Influences and interactions of inundation, peat, and snow on active layer thickness

Atchley, Adam L.; Coon, Ethan T.; Painter, Scott L.; Harp, Dylan R.; Wilson, Cathy J.

doi:10.1002/2016GL068550

Title: Influences and interactions of inundation, peat, and snow on active layer thickness

Journal Article · Wed May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068550· OSTI ID:1260075

Atchley, Adam L. ^[1]; Coon, Ethan T. ^[1]; Painter, Scott L. ^[2]; Harp, Dylan R. ^[1]; Wilson, Cathy J. ^[1]

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos New Mexico USA
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division

Active layer thickness (ALT), the uppermost layer of soil that thaws on an annual basis, is a direct control on the amount of organic carbon potentially available for decomposition and release to the atmosphere as carbon-rich Arctic permafrost soils thaw in a warming climate. Here, we investigate how key site characteristics affect ALT using an integrated surface/subsurface permafrost thermal hydrology model. ALT is most sensitive to organic layer thickness followed by snow depth but is relatively insensitive to the amount of water on the landscape with other conditions held fixed. Furthermore, the weak ALT sensitivity to subsurface saturation suggests that changes in Arctic landscape hydrology may only have a minor effect on future ALT. But, surface inundation amplifies the sensitivities to the other parameters and under large snowpacks can trigger the formation of near-surface taliks.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1260075

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1304711

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-15-28074; KP1702010; ERKP757

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, Issue 10; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 43 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (59)

