A Model of Ice Wedge Polygon Drainage in Changing Arctic Terrain
- Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
As ice wedge degradation and the inundation of polygonal troughs become increasingly common processes across the Arctic, lateral export of water from polygonal soils may represent an important mechanism for the mobilization of dissolved organic carbon and other solutes. However, drainage from ice wedge polygons is poorly understood. We constructed a model which uses cross-sectional flow nets to define flow paths of meltwater through the active layer of an inundated low-centered polygon towards the trough. The model includes the effects of evaporation and simulates the depletion of ponded water in the polygon center during the thaw season. In most simulations, we discovered a strong hydrodynamic edge effect: only a small fraction of the polygon volume near the rim area is flushed by the drainage at relatively high velocities, suggesting that nearly all advective transport of solutes, heat, and soil particles is confined to this zone. Estimates of characteristic drainage times from the polygon center are consistent with published field observations.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC). Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001
- OSTI ID:
- 1756800
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR--20-22800
- Journal Information:
- Water (Basel), Journal Name: Water (Basel) Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 12; ISSN 2073-4441
- Publisher:
- MDPICopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English