THERMALLY DRIVEN SORPTION,DESORPTION, AND MOISTURE MIGRATION IN THE ACTIVE LAYER IN CENTRAL ALASKA

Combined observations of hourly soil temperature and electric potential, the latter converted to a relative index of soil-water solute concentration, yield information on the physical chemistry of near-surface frost effects. Solute concentration near the descending 0° C isotherm in the refreezing active layer above permafrost is divided into three distinct zones: (1) an ion-enriched zone in the unfrozen active layer that precedes the penetrating freezing front; (2) an ion-purified desorbed zone at the freezing front that is the source region of the downward-expelled ions and water; and (3) a hydrologically isolated subfreezing zone of enhanced solute concentration located above the freezing isotherm. High-frequency fluctuations superimposed on these general patterns are traceable to vapor migration driven by surface thermal fluctuations. These effects diminish at temperatures below about -0.4° C, as permeability decreases with soil-ice formation. The combined temperature-solute concentration time series is used to develop sorption curves for the frozen organic and mineral soils, and indicates that approximately half of the pore water present in the mineral soil at -0.4° C had not been converted to ice at -6° C. Gradual soil desiccation over winter appears to result from outward vapor diffusion, possibly through soil cracks. [Key words: Alaska, active layer, frozen ground, soil temperature, soil water, permafrost.]     

长江源区五道梁的土壤热状况研究

活动层土壤热状况是寒区陆面物理过程研究的重要内容之一。利用五道梁能量收支观测站1993年9月～2000年12月份实测辐射及土壤热通量资料结合五道梁气象站1961-2010时段的气象资料分析了近50 a来该地区活动层土壤的热状况。结果表明：五道梁地区土壤热通量有显著的年际、年代际变化;20世纪60～80年代,土壤热通量小于0.0 W/m²,活动层土壤以放热为主,自90年代以来,土壤热通量大于0.0 W/m²,活动层土壤以吸热为主。过去50 a中该地土壤热通量呈现增大趋势,平均每10 a土壤热通量增大0.31 W/m²。土壤热通量随净辐射的增大而增大。土壤热平衡系数的变化特点与土壤热通量的变化特点一致。60～80年代,活动层土壤热平衡系数<1,该地区冻土相对比较稳定,而自90年代以来此间土壤热平衡系数<1,表明该地多年冻土呈现出退化迹象。活动层土壤热平衡系数可表示为气温、地表温度及水汽压的函数。     

Highway Roadway Stability Influenced by Warm Permafrost and Seasonal Frost Action: A Case Study from Glennallen, Alaska, USA

Ground temperatures from four of the seven extensively studied highway cross-sections near Gulkana/Glennallen,Alaska during 1954~1962,were chosen to better understand the impacts of highway construction on warm permafrost.Both the thawing of permafrost and seasonal frost action impacted on road surface stability for about 6 years until the maximum summer thaw reached about 3 m in depth.Seasonal frost action caused most of the ensuing stability problems.Unusually warm summers and the lengths of time required to re-freeze the active layer were far more important than the average annual air temperatures in determining the temperatures of the underlying shallow permafrost,or the development of taliks.The hypothesized climate warming would slightly and gradually deepen the active layer and the developed under-lying talik,but its effect would be obscured by unusually warm summers,by warmer than usual winters,and by the vari-able lengths of time of the zero curtains.At least one period of climate mini-cooling in the deeper permafrost during the early 20th century was noted.     

Ground temperature variation and its response to climate change on the northern Tibetan Plateau

Ground temperature plays a significant role in the interaction between the land surface and atmosphere on the Tibetan Plateau(TP). Under the background of temperature warming, the TP has witnessed an accelerated warming trend in frozen ground temperature, an increasing active layer thickness, and the melting of underground ice. Based on high-resolution ground temperature data observed from 1997 to 2012 on the northern TP, the trend of ground temperature at each observation site and its response to climate change were analyzed. The results showed that while the ground temperature at different soil depths showed a strong warming trend over the observation period, the warming in winter is more significant than that in summer. The warming rate of daily minimum ground temperature was greater than that of daily maximum ground temperature at the TTH and MS3608 sites. During the study period, thawing occurred earlier, whereas freezing happened later, resulting in shortened freezing season and a thinner frozen layer at the BJ site. And a zero-curtain effect develops when the soil begins to thaw or freeze in spring and autumn. From 1997 to 2012, the average summer air temperature and precipitation in summer and winter from six meteorological stations along the Qinghai-Tibet highway also demonstrated an increasing trend, with a more significant temperature increase in winter than in summer. The ground temperature showed an obvious response to air temperature warming, but the trend varied significantly with soil depths due to soil heterogeneity.     

