Molar gas ratios of air entrapped in ice: A new tool to determine the origin of relict massive ground ice bodies in permafrost

The molar ratios of atmospheric gases change during dissolution in water due to differences in their relative solubilities. We exploited this characteristic to develop a tool to clarify the origin of ice formations in permafrost regions. Extracted from ice, molar gas ratios can distinguish buried glacier ice from intrasedimental ground ice formed by freezing groundwaters. An extraction line was built to isolate gases from ice by melting and trapping with liquid He, followed by analysis of N₂, O_2,, Ar, ¹⁸O_O2 and ¹⁵N_N2, by continuous flow mass spectrometry. The method was tested using glacier ice, aufeis ice (river icing) and intrasedimental ground ice from sites in the Canadian Arctic. O₂/Ar and N₂/Ar ratios clearly distinguish between atmospheric gas in glacial ice and gases from intrasedimental ground ice, which are exsolved from freezing water. δ¹⁵N_N2 and δ¹⁸O_O2 in glacier ice, aufeis ice and intrasedimental ground ice do not show clear distinguishing trends as they are affected by various physical processes during formation such as gravitational settling, excess air addition, mixing with snow pack, and respiration.     

Evidence for gas hydrate occurrences in the Canadian Arctic Beaufort Sea within permafrost-associated shelf and deep-water marine environments

The presence of a wedge of offshore permafrost on the shelf of the Canadian Beaufort Sea has been previously recognized and the consequence of a prolonged occurrence of such permafrost is the possibility of an underlying gas hydrate regime. We present the first evidence for wide-spread occurrences of gas hydrates across the shelf in water depths of 60–100 m using 3D and 2D multichannel seismic (MCS) data. A reflection with a polarity opposite to the seafloor was identified ∼1000 m below the seafloor that mimics some of the bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs) in marine gas hydrate regimes. However, the reflection is not truly bottom-simulating, as its depth is controlled by offshore permafrost. The depth of the reflection decreases with increasing water depth, as predicted from thermal modeling of the late Wisconsin transgression. The reflection crosscuts strata and defines a zone of enhanced reflectivity beneath it, which originates from free gas accumulated at the phase boundary over time as permafrost and associated gas hydrate stability zones thin in response to the transgression. The wide-spread gas hydrate occurrence beneath permafrost has implications on the region including drilling hazards associated with the presence of free gas, possible overpressure, lateral migration of fluids and expulsion at the seafloor. In contrast to the permafrost-associated gas hydrates, a deep-water marine BSR was also identified on MCS profiles. The MCS data show a polarity-reversed seismic reflection associated with a low-velocity zone beneath it. The seismic data coverage in the southern Beaufort Sea shows that the deep-water marine BSR is not uniformly present across the entire region. The regional discrepancy of the BSR occurrence between the US Alaska portion and the Mackenzie Delta region may be a result of high sedimentation rates expected for the central Mackenzie delta and high abundance of mass-transport deposits that prohibit gas to accumulate within and beneath the gas hydrate stability zone.     

Speleothem evidence of warm episodes in northeast France during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 and implications for permafrost distribution in northern Europe

U-Th ages have been obtained by TIMS on the growth periods of a stalagmite from the “Grotte des Puits de Pierre-la-Treiche” (northeastern France), during the middle part of the “Weichselian glaciation” (Marine Isotope Stage 3), between 55.36 ± 0.95 and 53.34 ± 0.49 ka and around 45.85 ± 0.49 ka. These episodes are contemporaneous with abrupt climatic variations recorded in Greenland ice cores (Greenland interstadials 12, 14 and 15) that have been previously recognized in European speleothems. They also coincide with two interstadials, known as “Goulotte” and “Pile” in the Grande Pile pollen sequence (eastern France), which have been correlated with the Moershoofd complex in the Netherlands. Such evidence of speleothem deposition related to temperate episodes gives a strong indication of the absence of continuous shallow permafrost during the middle part of MIS 3 in northeastern France.     

Numerical analysis of permafrost effects on the seismic site response

Some of the damage to the infrastructure observed in past earthquakes occurred in Alaska could be related to the existence of permafrost. However, only limited research has been carried out so far to investigate the effects of permafrost on the seismic site response. Permafrost with relatively high shear wave velocity (1000–1500 m/s) extensively exists in the interior of Alaska and causes anomaly in the shear wave velocity profile that may alter the site response. In current design practices, permafrost has been treated as bedrock and its potential effects on site response are ignored. A systematic investigation was conducted to understand the effects of permafrost on the ground motion characteristics using one-dimensional equivalent linear analysis for the MCE, AASHTO and IBC Design Earthquake level hazards. The average surface displacement, velocity and acceleration response spectra for a typical permafrost site were obtained and the worst case scenario was identified. The results show that the presence of permafrost can significantly alter the ground motion characteristics and it may not be conservative to ignore the effects of permafrost in the seismic design of civil structures.     

