Permafrost and seasonal frost are considered key components of the cryosphere, and the climate-permafrost relation has acquired added importance with the increasing awareness and concern of rising temperatures. CRYOLINK aims at improving knowledge on past and present ground temperatures, seasonal frost, permafrost distribution and related periglacial processes in Southern Norway and adjoining regions of the North Atlantic region (Greenland and Iceland), by addressing the fundamental problem of heat transfer between the atmosphere and the ground surface. Methodologically, the project will develop functional thermal offset models linking air temperatures to ground and permafrost temperatures through seasonal surface transfer functions and subsurface thermal properties based on field observations. The project will further develop and apply transient heat transfer models in 1D and 2D to address past and future heat transport into the ground. The project ultimately will develop regionally distributed models to address the distributions of surface and ground temperatures in space, and annual thaw and freezing depths. Within this task we will combine gridded meteorological information, a distributed snow model, surface and subsurface characteristics within both a equilibrium-based and a transient heat-flux model. The outcome is expected to be of importance for infrastructure maintenance (seasonal frost), slope stability (permafrost) and climate impact response of the landscape.
About the project
The CRYOLINK project will develop functional thermal offset models linking air temperatures to ground and permafrost temperatures through seasonal surface transfer functions and subsurface thermal properties based on field observations from established borehole sites. The project will further develop and apply transient heat transfer models in 1D and 2D to address past and future heat transport into the ground. The project ultimately will develop regionally distributed models to address the distributions of surface and ground temperatures in space, and annual thaw and freezing depths. Within this task we will combine gridded meteorological information, a distributed snow model, surface and subsurface characteristics within both a equilibrium-based and a transient heat-flux model. The outcome is expected to be of importance for infrastructure maintenance (seasonal frost), slope stability (permafrost) and climate impact response of the landscape. CRYOLINK was started in August 2008 and will be finished at the end of 2011.
Financing
This project is funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and in-kind contributions from the collaboration partners.