Brief communication: Testing a portable Bullard-type temperature lance confirms highly spatially heterogeneous sediment temperatures under shallow bodies of water in the Arctic

The thermal regime in the sediment column below shallow bodies of water in Arctic permafrost controls benthic habitats and permafrost stability. We present a robust, portable device that measures detailed temperature–depth profiles of the near-surface sediments in less than 1 h. Test campaigns in th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: F. Miesner, W. L. Cable, P. P. Overduin, J. Boike
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2603-2024
https://doaj.org/article/99b79cc3f270406aa669c21d009e9f30
Description
Summary:The thermal regime in the sediment column below shallow bodies of water in Arctic permafrost controls benthic habitats and permafrost stability. We present a robust, portable device that measures detailed temperature–depth profiles of the near-surface sediments in less than 1 h. Test campaigns in the Canadian Arctic and on Svalbard have demonstrated its utility in a range of environments during winter and summer. Measured temperatures were spatially heterogeneous, even within single bodies of water. We observed the broadest temperature range in water less than 1 m deep, a zone that is not captured by single measurements in deeper water.