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

• 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: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; permafrost; Svalbard; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2603-2024; https://doaj.org/article/99b79cc3f270406aa669c21d009e9f30

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.