Journal
CRYOSPHERE
Volume 9, Issue 2, Pages 465-478Publisher
COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH
DOI: 10.5194/tc-9-465-2015
Keywords
-
Funding
- Sveriges Geologiska Undersokning (SGU)
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Lagrelius fond
- Goran Gustafssons Stiftelse for natur och miljo i Lappland
- Svenska Sallskapet for Antropologi och Geografi
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Permafrost peatlands are hydrological and biogeochemical hotspots in the discontinuous permafrost zone. Non-intrusive geophysical methods offer a possibility to map current permafrost spatial distributions in these environments. In this study, we estimate the depths to the permafrost table and base across a peatland in northern Sweden, using ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography. Seasonal thaw frost tables (at similar to 0.5 m depth), taliks (2.1-6.7 m deep), and the permafrost base (at similar to 16 m depth) could be detected. Higher occurrences of taliks were discovered at locations with a lower relative height of permafrost landforms, which is indicative of lower ground ice content at these locations. These results highlight the added value of combining geophysical techniques for assessing spatial distributions of permafrost within the rapidly changing sporadic permafrost zone. For example, based on a back-of-the-envelope calculation for the site considered here, we estimated that the permafrost could thaw completely within the next 3 centuries. Thus there is a clear need to benchmark current permafrost distributions and characteristics, particularly in under studied regions of the pan-Arctic.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available