A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover
In permafrost environments exposed to strong winds, drifting snow can create a small-scale pattern of strongly variable snow heights, which has profound implications for the thermal regime of the ground. Arrays of 26 to more than 100 temperature loggers were installed to record the distribution of g...
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Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/36736/ http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/2063/2014/tc-8-2063-2014.html https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.44494 |
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ftawi:oai:epic.awi.de:36736 2023-05-15T17:55:43+02:00 A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover Gisnås, K. Westermann, S. Schuler, T. V. Litherland, T. Isaksen, K. Boike, J. Etzelmüller, B. 2014-11-14 https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/36736/ http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/2063/2014/tc-8-2063-2014.html https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.44494 unknown Copernicus Publications Gisnås, K. , Westermann, S. , Schuler, T. V. , Litherland, T. , Isaksen, K. , Boike, J. orcid:0000-0002-5875-2112 and Etzelmüller, B. (2014) A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover , The Cryosphere, 8 (6), pp. 2063-2074 . doi:10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014 <https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014> , hdl:10013/epic.44494 EPIC3The Cryosphere, Copernicus Publications, 8(6), pp. 2063-2074, ISSN: 1994-0424 Article isiRev 2014 ftawi https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014 2021-12-24T15:40:00Z In permafrost environments exposed to strong winds, drifting snow can create a small-scale pattern of strongly variable snow heights, which has profound implications for the thermal regime of the ground. Arrays of 26 to more than 100 temperature loggers were installed to record the distribution of ground surface temperatures within three study areas across a climatic gradient from continuous to sporadic permafrost in Norway. A variability of the mean annual ground surface temperature of up to 6°C was documented within areas of 0.5 km2. The observed variation can, to a large degree, be explained by variation in snow height. Permafrost models, employing averages of snow height for grid cells of, e.g., 1 km2, are not capable of representing such sub-grid variability. We propose a statistical representation of the sub-grid variability of ground surface temperatures and demonstrate that a simple equilibrium permafrost model can reproduce the temperature distribution within a grid cell based on the distribution of snow heights. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost The Cryosphere Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) Norway The Cryosphere 8 6 2063 2074 |
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Open Polar |
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Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) |
op_collection_id |
ftawi |
language |
unknown |
description |
In permafrost environments exposed to strong winds, drifting snow can create a small-scale pattern of strongly variable snow heights, which has profound implications for the thermal regime of the ground. Arrays of 26 to more than 100 temperature loggers were installed to record the distribution of ground surface temperatures within three study areas across a climatic gradient from continuous to sporadic permafrost in Norway. A variability of the mean annual ground surface temperature of up to 6°C was documented within areas of 0.5 km2. The observed variation can, to a large degree, be explained by variation in snow height. Permafrost models, employing averages of snow height for grid cells of, e.g., 1 km2, are not capable of representing such sub-grid variability. We propose a statistical representation of the sub-grid variability of ground surface temperatures and demonstrate that a simple equilibrium permafrost model can reproduce the temperature distribution within a grid cell based on the distribution of snow heights. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gisnås, K. Westermann, S. Schuler, T. V. Litherland, T. Isaksen, K. Boike, J. Etzelmüller, B. |
spellingShingle |
Gisnås, K. Westermann, S. Schuler, T. V. Litherland, T. Isaksen, K. Boike, J. Etzelmüller, B. A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover |
author_facet |
Gisnås, K. Westermann, S. Schuler, T. V. Litherland, T. Isaksen, K. Boike, J. Etzelmüller, B. |
author_sort |
Gisnås, K. |
title |
A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover |
title_short |
A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover |
title_full |
A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover |
title_fullStr |
A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover |
title_full_unstemmed |
A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover |
title_sort |
statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/36736/ http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/2063/2014/tc-8-2063-2014.html https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.44494 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
permafrost The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
permafrost The Cryosphere |
op_source |
EPIC3The Cryosphere, Copernicus Publications, 8(6), pp. 2063-2074, ISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
Gisnås, K. , Westermann, S. , Schuler, T. V. , Litherland, T. , Isaksen, K. , Boike, J. orcid:0000-0002-5875-2112 and Etzelmüller, B. (2014) A statistical approach to represent small-scale variability of permafrost temperatures due to snow cover , The Cryosphere, 8 (6), pp. 2063-2074 . doi:10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014 <https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014> , hdl:10013/epic.44494 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2063 |
op_container_end_page |
2074 |
_version_ |
1766163706414104576 |