Site-level model intercomparison of high latitude and high altitude soil thermal dynamics in tundra and barren landscapes

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: Ekici, A, Chadburn, S, Chaudhary, N, Hajdu, L.H., Marmy, A, Peng, S, Boike, J, Burke, E, Friend, A. D., Hauck, C, Krinner, G, Langer, M., Miller, P.A, Beer, C
• Other Authors: Stockholm University, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, University of Exeter, Skane University Hospital Lund, University of Cambridge UK (CAM), Department of Geosciences Fribourg, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-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 Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-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)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine (AWI), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association, Met Office Hadley Centre (MOHC), United Kingdom Met Office Exeter
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Arctic; Jules; Ice; permafrost; The Cryosphere; Tundra
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-01285017; https://insu.hal.science/insu-01285017/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-01285017/file/THE%20CRYOSPHERE-Site%20level%20model%20intercomparison%20of%20high%20latitude%20and%20high%20altitude%20soil%20thermal%20dynamics%20in%20tundra%20and%20barren%20landscapes.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1343-2015

International audience Modeling soil thermal dynamics at high latitudes and altitudes requires representations of physical processes such as snow insulation, soil freezing and thawing and sub-surface conditions like soil water/ice content and soil texture. We have compared six different land models: JSBACH, OR-CHIDEE, JULES, COUP, HYBRID8 and LPJ-GUESS, at four different sites with distinct cold region landscape types, to identify the importance of physical processes in capturing observed temperature dynamics in soils. The sites include alpine, high Arctic, wet polygonal tundra and non-permafrost Arctic, thus showing how a range of models can represent distinct soil temperature regimes. For all sites, snow insulation is of major importance for estimating topsoil conditions. However, soil physics is essential for the subsoil temperature dynamics and thus the active layer thicknesses. This analysis shows that land models need more realistic surface processes, such as detailed snow dynamics and moss cover with changing thickness and wetness, along with better representations of subsoil thermal dynamics.