Case studies: Frozen ground design and construction in Kotzebue, Alaska

Alaska has many construction design challenges due to permafrost. Due to either climate changes or human activities and development, permafrost often becomes unstable. Unstable soils can cause thaw settlement, frost jacking, or heaving. These can cause damage to infrastructure, increase maintenance costs, and decrease the life of construction projects. Kotzebue, Alaska, a remote village in the northwest arctic part of Alaska, is ideal for observing such permafrost effects on infrastructure. Three case studies of Kotzebue construction projects are reviewed here： the Front Loop Water Main Extension, which shows the importance of both passive and active freeze thaw protection for water service pipes and how to minimize differential movement between pipes and buildings; the Wastewater Lift Station Replacement, which describes methods for reducing thaw settlement in buildings over time when it is not feasible to prevent thaw settlement, and compares the benefits of frozen ground excavation over traditional excavation practices; and the Ted Stevens Way Rehabilitation, which discusses the effectiveness of 2001 best design practices for gravel road construction over tundra and permafrost, identifies their design and construction failures, and proposes future solutions.     

A full-scale field experiment to study the thermal-deformation process of widening highway embankments in permafrost regions

As one of the widely used upgrading way in road engineering, the widening embankment(WE) has suffered evident differential deformation, which is even severer for highway in permafrost regions due to the temperature sensitivity of frozen soil and the heat absorption effect of the asphalt pavement. Given this issue, a full-scale experimental highway of WE was performed along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway(QTH) to investigate the differential deformation features and its developing law. The continuous three years' monitoring data taken from the experimental site, including the ground temperature and the layered deformation of WE and original embankment(OE), were used to analyze the thermal-deformation process. The results indicate that the widening part presented the remarkable thermal disturbance to the existing embankment(EE). The underlying permafrost was in a noteworthy degradation state, embodying the apparent decrease of the permafrost table and the increase of the ground temperature. Correspondingly, the heat disruption induced by widening led to a much higher deformation at the widening side compared to the original embankment, showing a periodic stepwise curve. Specifically, the deformation mainly occurred in the junction of the EE and the widening part, most of which was caused by the thawing consolidation near the original permafrost table. In contrast, the deformation of EE mainly attributed to the compression of the active layer. Furthermore, it was the deformation origination differences that resulted in the differential deformation of WE developed gradually during the monitoring period, the maximum of which reached up to 64 mm.     

Freeze-thaw processes of active-layer soils in the Nanweng'he River National Natural Reserve in the Da Xing'anling Mountains,northern Northeast China

The active-layer soils overlying the permafrost are the most thermodynamically active zone of rock or soil and play important roles in the earth-atmosphere energy system. The processes of thawing and freezing and their associated complex hydrothermal coupling can significantly affect variation in mean annual temperatures and the formation of ground ice in permafrost regions. Using soil-temperature and-moisture data obtained from the active layer between September 2011 and October 2014 in the permafrost region of the Nanweng'he River in the Da Xing'anling Mountains, the freeze-thaw characteristics of the permafrost were studied. Based on analysis of ground-temperature variation and hydrothermal transport characteristics, the thawing and freezing processes of the active layer were divided into three stages:(1) autumn-winter freezing,(2) winter freeze-up, and(3) spring-summer thawing. Variations in the soil temperature and moisture were analyzed during each stage of the freeze-thaw process, and the effects of the soil moisture and ground vegetation on the freeze-thaw are discussed in this paper. The study's results show that thawing in the active layer was unidirectional, while the ground freezing was bidirectional(upward from the bottom of the active layer and downward from the ground surface).During the annual freeze-thaw cycle, the migration of soil moisture had different characteristics at different stages. In general, during a freezing-thawing cycle, the soil-water molecules migrate downward, i.e., soil moisture transports from the entire active layer to the upper limit of the permafrost. In the meantime, freeze-thaw in the active layer can be significantly affected by the soil-moisture content and vegetation.     