Using field observations to inform thermal hydrology models of permafrost dynamics with ATS (v0.83) Atchley, A. L.; Painter, S. L.; Harp, D. R. Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 8, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2701-2015	journal	January 2015
The Representation of Arctic Soils in the Land Surface Model: The Importance of Mosses Beringer, Jason; Lynch, Amanda H.; Chapin, F. Stuart Journal of Climate, Vol. 14, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2001)014%3C3324:TROASI%3E2.0.CO;2	journal	August 2001
An improved representation of physical permafrost dynamics in the JULES land-surface model Chadburn, S.; Burke, E.; Essery, R. Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 8, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1493-2015	journal	January 2015
Impact of model developments on present and future simulations of permafrost in a global land-surface model Chadburn, S. E.; Burke, E. J.; Essery, R. L. H. The Cryosphere, Vol. 9, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1505-2015	journal	January 2015
Improving the representation of hydrologic processes in Earth System Models: REPRESENTING HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES IN EARTH SYSTEM MODELS Clark, Martyn P.; Fan, Ying; Lawrence, David M. Water Resources Research, Vol. 51, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017096	journal	August 2015
Managing complexity in simulations of land surface and near-surface processes Coon, Ethan T.; David Moulton, J.; Painter, Scott L. Environmental Modelling & Software, Vol. 78 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.12.017	journal	April 2016
Simulation of permafrost and seasonal thaw depth in the JULES land surface scheme Dankers, R.; Burke, E. J.; Price, J. The Cryosphere, Vol. 5, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-773-2011	journal	January 2011
Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change Davidson, Eric A.; Janssens, Ivan A. Nature, Vol. 440, Issue 7081 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04514	journal	March 2006
GEOtop 2.0: simulating the combined energy and water balance at and below the land surface accounting for soil freezing, snow cover and terrain effects Endrizzi, S.; Gruber, S.; Dall'Amico, M. Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 7, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2831-2014	journal	January 2014
Spatial distribution of near surface soil moisture and its relationship to microtopography in the Alaskan Arctic coastal plain Engstrom, R.; Hope, A.; Kwon, H. Hydrology Research, Vol. 36, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2005.0016	journal	June 2005
Non-isothermal, three-phase simulations of near-surface flows in a model permafrost system under seasonal variability and climate change Frampton, Andrew; Painter, Scott; Lyon, Steve W. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 403, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.04.010	journal	June 2011
Microtopographic patterns in an arctic baydjarakh field: do fine-grain patterns enforce landscape stability? Gamon, John A.; Kershaw, G. Peter; Williamson, Scott Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015502	journal	January 2012
A moving-point approach to model shallow ice sheets: a study case with radially symmetrical ice sheets Bonan, B.; Baines, M. J.; Nichols, N. K. The Cryosphere, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1-2016	journal	January 2016
Spatial and seasonal variability of polygonal tundra water balance: Lena River Delta, northern Siberia (Russia) Helbig, Manuel; Boike, Julia; Langer, Moritz Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 21, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-012-0933-4	journal	January 2013
Permafrost Destabilization and Thermokarst Following Snow Fence Installation, Barrow, Alaska, U.S.A Hinkel, Kenneth M.; Hurd, John K. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol. 38, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2006)38%5B530:PDATFS%5D2.0.CO;2	journal	November 2006
Hydrologic and thermal properties of the active layer in the Alaskan Arctic Hinzman, L. D.; Kane, D. L.; Gieck, R. E. Cold Regions Science and Technology, Vol. 19, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-232X(91)90001-W	journal	May 1991
Balancing the Global Carbon Budget Houghton, R. A. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 35, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140057	journal	May 2007
Estimated stocks of circumpolar permafrost carbon with quantified uncertainty ranges and identified data gaps Hugelius, G.; Strauss, J.; Zubrzycki, S. Biogeosciences, Vol. 11, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6573-2014	journal	January 2014
Three-phase numerical model for subsurface hydrology in permafrost-affected regions (PFLOTRAN-ICE v1.0) Karra, S.; Painter, S. L.; Lichtner, P. C. The Cryosphere, Vol. 8, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1935-2014	journal	January 2014
Analysis of Permafrost Thermal Dynamics and Response to Climate Change in the CMIP5 Earth System Models Koven, Charles D.; Riley, William J.; Stern, Alex Journal of Climate, Vol. 26, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00228.1	journal	March 2013
Incorporating organic soil into a global climate model Lawrence, David M.; Slater, Andrew G. Climate Dynamics, Vol. 30, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0278-1	journal	June 2007
Parametrization of peatland hydraulic properties for the Canadian land surface scheme Letts, Matthew G.; Roulet, Nigel T.; Comer, Neil T. Atmosphere-Ocean, Vol. 38, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2000.9649643	journal	March 2000
Pan-Arctic ice-wedge degradation in warming permafrost and its influence on tundra hydrology Liljedahl, Anna K.; Boike, Julia; Daanen, Ronald P. Nature Geoscience, Vol. 9, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2674	journal	March 2016
Nonlinear controls on evapotranspiration in arctic coastal wetlands Liljedahl, A. K.; Hinzman, L. D.; Harazono, Y. Biogeosciences, Vol. 8, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-3375-2011	journal	January 2011
Permafrost thaw in a nested groundwater-flow system McKenzie, Jeffrey M.; Voss, Clifford I. Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 21, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-012-0942-3	journal	January 2013
Subpixel heterogeneity of ice-wedge polygonal tundra: a multi-scale analysis of land cover and evapotranspiration in the Lena River Delta, Siberia Muster, S.; Langer, M.; Heim, B. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, Vol. 64, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v64i0.17301	journal	January 2012
Improved modeling of permafrost dynamics in a GCM land-surface scheme: MODELING PERMAFROST DYNAMICS IN ALASKA BY CLM3 Nicolsky, D. J.; Romanovsky, V. E.; Alexeev, V. A. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL029525	journal	April 2007
Estimation of soil thermal properties using in-situ temperature measurements in the active layer and permafrost Nicolsky, D. J.; Romanovsky, V. E.; Panteleev, G. G. Cold Regions Science and Technology, Vol. 55, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2008.03.003	journal	January 2009
The Effect of Moisture Content on the Thermal Conductivity of Moss and Organic Soil Horizons From Black Spruce Ecosystems in Interior Alaska O'Donnell, Jonathan A.; Romanovsky, Vladimir E.; Harden, Jennifer W. Soil Science, Vol. 174, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1097/SS.0b013e3181c4a7f8	journal	January 2009
Modeling evidence for recent warming of the Arctic soil thermal regime: WARMING OF ARCTIC SOIL Oelke, Christoph; Zhang, Tingjun; Serreze, Mark C. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 31, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL019300	journal	April 2004
