Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada
International audience Abstract. The values of the snow and soil thermal conductivity, ksnow and ksoil, strongly impact the thermal regime of the ground in the Arctic, but very few data are available to test model predictions for these variables. We have monitored ksnow and ksoil using heated needle...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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HAL CCSD
2016
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Online Access: | https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/file/tc-10-2573-2016.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 |
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ftinraparis:oai:HAL:insu-03326274v1 |
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Open Polar |
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Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA |
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language |
English |
topic |
[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] |
spellingShingle |
[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] Domine, Florent Barrere, Mathieu Sarrazin, Denis Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada |
topic_facet |
[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] |
description |
International audience Abstract. The values of the snow and soil thermal conductivity, ksnow and ksoil, strongly impact the thermal regime of the ground in the Arctic, but very few data are available to test model predictions for these variables. We have monitored ksnow and ksoil using heated needle probes at Bylot Island in the Canadian High Arctic (73° N, 80° W) between July 2013 and July 2015. Few ksnow data were obtained during the 2013–2014 winter, because little snow was present. During the 2014–2015 winter ksnow monitoring at 2, 12 and 22 cm heights and field observations show that a depth hoar layer with ksnow around 0.02 W m−1 K−1 rapidly formed. At 12 and 22 cm, wind slabs with ksnow around 0.2 to 0.3 W m−1 K−1 formed. The monitoring of ksoil at 10 cm depth shows that in thawed soil ksoil was around 0.7 W m−1 K−1, while in frozen soil it was around 1.9 W m−1 K−1. The transition between both values took place within a few days, with faster thawing than freezing and a hysteresis effect evidenced in the thermal conductivity–liquid water content relationship. The fast transitions suggest that the use of a bimodal distribution of ksoil for modelling may be an interesting option that deserves further testing. Simulations of ksnow using the snow physics model Crocus were performed. Contrary to observations, Crocus predicts high ksnow values at the base of the snowpack (0.12–0.27 W m−1 K−1) and low ones in its upper parts (0.02–0.12 W m−1 K−1). We diagnose that this is because Crocus does not describe the large upward water vapour fluxes caused by the temperature gradient in the snow and soil. These fluxes produce mass transfer between the soil and lower snow layers to the upper snow layers and the atmosphere. Finally, we discuss the importance of the structure and properties of the Arctic snowpack on subnivean life, as species such as lemmings live under the snow most of the year and must travel in the lower snow layer in search of food. |
author2 |
Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ) Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 )-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 ) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Domine, Florent Barrere, Mathieu Sarrazin, Denis |
author_facet |
Domine, Florent Barrere, Mathieu Sarrazin, Denis |
author_sort |
Domine, Florent |
title |
Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada |
title_short |
Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada |
title_full |
Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada |
title_sort |
seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high arctic herb tundra at bylot island, canada |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/file/tc-10-2573-2016.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 |
genre |
Bylot Island The Cryosphere Tundra |
genre_facet |
Bylot Island The Cryosphere Tundra |
op_source |
ISSN: 1994-0424 EISSN: 1994-0416 The Cryosphere https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274 The Cryosphere, 2016, 10 (6), pp.2573-2588. ⟨10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 insu-03326274 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/file/tc-10-2573-2016.pdf doi:10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2573 |
op_container_end_page |
2588 |
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1810437751909122048 |
spelling |
ftinraparis:oai:HAL:insu-03326274v1 2024-09-15T18:00:35+00:00 Seasonal evolution of the effective thermal conductivity of the snow and the soil in high Arctic herb tundra at Bylot Island, Canada Domine, Florent Barrere, Mathieu Sarrazin, Denis Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE) Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ) Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 )-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 ) 2016 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/file/tc-10-2573-2016.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 en eng HAL CCSD Copernicus info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 insu-03326274 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274/file/tc-10-2573-2016.pdf doi:10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 1994-0424 EISSN: 1994-0416 The Cryosphere https://insu.hal.science/insu-03326274 The Cryosphere, 2016, 10 (6), pp.2573-2588. ⟨10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016⟩ [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2016 ftinraparis https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2573-2016 2024-06-25T14:49:31Z International audience Abstract. The values of the snow and soil thermal conductivity, ksnow and ksoil, strongly impact the thermal regime of the ground in the Arctic, but very few data are available to test model predictions for these variables. We have monitored ksnow and ksoil using heated needle probes at Bylot Island in the Canadian High Arctic (73° N, 80° W) between July 2013 and July 2015. Few ksnow data were obtained during the 2013–2014 winter, because little snow was present. During the 2014–2015 winter ksnow monitoring at 2, 12 and 22 cm heights and field observations show that a depth hoar layer with ksnow around 0.02 W m−1 K−1 rapidly formed. At 12 and 22 cm, wind slabs with ksnow around 0.2 to 0.3 W m−1 K−1 formed. The monitoring of ksoil at 10 cm depth shows that in thawed soil ksoil was around 0.7 W m−1 K−1, while in frozen soil it was around 1.9 W m−1 K−1. The transition between both values took place within a few days, with faster thawing than freezing and a hysteresis effect evidenced in the thermal conductivity–liquid water content relationship. The fast transitions suggest that the use of a bimodal distribution of ksoil for modelling may be an interesting option that deserves further testing. Simulations of ksnow using the snow physics model Crocus were performed. Contrary to observations, Crocus predicts high ksnow values at the base of the snowpack (0.12–0.27 W m−1 K−1) and low ones in its upper parts (0.02–0.12 W m−1 K−1). We diagnose that this is because Crocus does not describe the large upward water vapour fluxes caused by the temperature gradient in the snow and soil. These fluxes produce mass transfer between the soil and lower snow layers to the upper snow layers and the atmosphere. Finally, we discuss the importance of the structure and properties of the Arctic snowpack on subnivean life, as species such as lemmings live under the snow most of the year and must travel in the lower snow layer in search of food. Article in Journal/Newspaper Bylot Island The Cryosphere Tundra Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA The Cryosphere 10 6 2573 2588 |