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Hydrothermal regimes of the dry active layer
Author(s) -
Ishikawa Mamoru,
Zhang Yinsheng,
Kadota Tsutomu,
Ohata Tetsuo
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2005wr004200
Subject(s) - permafrost , active layer , latent heat , snowmelt , environmental science , atmosphere (unit) , evaporation , snow , atmospheric sciences , soil water , arctic , water vapor , sensible heat , infiltration (hvac) , snow cover , hydrology (agriculture) , soil science , layer (electronics) , materials science , geology , meteorology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , geography , oceanography , composite material , thin film transistor
Evaporation and condensation in the soil column clearly influence year‐round nonconductive heat transfer dynamics in the dry active layer underlying semiarid permafrost regions. We deduced this from heat flux components quantified using state‐of‐the‐art micrometeorological data sets obtained in dry and moist summers and in winters with various snow cover depths. Vapor moves easily through large pores, some of which connect to the atmosphere, allowing (1) considerable active layer warming driven by pipe‐like snowmelt infiltration, and (2) direct vapor linkage between atmosphere and deeper soils. Because of strong adhesive forces, water in the dry active layer evaporates with great difficulty. The fraction of latent heat to total soil heat storage ranged from 26 to 45% in dry and moist summers, respectively. These values are not negligible, despite being smaller than those of arctic wet active layer, in which only freezing and thawing were considered.