The recent warming of permafrost in Alaska Osterkamp, T. Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 49, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2005.09.001	journal	December 2005
Three-phase numerical model of water migration in partially frozen geological media: model formulation, validation, and applications Painter, Scott L. Computational Geosciences, Vol. 15, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-010-9197-z	journal	August 2010
Constitutive Model for Unfrozen Water Content in Subfreezing Unsaturated Soils Painter, Scott L.; Karra, Satish Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 13, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2013.04.0071	journal	January 2014
Modeling challenges for predicting hydrologic response to degrading permafrost Painter, S. L.; Moulton, J. D.; Wilson, C. J. Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 21, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-012-0917-4	journal	November 2012
The Effect of Soil Thermal Conductivity Parameterization on Surface Energy Fluxes and Temperatures Peters-Lidard, C. D.; Blackburn, E.; Liang, X. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 55, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055%3C1209:TEOSTC%3E2.0.CO;2	journal	April 1998
Simulating soil freeze/thaw dynamics with an improved pan-Arctic water balance model: SOIL FREEZE/THAW MODELING Rawlins, M. A.; Nicolsky, D. J.; McDonald, K. C. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 5, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/jame.20045	journal	October 2013
Importance of a soil organic layer for Arctic climate: A sensitivity study with an Arctic RCM Rinke, Annette; Kuhry, Peter; Dethloff, Klaus Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 35, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL034052	journal	January 2008
Hydrology of a Tundra Wetland Complex on the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain, U.S.A. Rovansek, Ronald J.; Hinzman, Larry D.; Kane, Douglas L. Arctic and Alpine Research, Vol. 28, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2307/1552110	journal	August 1996
The role of advective heat transport in talik development beneath lakes and ponds in discontinuous permafrost: GROUNDWATER FLOW AND LAKE TALIK Rowland, J. C.; Travis, B. J.; Wilson, C. J. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 38, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048497	journal	September 2011
Improving simulated soil temperatures and soil freeze/thaw at high-latitude regions in the Simple Biosphere/Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach model Schaefer, Kevin; Zhang, Tingjun; Slater, Andrew G. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 114, Issue F2 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JF001125	journal	January 2009
Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon to Climate Change: Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle Schuur, Edward A. G.; Bockheim, James; Canadell, Josep G. BioScience, Vol. 58, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1641/B580807	journal	September 2008
Patterns of permafrost formation and degradation in relation to climate and ecosystems Shur, Y. L.; Jorgenson, M. T. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, Vol. 18, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.582	journal	January 2007
Diagnosing Present and Future Permafrost from Climate Models Slater, Andrew G.; Lawrence, David M. Journal of Climate, Vol. 26, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00341.1	journal	August 2013
Effects of microtopography on texture, temperature and heat flow in Arctic and sub-Arctic snow Sturm, Matthew; Holmgren, Jonathan Annals of Glaciology, Vol. 19 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260305500010995	journal	January 1994
Soil organic carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region: SOIL ORGANIC CARBON POOLS Tarnocai, C.; Canadell, J. G.; Schuur, E. A. G. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 23, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GB003327	journal	June 2009
Identifying multiscale zonation and assessing the relative importance of polygon geomorphology on carbon fluxes in an Arctic tundra ecosystem: ZONATION APPROACH IN AN ARCTIC ECOSYSTEM Wainwright, Haruko M.; Dafflon, Baptiste; Smith, Lydia J. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 120, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JG002799	journal	April 2015
Simulating the thermal regime and thaw processes of ice-rich permafrost ground with the land-surface model CryoGrid 3 Westermann, S.; Langer, M.; Boike, J. Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 9, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-523-2016	journal	January 2016
High Arctic Patchy Wetlands: Hydrologic Variability and Their Sustainability Woo, Ming-ko; Young, Kathy L.; Brown, Laura Physical Geography, Vol. 27, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2747/0272-3646.27.4.297	journal	January 2006
Impacts of peat and vegetation on permafrost degradation under climate warming: PERMAFROST DEGRADATION Yi, Shuhua; Woo, Ming-ko; Arain, M. Altaf Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL030550	journal	August 2007
Characteristics of organic soil in black spruce forests: Implications for the application of land surface and ecosystem models in cold regions Yi, Shuhua; Manies, Kristen; Harden, Jennifer Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 36, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL037014	journal	January 2009
Freeze/thaw processes in complex permafrost landscapes of northern Siberia simulated using the TEM ecosystem model: impact of thermokarst ponds and lakes Yi, S.; Wischnewski, K.; Langer, M. Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 7, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1671-2014	journal	January 2014
Microtopographic controls on ecosystem functioning in the Arctic Coastal Plain Zona, D.; Lipson, D. A.; Zulueta, R. C. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JG001241	journal	January 2011
An improved representation of physical permafrost dynamics in the JULES land surface model Chadburn, S.; Burke, E.; Essery, R. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmdd-8-715-2015	journal	January 2015
Thermal Properties of Soils Blake, George R. Soil Science, Vol. 70, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-195008000-00030	journal	January 1950
Effects of microtopography on texture, temperature and heat flow in Arctic and sub-Arctic snow Sturm, Matthew; Holmgren, Jonathan Annals of Glaciology, Vol. 19 https://doi.org/10.3189/1994aog19-1-63-68	journal	January 1994
Using field observations to inform thermal hydrology models of permafrost dynamics with ATS (v0.83) Atchley, A. L.; Painter, S. L.; Harp, D. R. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmdd-8-3235-2015	journal	January 2015
Simulation of permafrost and seasonal thaw depth in the JULES land surface scheme Dankers, R.; Burke, E. J.; Price, J. The Cryosphere Discussions https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-5-1263-2011	journal	April 2011
Thermal properties of soils Williams, D. E. Power Engineering Journal, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1049/pe:19910011	journal	January 1991
Impact of model developments on present and future simulations of permafrost in a global land-surface model Chadburn, S. E.; Burke, E. J.; Essery, R. L. H. The Cryosphere Discussions, Vol. 9, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-9-1965-2015	journal	January 2015

