Response of active-layer and permafrost temperatures to warming during 1998 in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories and at Canadian Forces Station Alert and Baker Lake, Nunavut

Active-layer and permafrost temperature data collected in the Mackenzie Delta, at Canadian Forces Station Alert and Baker Lake have been analyzed along with climatic data to determine the response of the active layer and the ground thermal regime to the anomalous warming associated with strong El Nino conditions of 1998. In the Mackenzie Delta region, early warming in 1998 resulted in earlier thaw of the active layer, warmer summer ground temperatures, and a longer thaw season which produced greater thaw penetration compared to previous years in the 1990s. At Baker Lake, warming was less pronounced and occurred later in the summer resulting in a slight extension of the thaw season into the fall. Warming was less extreme in the high Arctic but snow depths were greater at CFS Alert in 1998 and this appears to have resulted in higher shallow ground temperatures during the winter (February to April) of 1998. 2001-E5 S.L. Smith et al. 1 CURRENT RESEARCH RECHERCHES EN COURS 2001 Article Article Titles Titres Purchase Information Information pour acheter