Augmentation of the USArray sites with temperature profilers

Dmitry Nicolsky, University of Alaska Fairbanks, djnicolsky@alaska.edu (Presenter)
Vladimir Romanovsky, University of Alaska Fairbanks, veromanovsky@alaska.edu

The ground temperature variability across the Arctic landscape depends on the air temperature, snow cover, moisture content, vegetation, terrain, soil properties, and related environmental variables. A juxtaposition of all these factors results in a highly heterogeneous distribution of the ground temperature, active layer thickness and permafrost conditions. As a result, prediction of subsurface temperature dynamics remains challenging, and mean temperatures for a study region may not account for "hot spots" of change, which alone could significantly contribute to thaw and associated carbon emissions. A solution is to record temperature regimes within different ecotypes, temperature and precipitation conditions, and build a portfolio of subsurface thermal regimes across various ground conditions. The ground temperature profilers installed across Alaska at the USArray sites supplement the existing data loggers and provide means to sample the ground temperature regime in currently underrepresented ecotypes and increase our knowledge of permafrost variability across Alaska and Northern Canada.

Associated Project(s): 

• Nicolsky-01

Poster Location ID: 70

Session Assigned: Permafrost and Hydrology