Permafrost distribution and flow regime along a hill slope in West Greenland

Permafrost distribution and flow regime along a hill slope in West Greenland

Sebastian Zastruzny, MSc student, CENPERM/IGN

Methane uptake in arctic tundra soils is strongly related to water saturation and temperature. Therefore understanding the active layer dynamics and the propagation of water and heat is crucial in evaluating the feedback mechanisms of tundra soils.

During a four weeks field campaign in the summer 2015 a set of data was collected, consisting of pedological, hydrological and geophysical information that allows constructing a two-dimensional model in SUTRA with the ambition of simulating the saturation and solute movement in the summer period. Model results suggest the existence of different modes of solute transport that are manly controlled by rainfall and topography and resulting saturation of the sediment.

The next steps are the identification of sensitive parameters to delineate future data needs and if possible the use of an updated model code that allows the incorporation of freeze/thaw dynamics, so that year round simulation of the active layer would be possible.

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