Bedrock freeze-thaw weathering regime in an alpine environment,colorado front range

Reduced major axis analysis is used to describe monthly temperature averages for daily maxima, minima, means and ranges at a sequence of bedrock microenvironments in the alpine zone of the Colorado Front Range. Seven thermistors buried at 1 cm in bedrock provide comparative data on easterly, southerly and westerly aspects, and also upon the impact of snow accumulation (?0.5m to ≥4.0m deep) against an east-facing rock wall. Intersite temperatures commonly differ by less than 5°C and, rarely, by more than 10°C. The freezing intensity of freeze-thaw cycles occurring within the confines of a seasonal snow patch rarely dropped to ?5°C, while at snowfree, vertical faces freezing dropped to ?5°C quite commonly. Comparison with laboratory established criteria for effective freeze-thaw weathering (abundant moisture and freezing to at least ?5°C) suggests that moisture rich microsites lack adequate freezing intensity, while adequately frozen sites lack moisture. Available data suggest that the overlap between freeze-thaw and hydration weathering requires careful re-evaluation.