Numerical simulations of the influence of the seasonal snow cover on the occurrence of permafrost at high latitudes

It has repeatedly been reported that snow cover is a dominating factor in determining the presence or absence of permafrost in the discontinuous and sporadic permafrost regions. The temperature at the snow-soil interface by the end of winter, known as the bottom temperature of winter snow (BTS) method, has been used to detect the existence of permafrost in European alpine regions when the maximum snow depth is about 1.0 m or greater. A critical snow thickness of about 50 cm or greater can prevent the development of permafrost in eastern Hudson Bay, Canada. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of snow cover on the presence or absence of permafrost in cold regions through numerical simulations. A one-dimensional heat transfer model with phase change and a snow cover regime is used to simulate energy exchange between deep soils and the atmosphere. The model has been validated against the in situ data in the Arctic. The simulation results indicate that both snow depth and the onset date of snow cover establishment are important parameters in relation to the presence or absence of permafrost. Early establishment of snow cover can make permafrost disappear, even with a relatively thin snow cover. Permafrost may survive when snow cover starts after the middle of December even with a snow thickness >1.0 m. This effect of snow cover on the ground thermal regime can be explained with reference to the pattern of seasonal temperature variation. Early establishment of snow cover enhances the insulating impact over the entire cold season, thus warming and eventually thawing the permafrost. The insulating effect is substantially reduced when snow cover starts relatively late and snowmelt in the spring creates a huge heat sink, resulting in a favorable combination for permafrost existence.     

Permafrost dynamics in the north-east of European Russia at the end of the 20th century

In the major physiographic divisions of the north-east of European Russia, temperatures in the cryolithozone and the active/seasonally frozen layer were monitored during the period 1970 to 1995. Active layer depths increased on average by 11% to 15%, whereas the depths of the seasonally frozen layer decreased by 19% to 40%. The largest positive temperature increments, up to 1.2C, were characteristic for the piedmont and basement plains. Lacustrine-alluvial lowlands demonstrated oppositely directed temperature trends depending on a landform. Numerous sites with ongoing permafrost formation demonstrated negative temperature increments varying from 0.1C to 2.0C.     

Characterization of frozen soil-cement mixture for berm construction in cold regions

Lagoon berms in western Alaska are difficult to design and build due to limited resources, high cost of construction and materials, and warm permafrost conditions. This paper explores methods to treat locally available frozen materials and use them for berm construction. The goal is to find an optimized mix ratio for cement and additives that can be effective in increasing the strength and decreasing the thaw settlement of an ice-rich frozen silty soil. Soil of similar type and ice content to the permafrost found at a project site in Eek, Alaska is prepared in a cold room. The frozen soil is pulverized and cement, additives and fibers are added to the samples for enhancing shear strength and controlling thaw settlement. Thaw settlement and direct shear testsare performed to assess strength and settlement characteristics. This paper presents a sample preparation method, data from thaw settlement and direct shear tests, and analyses of the test results and preliminary conclusions.     

Probabilistic analysis of embankment slope stability in frozen ground regions based on random finite element method

Prediction on the coupled thermal-hydraulic fields of embankment and cutting slopes is essential to the assessment on evolution of melting zone and natural permafrost table, which is usually a key factor for permafrost embankment designin frozen ground regions. The prediction may be further complicated due to the inherent uncertainties of materialproperties. Hence, stochastic analyses should be conducted. Firstly, Karhunen-Loeve expansion is applied to attain the random fields for hydraulic and thermal conductions. Next, the mixed-form modified Richards equation for mass transfer (i.e., mass equation) and the heat transport equation for heat transient flow in a variably saturated frozen soil are combined into one equation with temperature unknown. Furthermore, the finite element formulation for the coupled thermal-hydraulic fields is derived. Based on the random fields, the stochastic finite element analyses on stability of embankment are carried out. Numerical results show that stochastic analyses of embankment stability may provide a more rational picture for the distribution of factors of safety (FOS), which is definitely useful forembankment design in frozen ground regions.     

Estimating interaction between surface water and groundwater in a permafrost region of the northern Tibetan Plateau using heat tracing method

Understanding the interaction between groundwater and surface water in permafrost regions is essential to study flood frequencies and river water quality, especially in the high latitude/altitude basins. The application of heat tracing method,based on oscillating streambed temperature signals, is a promising geophysical method for identifying and quantifying the interaction between groundwater and surface water. Analytical analysis based on a one-dimensional convective-conductive heat transport equation combined with the fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing method was applied on a streambed of a mountainous permafrost region in the Yeniugou Basin, located in the upper Heihe River on the northern Tibetan Plateau. The results indicated that low connectivity existed between the stream and groundwater in permafrost regions.The interaction between surface water and groundwater increased with the thawing of the active layer. This study demonstrates that the heat tracing method can be applied to study surface water-groundwater interaction over temporal and spatial scales in permafrost regions.     

