Fluxes and meteorological observations on Spitsbergen ...

• Main Author: Westermann, Sebastian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2010
• Subjects: Changing Permafrost in the Arctic and its Global Effects in the 21st Century PAGE21; Permafrost Research Periglacial Dynamics @ AWI AWI_PerDyn; Climate change; permafrost; Svalbard; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.805539; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.805539

Arctic permafrost may be adversely affected by climate change in a number of ways, so that establishing a world-wide monitoring program seems imperative. This thesis evaluates possibilities for permafrost monitoring at the example of a permafrost site on Svalbard, Norway. An energy balance model for permafrost temperatures is developed that evaluates the different components of the surface energy budget in analogy to climate models. The surface energy budget, consisting of radiation components, sensible and latent heat fluxes as well as the ground heat flux, is measured over the course of one year, which has not been accomplished for arctic land areas so far. A considerable small-scale heterogeneity of the summer surface temperature is observed in long-term measurements with a thermal imaging system, which can be reproduced in the energy balance model. The model can also simulate the impact of different snow depths on the soil temperature, that has been documented in field measurements. Furthermore, time ... : Supplement to: Westermann, Sebastian (2010): Sensitivity of permafrost. University of Heidelberg, Combined Faculties for Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the Ruperto-Carola University of Heidelberg, Germany ...