Open AccessGround thermal regime on the Kaffiøyra Plain (NW Spitsbergen) in the period from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2014
Author(s) -
Andrzej Araźny,
Rajmund Przybylak,
Marek Kejna
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
bulletin of geography. physical geography series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 2300-8490
pISSN - 2080-7686
DOI - 10.1515/bgeo-2016-0005
Subject(s) - tundra , permafrost , vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , thermokarst , climatology , atmospheric sciences , vegetation cover , ground level ozone , period (music) , snow cover , snow , coastal plain , physical geography , arctic , geology , meteorology , geography , geomorphology , oceanography , ecology , ozone , medicine , paleontology , physics , pathology , biology , acoustics , grazing
The article presents the results of ground temperature measurements taken at 1 cm to 100 cm below ground level on the Kaffiøyra Plain (NW Spitsbergen) from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2014. Observations of thermal conditions were carried out at three sites located in characteristic polar ecotopes: on a beach, in tundra and on a moraine. The results of ground temperature measurements for the Kaffiøyra Plain were compared to the observations of weather conditions at the nearby meteorological station in Ny-Ålesund. The variability of ground temperature was analysed in annual, seasonal and diurnal courses. These reflected the prevailing meteorological conditions at the time. Substantial differences in ground thermal conditions were found between the ecotopes, which was due to the morphological diversity of the ground, its moisture content, vegetation and snow cover, as well as the depth of the permafrost.