Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost
Abstract In northern regions, transportation infrastructure can experience severe structural damages due to permafrost degradation. Water infiltration and subsurface water flow under an embankment affect the energy balance of roadways and underlying permafrost. However, the quantification of the pro...
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crwiley:10.1002/hyp.13688 2024-09-30T14:21:35+00:00 Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost Chen, Lin Fortier, Daniel McKenzie, Jeffrey M. Sliger, Michel China Scholarship Council Transport Canada 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13688 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.13688 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.13688 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/hyp.13688 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Hydrological Processes volume 34, issue 7, page 1647-1664 ISSN 0885-6087 1099-1085 journal-article 2020 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13688 2024-09-03T04:26:57Z Abstract In northern regions, transportation infrastructure can experience severe structural damages due to permafrost degradation. Water infiltration and subsurface water flow under an embankment affect the energy balance of roadways and underlying permafrost. However, the quantification of the processes controlling these changes and a detailed investigation of their thermal impacts remain largely unknown due to a lack of available long‐term embankment temperature data in permafrost regions. Here, we report observations of heat advection linked to surface water infiltration and subsurface flow based on a 9‐year (from 2009 to 2017) thermal monitoring at an experimental road test site built on ice‐rich permafrost conditions in southwestern Yukon, Canada. Our results show that snowmelt water infiltration in the spring rapidly increases temperature in the upper portion of the embankment. The earlier disappearance of snow deposited at the embankment slope increases the thawing period and the temperature gradient in the embankment compared with the natural ground. Infiltrated summer rainfall water lowered the near‐surface temperatures and subsequently warmed embankment fill materials down to 3.6‐m depth. Heat advection caused by the flow of subsurface water produced warming rates at depth in the embankment subgrade up to two orders of magnitude faster than by atmospheric warming (heat conduction). Subsurface water flow promoted permafrost thawing under the road embankment and led to an increase in active layer thickness. We conclude that the thermal stability of roadways along the Alaska Highway corridor is not maintainable in situations where water is flowing under the infrastructure unless mitigation techniques are used. Severe structural damages to the highway embankment are expected to occur in the next decade. Article in Journal/Newspaper Active layer thickness Ice permafrost Alaska Yukon Wiley Online Library Yukon Canada Hydrological Processes 34 7 1647 1664 |
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English |
description |
Abstract In northern regions, transportation infrastructure can experience severe structural damages due to permafrost degradation. Water infiltration and subsurface water flow under an embankment affect the energy balance of roadways and underlying permafrost. However, the quantification of the processes controlling these changes and a detailed investigation of their thermal impacts remain largely unknown due to a lack of available long‐term embankment temperature data in permafrost regions. Here, we report observations of heat advection linked to surface water infiltration and subsurface flow based on a 9‐year (from 2009 to 2017) thermal monitoring at an experimental road test site built on ice‐rich permafrost conditions in southwestern Yukon, Canada. Our results show that snowmelt water infiltration in the spring rapidly increases temperature in the upper portion of the embankment. The earlier disappearance of snow deposited at the embankment slope increases the thawing period and the temperature gradient in the embankment compared with the natural ground. Infiltrated summer rainfall water lowered the near‐surface temperatures and subsequently warmed embankment fill materials down to 3.6‐m depth. Heat advection caused by the flow of subsurface water produced warming rates at depth in the embankment subgrade up to two orders of magnitude faster than by atmospheric warming (heat conduction). Subsurface water flow promoted permafrost thawing under the road embankment and led to an increase in active layer thickness. We conclude that the thermal stability of roadways along the Alaska Highway corridor is not maintainable in situations where water is flowing under the infrastructure unless mitigation techniques are used. Severe structural damages to the highway embankment are expected to occur in the next decade. |
author2 |
China Scholarship Council Transport Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chen, Lin Fortier, Daniel McKenzie, Jeffrey M. Sliger, Michel |
spellingShingle |
Chen, Lin Fortier, Daniel McKenzie, Jeffrey M. Sliger, Michel Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost |
author_facet |
Chen, Lin Fortier, Daniel McKenzie, Jeffrey M. Sliger, Michel |
author_sort |
Chen, Lin |
title |
Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost |
title_short |
Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost |
title_full |
Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost |
title_fullStr |
Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost |
title_sort |
impact of heat advection on the thermal regime of roads built on permafrost |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13688 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.13688 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.13688 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/hyp.13688 |
geographic |
Yukon Canada |
geographic_facet |
Yukon Canada |
genre |
Active layer thickness Ice permafrost Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Active layer thickness Ice permafrost Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
Hydrological Processes volume 34, issue 7, page 1647-1664 ISSN 0885-6087 1099-1085 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13688 |
container_title |
Hydrological Processes |
container_volume |
34 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1647 |
op_container_end_page |
1664 |
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1811636415478366208 |