Soil thermal properties and heat transfer processes near Ny-Alesund, northwestern Spitsbergen, Svalbard

The annually thawing active layer of permafrost is central to considerations of climate change consequences in arctic areas and interpretations of deep permafrost temperatures that constitute and exceptional archive of past climate change. Moreover, a sound understanding of the thermal regime of the active layer is of great interest, because all chemical, biological and physical processes are concentrated there. The author studied this layer by examining the soil physical properties and heat transfer processes that dictate soil temperatures for an arctic desert site in northwestern Spitsbergen. A wide array of soil physical properties based on field observations and laboratory measurements were defined. These include mineralogy, grain size distribution, local regolith thickness, porosity, density, typical soil moisture profile, heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Heat transfer processes were studied through modeling of soil temperatures. The heat transfer model accounted for much of the observed soil thermal regime. It was found that thermal conduction, phase change of soil water at 0°C, and changes in unfrozen water content are the primary thermal processes that explain the observed soil temperatues in this field site. Melt-water infiltration, which is often overlooked in the energy budget, causes abrupt warming events and delivers considerable energy to the soil in late spring. An increase in frequency or magnitude of infiltration events could mimic simple spring time surface warming. Advection of ground water and soil internal evaporation were found to be generally unimportant at the site studied.     

Hydrological effects of alpine permafrost in the headwaters of the Urumqi River, Tianshan Mountains

Against the background of climate change, alpine permafrost active layers have shown a gradual thickening trend and the hydrothermal conditions have undergone significant changes in the Tianshan Mountains and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. At the ice-free cirque basins in the headwaters of the Urumqi River(hereafter referred to as the Ice-Free Cirque) in eastern Tianshan, China, the hydrological effects of the alpine permafrost active layers appear to have also exhibited significant changes recently. The increasing trend of local precipitation is clear in May and June. The onset of winter and spring snowmelt runoff clearly lags behind increases of air temperature, and the runoff peak appears near the beginning of the melting season, which results in the spring runoff increasing. In summer, runoff decreases strongly and the maximum runoff occurs earlier. In our analysis of meteorological and hydrologic data from 1959 to 2010, the runoff and precipitation changes are significantly correlated. In the initial stage of runoff, the runoff-producing process is mainly under the control of the soil water content and soil temperature in the 0–30 cm active layers. Spring precipitation and snowmelt water are mainly involved in the processes of infiltration and evaporation while some melt water infiltrates into the seasonal thawed layer and stays above the frozen layers. During the strong ablation period in summer, the runoff-generating process is mainly controlled by soil water content in the active layers deeper than 60 cm. In the active layer, precipitation and seasonal snowmelt water infiltrates, migrates, collects, and then forms runoff.     

基于MODIS温度的青藏高原多年冻土活动层厚度变化研究

基于MODIS温度数据,采用TTOP模型和Stefan公式模拟了青藏高原地区的冻土分布并计算了活动层厚度,并与地面观测结果进行了对比。结果表明：2003—2019年青藏高原多年冻土面积为1.01×10⁶ km²;多年冻土活动层厚度区域平均值为1.79 m, 活动层厚度区域平均的变化率为3.67 cm/10a,且草甸地区的变化率明显大于草原地区,5100~5300 m高程带的活动层厚度变化速率最大。     

Dynamic response of wind turbine towers in warm permafrost

Wind is a great source of renewable energy in western Alaska.Consistent winds blow across the barren tundra underlain by warm permafrost in the winter season,when the energy demand is the highest.Foundation engineering in warm permafrost has always been a challenge in wind energy development.Degrading warm permafrost poses engineering issues to design,construction,and operation of wind turbines.This paper describes the foundation design of a wind turbine built in western Alaska.It presents a system for response monitoring and load assessment,and data collected from September 2013 to March 2014.The dynamic properties are assessed based on the monitoring data,and seasonal changes in the dynamic properties of the turbine tower-foundation system and likely resonance between the spinning blades and the tower structure are discussed.These analyses of a wind turbine in warm permafrost are valuable for designing or retrofitting of foundations in warm permafrost.     

