Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications
The timing and duration of snow cover in areas of mountain permafrost affect the ground thermal regime by thermally insulating the ground from the atmosphere and modifying the radiation balance at the surface. Snow depth records, however, are sparse in high‐mountain terrains. Here, we present data p...
Published in: | Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1890 |
id |
ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:perpro:v:28:y:2017:i:1:p:237-248 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:perpro:v:28:y:2017:i:1:p:237-248 2023-05-15T17:57:19+02:00 Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications Benno Staub Reynald Delaloye https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1890 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1890 article ftrepec https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1890 2020-12-04T13:31:03Z The timing and duration of snow cover in areas of mountain permafrost affect the ground thermal regime by thermally insulating the ground from the atmosphere and modifying the radiation balance at the surface. Snow depth records, however, are sparse in high‐mountain terrains. Here, we present data processing techniques to approximate the thermal insulation effect of snow cover. We propose some simple ‘snow thermal insulation indices’ using daily and weekly variations in ground surface temperatures (GSTs), as well as a ‘snow melt index’ that approximates the snow melt rate using a degree‐day approach with air temperature during the zero curtain period. The indices consider point‐specific characteristics and allow the reconstruction of past snow thermal conditions and snow melt rates using long GST time series. The application of these indices to GST monitoring data from the Swiss Alps revealed large spatial and temporal variability in the start and duration of the high‐insulation period by snow and in the snow melt rate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 28 1 237 248 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
op_collection_id |
ftrepec |
language |
unknown |
description |
The timing and duration of snow cover in areas of mountain permafrost affect the ground thermal regime by thermally insulating the ground from the atmosphere and modifying the radiation balance at the surface. Snow depth records, however, are sparse in high‐mountain terrains. Here, we present data processing techniques to approximate the thermal insulation effect of snow cover. We propose some simple ‘snow thermal insulation indices’ using daily and weekly variations in ground surface temperatures (GSTs), as well as a ‘snow melt index’ that approximates the snow melt rate using a degree‐day approach with air temperature during the zero curtain period. The indices consider point‐specific characteristics and allow the reconstruction of past snow thermal conditions and snow melt rates using long GST time series. The application of these indices to GST monitoring data from the Swiss Alps revealed large spatial and temporal variability in the start and duration of the high‐insulation period by snow and in the snow melt rate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Benno Staub Reynald Delaloye |
spellingShingle |
Benno Staub Reynald Delaloye Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications |
author_facet |
Benno Staub Reynald Delaloye |
author_sort |
Benno Staub |
title |
Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications |
title_short |
Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications |
title_full |
Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications |
title_fullStr |
Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using Near‐Surface Ground Temperature Data to Derive Snow Insulation and Melt Indices for Mountain Permafrost Applications |
title_sort |
using near‐surface ground temperature data to derive snow insulation and melt indices for mountain permafrost applications |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1890 |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1890 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1890 |
container_title |
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
container_volume |
28 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
237 |
op_container_end_page |
248 |
_version_ |
1766165725058170880 |