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Utilizing the TTOP model to understand spatial permafrost temperature variability in a High Arctic landscape, Cape Bounty, Nunavut, Canada
Author(s) -
Garibaldi Madeleine C.,
Bonnaventure Philip P.,
Lamoureux Scott F.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
permafrost and periglacial processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-1530
pISSN - 1045-6740
DOI - 10.1002/ppp.2086
Subject(s) - permafrost , arctic , snow , climate change , environmental science , geology , physical geography , climatology , spatial variability , tundra , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , geomorphology , geography , statistics , mathematics
Ground surface and permafrost temperatures in the High Arctic are often considered homogeneous especially when viewed at the scale of climate and environmental models. However, this is generally incorrect due to highly variable, topographically redistributed snow cover, which generates a substantial degree of ground thermal heterogeneity. The objective of this study is to describe and spatially model the variability in the ground thermal regime within the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO), Nunavut, Canada, using the TTOP model, for current conditions in addition to a series of future climate change scenarios. While observed air temperature was mostly uniform, annual mean ground surface and permafrost temperatures across the paired watersheds were estimated to range between −3.8 to −13.8°C and −3.9 to −14°C, respectively, similar to the −5 to −15°C magnitude and range identified from boreholes across the High Arctic. The spatial models showed higher ground surface temperatures in topographic hollows (slope bases and stream channels), and lower temperatures in areas of topographic prominence (hilltops and plateaus) following the spatial pattern of snow accumulation and redistribution. Under projected climate change, the models predicted areas with the coldest permafrost to have the largest magnitude of warming (about 9°C), while areas of warm permafrost became closer to 0°C (warming 4–7°C). This thermal heterogeneity may have implications for ground instability such as permafrost‐related mass movements, hydrological connectivity, biogeochemical cycling, and microbial activity, which influence water quality and contaminant mobility.