeological regime shifts in a warming climate

Sensitivity of airborne geophysical data to sublacustrine and near-surface permafrost thaw

New constraints on equatorial temperatures during a Late Neoproterozoic snowball Earth glaciation

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