Cited By (15)

Hydrometeorological measurements in peatland‐dominated, discontinuous permafrost at Scotty Creek, Northwest Territories, Canada Haynes, Kristine M.; Connon, Ryan F.; Quinton, William L. Geoscience Data Journal, Vol. 6, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.69	journal	June 2019
Controls on permafrost thaw in a coupled groundwater-flow and heat-transport system: Iqaluit Airport, Nunavut, Canada Shojae Ghias, Masoumeh; Therrien, René; Molson, John Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 25, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-016-1515-7	journal	December 2016
Coupled cryo-hydrogeological modelling of permafrost dynamics near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Canada) Dagenais, S.; Molson, J.; Lemieux, J-M. Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 28, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02111-3	journal	February 2020
Soil Physical, Hydraulic, and Thermal Properties in Interior Alaska, USA: Implications for Hydrologic Response to Thawing Permafrost Conditions Ebel, Brian A.; Koch, Joshua C.; Walvoord, Michelle A. Water Resources Research, Vol. 55, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018wr023673	journal	May 2019
Taliks: A Tipping Point in Discontinuous Permafrost Degradation in Peatlands Devoie, Élise G.; Craig, James R.; Connon, Ryan F. Water Resources Research, Vol. 55, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018wr024488	journal	November 2019
Feedbacks Between Surface Deformation and Permafrost Degradation in Ice Wedge Polygons, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska Abolt, Charles J.; Young, Michael H.; Atchley, Adam L. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Vol. 125, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jf005349	journal	March 2020
Modeling the role of preferential snow accumulation in through talik development and hillslope groundwater flow in a transitional permafrost landscape Jafarov, Elchin E.; Coon, Ethan T.; Harp, Dylan R. Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aadd30	journal	October 2018
Permafrost thaw induced drying of wetlands at Scotty Creek, NWT, Canada Haynes, K. M.; Connon, R. F.; Quinton, W. L. Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae46c	journal	October 2018
Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale Porada, Philipp; Ekici, Altug; Beer, Christian The Cryosphere, Vol. 10, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016	journal	January 2016
Semi-automated calibration method for modelling of mountain permafrost evolution in Switzerland Marmy, Antoine; Rajczak, Jan; Delaloye, Reynald The Cryosphere, Vol. 10, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2693-2016	journal	January 2016
Microtopographic control on the ground thermal regime in ice wedge polygons Abolt, Charles J.; Young, Michael H.; Atchley, Adam L. The Cryosphere, Vol. 12, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1957-2018	journal	January 2018
New insights into the environmental factors controlling the ground thermal regime across the Northern Hemisphere: a comparison between permafrost and non-permafrost areas Karjalainen, Olli; Luoto, Miska; Aalto, Juha The Cryosphere, Vol. 13, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-693-2019	journal	January 2019
Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale Porada, P.; Ekici, A.; Beer, C. The Cryosphere Discussions https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2015-223	posted_content	February 2016
Semi-automated calibration method for modelling of mountain permafrost evolution in Switzerland Marmy, Antoine; Rajczak, Jan; Delaloye, Reynald Copernicus Publications https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-128924	text	January 2016
Semi-automated calibration method for modelling of mountain permafrost evolution in Switzerland Marmy, A.; Rajczak, J.; Delaloye, R. The Cryosphere Discussions https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-9-4787-2015	posted_content	September 2015

Similar Records

Influences and Interactions of Inundation, Peat, and Snow on Active Layer Thickness: Modeling Archive

Dataset · Tue Sep 06 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · OSTI ID:1260075

Atchley, Adam; Coon, Ethan; Painter, Scott; +2 more

Using field observations to inform thermal hydrology models of permafrost dynamics with ATS (v0.83)

Journal Article · Tue Apr 14 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Geoscientific Model Development Discussions (Online) · OSTI ID:1260075

Atchley, A. L.; Painter, S. L.; Harp, D. R.; +4 more

Using field observations to inform thermal hydrology models of permafrost dynamics with ATS (v0.83)

Journal Article · Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Geoscientific Model Development (Online) · OSTI ID:1260075

Atchley, Adam L.; Painter, Scott L.; Harp, Dylan R.; +4 more

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
active layer thickness
thermal hydrology
inundation and soil moisture
ALT sensitivity
organic soil thermal properties
snow depth
58 GEOSCIENCES
Planetary Sciences

Title: Influences and interactions of inundation, peat, and snow on active layer thickness

Citation Formats

References (59)

Cited By (15)

Similar Records

Related Subjects