Internal Structure and Permafrost Characteristics of the Rock Glaciers of Southern Carpathians (Romania) Assessed by Geoelectrical Soundings and Thermal Monitoring

Six rock glaciers in the Southern Carpathians have been investigated by means of geoelectrical soundings in order to detect their internal stratigraphy and the existence of frozen sediments. In the case of three relict rock glaciers, the electrical resistivity measurements indicated a typical internal structure. Low resistivity values (<10 kΩm) which are typical of unfrozen fine‐grained materials were obtained, but high resistivity values (25–240 kΩm) measured in the Pietroasa, Ie?u and Pietrele rock glaciers denote the presence of sediments cemented by interstitial ice and ice lenses. Based on the moderate resistivity values, the ice content is probably low to medium in the upper portion of these rock glaciers, that is, above 2040 m. At two sites (Pietroasa and V?iuga rock glaciers), ground surface temperature (GST) evolution was monitored using digital dataloggers. Mean annual ground surface temperature and GST regime throughout the winter were extracted from the recordings and confirmed the probability of permafrost occurrence in Pietroasa rock glacier. In the Ie?u and Pietrele rock glaciers, measurements of bottom temperatures of the winter snow cover were performed in March 2012. Considering the thick active layer, the reduced ice content and the presence of scarce vegetation on their surface it could be assumed that the permafrost exists in marginal conditions in the Southern Carpathians. The ground ice in permafrost is produced by the groundwater freezing or by snow banks buried by coarse angular boulders following large rockfalls.     

A comparison of permafrost prediction models along a section of Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

The distribution of mountain permafrost along Trail Ridge Road (TRR) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, was modeled using ‘frost numbers’ and a ‘temperature of permafrost model’ (TTOP) in order to assess the accuracy of prediction models. The TTOP model is based on regional observations of air temperature and heat transfer functions involving vegetation, soil, and snow; whereas the frost number model is based on site-specific ratios of ground temperature measurements of frozen and thawed degree-days. Thirty HOBO© temperature data loggers were installed near the surface as well as at depth (30 to 85 cm). From mid-July 2008 to 2010, the mean annual soil temperature (MAST) for all surface sites was − 1.5 °C. Frost numbers averaged 0.56; TTOP averaged − 1.8 °C. The MAST was colder on western-facing slopes at high elevations. Surface and deeper probes had similar MASTs; however, deeper probes had less daily and seasonal variation. Another model developed at the regional scale based on proxy indicators of permafrost (rock glaciers and land cover) classified 5.1 km² of permafrost within the study area, whereas co-kriging interpolations of frost numbers and TTOP data indicated 2.0 km² and 4.6 km² of permafrost, respectively. Only 0.8 km² were common among all three models. Three boreholes drilled within 2 m of TRR indicate that permafrost does not exist at these locations despite each borehole being classified as containing permafrost by at least one model. Addressing model uncertainty is important because nutrients stored within frozen or frost-affected soils can be released and impact alpine water bodies. The uncertainty also exposes two fundamental problems: empirical models designed for high latitudes are not necessarily applicable to mountain permafrost, and the presence of mountain permafrost in the alpine tundra of the Colorado Front Range has not been validated.     

Icings in the river basins of Primorski Krai and their influence on landscapes

We examine the types of icings (aufeis) in the river basins of Primorski Krai. An assessment is made of the conditions for their formation in autumn and winter and for their decay in the spring-summer time. Depending on the type of icings, we identified the character of their impact on the main components of landscape: relief, hydrological regime of streams, soil, vegetation, etc. The emphasis in this study is on the icing formations in the zone of seasonally frozen earth materials and, to a lesser extent, in areas of permafrost islands.     

New soil thermal stabilization systems for building fundaments in permafrost regions

This paper describes new building construction methods that utilize soil thermal stabilization regimes to compensate for negative environmental warming and anthropogenic factors that impair fundament stability. Based on long-standing research, the Fundamentstroyarkos Company (FSA) of Tyumen, Russia has developed four primary seasonally active cooling devices (SCDs) that maintain soil in the frozen state, which are now extensively used on oil and gas facilities located in cold regions of Russia. This paper reports on the testing and validation of these SCDs in experimental conditions. On this basis, designs and technologies for building bases and foundations on permafrost with use of soil thermal stabilization systems, using carbon dioxide as the heat-transfer agent, were developed.