Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada
Warm permafrost conditions (mean temperatures of −3°C to −0.1°C) were investigated in detail at 13 valley and mountain sites in the sporadic (10–50%) and extensive (50–90%) discontinuous permafrost zones in the southern half of the Yukon (60°N to 64°N), using a combination of ground temperature moni...
Published in: | Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703 |
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:perpro:v:22:y:2011:i:4:p:320-342 2023-05-15T16:22:28+02:00 Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada Antoni G. Lewkowicz Bernd Etzelmüller Sharon L. Smith https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703 article ftrepec https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703 2020-12-04T13:31:25Z Warm permafrost conditions (mean temperatures of −3°C to −0.1°C) were investigated in detail at 13 valley and mountain sites in the sporadic (10–50%) and extensive (50–90%) discontinuous permafrost zones in the southern half of the Yukon (60°N to 64°N), using a combination of ground temperature monitoring, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), frost table probing and coring. Sites were selected to cover a wide range of substrates, vegetation types and ground ice contents. ERT profiling in the spring imaged both deep seasonal frost and perennially frozen ground. Deep active layers measured by probing at the end of summer were also detectable by ERT. Where ground temperatures indicated that the base of permafrost was at a depth of less than 25 m, vertical transitions in apparent resistivity were more sharply defined in coarse materials than in fine‐grained deposits, probably because of differences in unfrozen moisture contents at temperatures just below 0°C. Apparent resistivity values related to excess ice fraction and ground temperatures were similar to those previously obtained in Mongolia and Iceland, but generally lower than in ice‐rich rock glaciers in European studies. The observations revealed the complexity of site conditions where permafrost is discontinuous and the utility of ERT, in combination with other methods, to investigate permafrost thickness, spatial extent and ice content for infrastructure planning or climate change studies. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier* Ice Iceland permafrost Yukon RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Yukon Canada Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 22 4 320 342 |
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Open Polar |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
op_collection_id |
ftrepec |
language |
unknown |
description |
Warm permafrost conditions (mean temperatures of −3°C to −0.1°C) were investigated in detail at 13 valley and mountain sites in the sporadic (10–50%) and extensive (50–90%) discontinuous permafrost zones in the southern half of the Yukon (60°N to 64°N), using a combination of ground temperature monitoring, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), frost table probing and coring. Sites were selected to cover a wide range of substrates, vegetation types and ground ice contents. ERT profiling in the spring imaged both deep seasonal frost and perennially frozen ground. Deep active layers measured by probing at the end of summer were also detectable by ERT. Where ground temperatures indicated that the base of permafrost was at a depth of less than 25 m, vertical transitions in apparent resistivity were more sharply defined in coarse materials than in fine‐grained deposits, probably because of differences in unfrozen moisture contents at temperatures just below 0°C. Apparent resistivity values related to excess ice fraction and ground temperatures were similar to those previously obtained in Mongolia and Iceland, but generally lower than in ice‐rich rock glaciers in European studies. The observations revealed the complexity of site conditions where permafrost is discontinuous and the utility of ERT, in combination with other methods, to investigate permafrost thickness, spatial extent and ice content for infrastructure planning or climate change studies. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Antoni G. Lewkowicz Bernd Etzelmüller Sharon L. Smith |
spellingShingle |
Antoni G. Lewkowicz Bernd Etzelmüller Sharon L. Smith Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada |
author_facet |
Antoni G. Lewkowicz Bernd Etzelmüller Sharon L. Smith |
author_sort |
Antoni G. Lewkowicz |
title |
Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada |
title_short |
Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada |
title_full |
Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada |
title_sort |
characteristics of discontinuous permafrost based on ground temperature measurements and electrical resistivity tomography, southern yukon, canada |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703 |
geographic |
Yukon Canada |
geographic_facet |
Yukon Canada |
genre |
glacier* Ice Iceland permafrost Yukon |
genre_facet |
glacier* Ice Iceland permafrost Yukon |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703 |
container_title |
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
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22 |
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4 |
container_start_page |
320 |
op_container_end_page |
342 |
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1766010449694818304 |