青海湖水位波动对气候暖湿化情景的响应及其机理研究

利用1961—2015年青海湖水位资料及其流域气温、降水量、蒸发量等气象观测资料,高原季风、西风环流气候等指数及植被数据,分析青海湖水位波动的基本特征,揭示高原季风、西风环流、植被覆盖、径流以及冻土退化对湖泊水位波动的影响机理,建立基于水量平衡的青海湖水位变化的定量评估模型。研究表明：2004年前后,青海湖水位出现由降到升的突变,自2005年以来持续回升;水位波动具有8 a和21 a的显著性周期;全球变暖背景下高原季风增强、西风环流趋弱、气候趋于暖湿、流域植被恢复、冻土退化和径流量显著增大,引起了2005年以来青海湖水位的持续回升。基于湖泊水量平衡原理建立的气候变化对青海湖水位影响定量评估模型,能够客观反映青海湖流域上年及当年降水量、流量和蒸发量对湖泊水位的效应。     

加拿大马更些冻土区天然气水合物试生产进展与展望

马更些（Mackenzie）冻土区位于加拿大西北地区,是世界上最著名的天然气水合物产地之一,也是加拿大最重要的含油气盆地之一。在Mallik地区已相继钻探了L 38、2L 38、3L 38、4L 38和5L 38共5个钻孔,并进行了地质、地球物理、地球化学、微生物学和试生产等方面的多学科多方法研究,是目前全球天然气水合物研究程度最高、资料最丰富的地区。“Mallik 2002”项目开展了天然气水合物的短期试生产,共对6个水合物层位进行了降压法试生产并在其中的4个层位取得了成功,同时利用注入约80℃的热流体进行了5天多的加热法试生产,共生产出468 m3的天然气。“Mallik 2002”项目的成功实施是天然气水合物开发利用史上的里程碑,为将来的长期试生产和最终开发利用奠定了基础。随着开发利用研究的不断深入,天然气水合物这一规模巨大的潜在能源有可能在不久的将来为人类社会所用。     

Engineering geological characteristics and processes of permafrost along the Qinghai–Xizang (Tibet) Highway

Engineering geological problems of thaw-settlement and frost-heave occur frequently along the Qinghai–Xizang (Tibet) Highway (QXH) line and produce an adverse impact on roadbed stability. Eight monitoring sites were established along the QXH to investigate the engineering geological characteristics and environmental process of permafrost, including the upper and lower boundary of the active layer under the natural surface, the seasonal freeze–thaw depth under the asphalt pavement, the permafrost table temperature and roadbed stability. The investigation results show that the active layer thickness and permafrost table temperature under an asphalt pavement are higher than under a natural surface due to the absorption heat and reduced evaporation capability of the asphalt pavement. The implication for highway design and construction in permafrost areas are discussed.     

Incorporating organic soil into a global climate model

Organic matter significantly alters a soil’s thermal and hydraulic properties but is not typically included in land-surface schemes used in global climate models. This omission has consequences for ground thermal and moisture regimes, particularly in the high-latitudes where soil carbon content is generally high. Global soil carbon data is used to build a geographically distributed, profiled soil carbon density dataset for the Community Land Model (CLM). CLM parameterizations for soil thermal and hydraulic properties are modified to accommodate both mineral and organic soil matter. Offline simulations including organic soil are characterized by cooler annual mean soil temperatures (up to ∼2.5°C cooler for regions of high soil carbon content). Cooling is strong in summer due to modulation of early and mid-summer soil heat flux. Winter temperatures are slightly warmer as organic soils do not cool as efficiently during fall and winter. High porosity and hydraulic conductivity of organic soil leads to a wetter soil column but with comparatively low surface layer saturation levels and correspondingly low soil evaporation. When CLM is coupled to the Community Atmosphere Model, the reduced latent heat flux drives deeper boundary layers, associated reductions in low cloud fraction, and warmer summer air temperatures in the Arctic. Lastly, the insulative properties of organic soil reduce interannual soil temperature variability, but only marginally. This result suggests that, although the mean soil temperature cooling will delay the simulated date at which frozen soil begins to thaw, organic matter may provide only limited insulation from surface warming.     

Sensitivity to long-term climate change of subpermafrost groundwater systems in Svalbard

Deep subpermafrost aquifers are highly climate-dependent, with the permafrost as an aquitard preventing groundwater recharge and discharge. A study from the high-arctic island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, shows that during a glacial to interglacial phase, both the permafrost and the glacier regime will respond to climatic changes, and a glacier-fed groundwater flow system will vary accordingly. A full glaciation results in the melting of permafrost, and groundwater can flow through pores and fracture systems in the rocks and sediments below the temperate zones of glaciers. These groundwater flow systems will mainly be localized to fjords and valleys and form low-lying terrestrial springs when the relative sea level drops during deglaciation due to glacio-isostatic rise. During an interglaciation, permafrost develops and thickens and the groundwater recharge and discharge areas will thereby be gradually reduced to a minimum reached at the warmest part of an interglaciation. An already frozen spring system cannot reopen before the permafrost melts. Only groundwater springs related to permanently warm-based glacial ice will persist into the next glaciation. During a new glaciation, flow systems that terminated during the previous interglaciation may become revitalized if overridden by warm-based ice causing permafrost thawing.