Permafrost Thermal Regime from Two 30-m Deep Boreholes in Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Two 30-m deep permafrost temperature-monitoring boreholes were installed in bedrock, one at Marble Point and one in the Wright Valley, in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. A soil climate-monitoring station in till is located near each borehole. The ground surface temperature (GST) was highly correl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
Main Authors: GUGLIELMIN, MAURO, Balks MR, Adlam LS, Baio F.
Other Authors: Guglielmin, Mauro, Balks, Mr, Adlam, L, Baio, F.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: 2011
Subjects:
active layer
soil temperature
permafrost temperature
McMurdo Dry Valleys
Antarctica
thermal properties
Ross Sea
Victoria Land
Wright Valley
Marble Point
Antarc*
permafrost
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11383/1742085
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.715
Description
Summary:Two 30-m deep permafrost temperature-monitoring boreholes were installed in bedrock, one at Marble Point and one in the Wright Valley, in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. A soil climate-monitoring station in till is located near each borehole. The ground surface temperature (GST) was highly correlated with the air temperature at both sites in 2008. Thermal offsets were small (< 1 degrees C) in the till and negligible in the boreholes. The active layer was thicker in the boreholes than in the till, presumably because of the higher thermal diffusivity of the rock. The measured depth of zero annual temperature amplitude was around 27 m at Wright Valley and 25 m at Marble Point. Permafrost thickness was estimated at about 680 m at Wright Valley and 490 m at Marble Point. The GST history, reconstructed using an inversion procedure, suggests a slight cooling from 1998 to 2003 followed by a slight warming to 2008. Longer temperature records or deeper boreholes would be required to establish if long-term climate change has occurred

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