Effect of thaws on snow cover and soil freezing under the contemporary climate change

A. V. Sosnovsky; N. I. Osokin

doi:10.15356/2076-6734-2019-4-433

Effect of thaws on snow cover and soil freezing under the contemporary climate change

A. V. Sosnovsky, N. I. Osokin

https://doi.org/10.15356/2076-6734-2019-4-433

Full Text:

Abstract

Thaw and liquid precipitation retard cooling of snow cover and soil surface and so may be a factor of heating. This slows down the soil freezing due to more active freezing of the wet snow, and, thus, promotes cooling and re-cooling of the soil. However, there are a number of factors which intensify the soil freezing after thaw. With thaw, the thickness of the snow cover decreases, and its density increases. In addition, after freezing wet snow improves the contact between the ice crystals, which increases the hardness and thermal conductivity of the snow. As a result, after the thaw, the thermal protection ability of the snow decreases, and this can accelerate freezing of the soil. The dynamics of snow accumulation in Russia is considered in the paper. Using data obtained in the Western Svalbard, we demonstrate the increase in the number of thaws and liquid precipitation and influence of them on the snow cover and soil freezing. The influence of thaw on the growth of thermal resistance of snow cover is also considered. Calculations have shown that in the absence of a thaw, the depth of soil freezing is 1.26 m. With a thaw lasting 10 days, which begins on the 40th day from the start of soil freezing, the depth of freezing is reduced down to 1.2 m without considering changes in snow cover. When taking into account changes in the thermal resistance of snow cover, the depth of soil freezing by the end of the cold period increases up to 1.32 cm. With a thaw in the mid-winter, i.e. on the 70th day, the depth of freezing decreases down to 1.22 m, that is smaller than the depth of freezing without thaw. This scenario is in accordance with changes in snow accumulation dynamics under the present-day climate, as in many areas most of the solid precipitation falls in the first half of the cold period. As a result, for a period after a thaw the smaller volume of snow will be deposited, and this will retard increasing in thermal resistance of the snow cover

Keywords

climate changes, depth of soil freezing, liquid precipitation, mathematical modeling, snow cover, thaws, thermal conductivity,

About the Authors

A. V. Sosnovsky

Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation

N. I. Osokin

Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation

References

1. Etzelmuller B., Schuler T.V., Isaksen K., Christiansen H.H., Farbrot H., Benestad R. Modeling the temperature evolution of Svalbard permafrost during the 20th and 21st century. The Cryosphere. 2011, 5: 67–79. doi: 10.5194/tc-5-67-2011.

2. Osterkamp T.E., Viereck L., Shur Y., Jorgenson M.T., Racine C.H., Doyle A.P., Boone R.D. Observations of thermokarst in boreal forests in Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, Alpine Research. 2000, 32 (3): 303–315.

3. Jorgenson M.T., Racine C.H., Waiters J.C., Osterkamp T.E. Permafrost degradation and ecological changes associated with a warming climate in central Alaska. Climate Change. 2001, 48: 551–579.

4. Yoshikawa K., Hinzman L. Shrinking thermokarst ponds and groundwater dynamics in discontinuous permafrost. Permafrost Periglacial Process. 2003, 14: 151–160.

5. Richter G.D. Rol’ snezhnogo pokrova v fiziko-geogra ficheskom protsesse. The role of snow cover in the physical-geographical process. Trudy Instituta geografii AN SSSR. Proc. of the Institute of Geography, USSR Academy of Sciences. 1948, 40: 64–75. [In Russian].

6. Sherstyukov A.B. Correlation of soil temperature with air temperature and snow depth in Russia. Kriosfera Zemli. Earth’s Cryosphere. 2008, ХII (1): 79–87. [In Russian].

7. Yonghong Yi., John S. Kimball, Richard H. Chen, Mahta Moghaddam, Charles E. Miller. Sensitivity of active-layer freezing process to snow cover in Arctic Alaska. The Cryosphere. 2019, 13: 197–218. doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-197-2019.

8. Osokin N.I., Sosnovsky A.V., Nakalov P.R., Cher nov R.A., Lavrentiev I.I. Climatic change and dynamics of the permafrost on Svalbard. Led i Sneg. Ice and Snow. 2012, 2 (52): 115–120. [In Russian].

9. Shmakin A.B. Climatic characteristics of snow cover of Northern Eurasia and their variation in the last decades. Led i Sneg. Ice and Snow. 2010, 1 (109): 43–57. [In Russian].

10. Osokin N.I., Sosnovsky A.V. Spatial and temporal variability of depth and density of the snow cover in Russia. Led i Sneg. Ice and Snow. 2014, 54 (4): 72–80. [In Russian].

11. Semenov V.A., Bengtsson L. Secular trends in daily precipitation characteristics: greenhouse gas simulation with a coupled AOGCM. Climate Dynamics. 2002, 19: 123–140. doi: 10.1007/s00382-001-0218-4.

12. Westermann S., Boike J., Langer M., Schuler T.V., Etzelmüller B. Modeling the impact of wintertime rain events on the thermal regime of permafrost. The Cryosphere. 2011, 5: 945–959.

13. Shmakin A.B., Osokin N.I., Sosnovsky A.V., Zazovs kaya E.P., Borzenkova A.V. Influence of snow cover on soil freezing and thawing in the West Spitsbergen. Led i Sneg. Ice and Snow. 2013, 53 (4): 52–59. [In Russian].

14. Rennert K., Roe G., Putkonen J., Bitz C. Soil thermal and ecological impacts of rain on snow events in the circumpolar Arctic. Journ. of Climate. 2009, 22: 2302–2315.

15. Putkonen J., Roe G. Rain-on-snow events impact soil temperatures and affect ungulate survival. Geophys. Research Letters. 2003, 30 (4): 1188. doi: 10.1029/2002GL016326.

16. Kotlyakov V.M., Sosnovsky A.V., Osokin N.I. Estimation of thermal conductivity of snow by its density and hardness in Svalbard. Led i Sneg. Ice and Snow. 2018, 58 (3): 343–352. doi: 10.15356/2076-6734-2018-3-343-352. [In Russian].

17. Osokin N.I., Sosnovsky A.V. Impact of dynamics of air temperature and snow cover thickness on the ground freezing. Kriosfera Zemli. Earth’s Cryosphere. 2015, XIX (1): 99–105. [In Russian].

18. Pavlov A.V. Monitoring kriolitozony. Monitoring of Permafrost. Novosibirsk: Geo Publishers, 2008: 230 p. [In Russian].

Supplementary files

For citation: Sosnovsky A.V., Osokin N.I. Effect of thaws on snow cover and soil freezing under the contemporary climate change. Ice and Snow. 2019;59(4):475-482. https://doi.org/10.15356/2076-6734-2019-4-433

Refbacks

There are currently no refbacks.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

ISSN 2076-6734 (Print)
ISSN 2412-3765 (Online)

Username
Password