Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T15:00:51.347Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interannual active layer variability at the Limnopolar Lake CALM site on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2013

M.A. de Pablo ,
J.J. Blanco ,
A. Molina ,
M. Ramos ,
A. Quesada  and
G. Vieira
M.A. de Pablo*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Madrid, Spain
J.J. Blanco
Affiliation:
Departamento de Física. Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Madrid, Spain
A. Molina
Affiliation:
Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC/INTA), 28850 Madrid, Spain
M. Ramos
Affiliation:
Departamento de Física. Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Madrid, Spain
A. Quesada
Affiliation:
Facultad de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
G. Vieira
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudos Geográficos, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
*
miguelangel.depablo@uah.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In order to monitor the evolution of the active layer in the South Shetland Islands, in February 2009 we established a new Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) site in the Limnopolar Lake basin on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island. We monitored air, surface and ground (two boreholes of 135 and 80 cm deep) temperatures and Active Layer Thickness (ALT) was measured by mechanical probing in early February 2009, 2010 and 2011. The mean ALT was 44 cm with a range of about 92 cm, but where permafrost existed it was deeper than 1.0 m, as could be inferred from the borehole temperatures. ALT at this site was very dependent on air temperature and snow cover thickness, the ALT spatial distribution presenting the same pattern as soil penetration resistance, and higher values ALT coinciding with sites where patterned ground, ponds, and a near surface ground water saturation were observed. Additionally, ground temperature data provided an excellent tool for understanding the relationship between the ALT measured during the thaw season and the thermal evolution of the ground throughout the year.

Keywords

climatehydrologypermafrostSouth Shetland Islandstemperature
Type
Research Articles
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 2: Byers Peninsula – A New Reference Site For The Maritime Antarctic , April 2013 , pp. 167 - 180
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Assel, R.A. 1980. Maximum freezing degree-days as a winter severity index for the Great Lakes, 1897–1977. Monthly Weather Review, 108, 1440–1445.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ATCM ( Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting ). 2003. Management plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 126, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands. SCAR Bulletin, 150, 39–52.Google Scholar
Bañon, M. 2001. Meteorological observations at the Spanish Antarctic Base Juan Carlos I. Spanish Ministry of Environment. National Institute of Meteorology, Madrid. [In Spanish].Google Scholar
Bañón, M., Justel, A., Velázquez, D.Quesada, A. 2013. Regional weather survey in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 25, 10.1017/S0954102012001046CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bjork, S., Hiort, C., Ingolfsson, O., Zale, R.Ising, J. 1996. Holocene deglaciation chronology from lake sediments. In López-Martínez, J., Thomson,M.R.A.&Thomson,J.W.,eds. Geomorphological map of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, BAS Geomap Series, Sheet 5-A, Scale 1:25 000. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey, 49–51.Google Scholar
Blanco, J.J., Hidalgo, M.A., Ramos, M.Vieira, G. 2010. Determinación de la difusividad térmica en suelos helados en la Isla Livingston. In Blanco,J.J.,dePablo,M.A.&Ramos,M., eds. Ambientes periglaciares, permafrost y variabilidad Climática: II Congreso Ibérico de la International Permafrost Association. Alcalá de Henares: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alcalá, 145–151. [In Spanish].Google Scholar
Bockheim, J.G. 2006. Permafrost distribution in the southern circumpolar region and its relation to the environment: a review and recommendations for further research. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 6, 27–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J., Nelson, F.E.Hinkel, K.M. 2000. The circumpolar active layer monitoring (CALM) program research designs and initial results. Polar Geography, 3, 165–258.Google Scholar
Campbell, G.S.Norman, J.M. 2000. An introduction to environmental biophysics, 2nd ed. New York: Springer, 286 pp.Google Scholar
Danby, R.Hik, D. 2007. Responses of white spruce (Picea glauca) to experimental warming at subsurface alpine treeline. Global Change Biology, 13, 437–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Pablo, M.A., Ramos, M., Vieira, G.Quesada, A. 2010. A new CALM-S site on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica. In Blanco,J.J.,dePablo,M.A.&Ramos,M., eds. Ambientes periglaciares, permafrost y variabilidad Climática: II Congreso Ibérico de la International Permafrost Association. Alcalá de Henares: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alcalá, 153–159.Google Scholar
Hall, K. 2002. Review of present and quaternary periglacial processes and landforms of the maritime and sub-Antarctic region. South Africa Journal of Science, 98, 71–81.Google Scholar
Harris, C.Vonder Muhll, D. 2001. Permafrost and climate in Europe: climate change, mountain permafrost degradation and geotechnical hazard. In Visconti,G.,Benniston,M.,Iannorelli,E.D.&Barba,D.,eds. Global change and protected areas. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 71–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinkel, K.M. 1997. Estimating seasonal values of thermal diffusivity in thawed and frozen soils using temperature time series. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 26, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinkel, K.M., Outcalt, S.I.Nelson, F.E. 1990. Temperature variation and apparent thermal diffusivity in the refreezing active layer, Toolik Lake, Alaska. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 1, 265–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinkel, K.M., Paetzol, F., Nelson, F.E.Bockheim, J.G. 2001. Patterns of soil temperature and moisture in the active layer and upper permafrost at Barrow, Alaska: 1993–1999. Global and Planetary Change, 29, 293–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karunaratne, K.C.Burn, C.R. 2003. Freezing n-factors in discontinuos permafrost terrain, Takhini River, Yukon Territory, Canada. In Phillips,M.,Springman,S.M.&Arenson, L.U., eds. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost. London: Taylor & Francis, 519–524.Google Scholar
Klene, A.E., Nelson, F.E., Shiklomanov, N.I.Hinkel, K.M. 2001. The n-factor in natural landscapes: variability of air and soil-surface temperatures, Kuparuk River Basin, Alaska, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 33, 140–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
López-Martínez, J., Thomson, M.R.A.Thomson, J.W.eds. 1996. Geomorphological map of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, BAS GEOMAP Series, Sheet 5-A, Scale 1:25 000. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey.Google Scholar
López-Martínez, J., Serrano, E., Schmid, T., Mink, S.Linés, C. 2012. Periglacial processes and landforms in the South Shetland Islands (northern Antarctic Peninsula region). Geomorphology, 155, 62–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsuoka, N. 2006. Monitoring periglacial processes: towards construction of a global network. Geomorphology, 80, 20–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsuoka, N.Humlum, O. 2003. Monitoring periglacial processes: new methodology and technology. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 14, 299–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, F.E.Shiklomanov, N.I. 2009. The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring Network–CALM III (2009–2014): long-term observations on the “Climate-Active Layer-Permafrost System”. In Blanco,J.J.,dePablo,M.A.&Ramos,M., eds. Ambientes periglaciares, permafrost y variabilidad Climática: II Congreso Ibérico de la International Permafrost Association. Alcalá de Henares: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alcalá, 9–14.Google Scholar
Nelson, F.E., Shiklomanov, N.I., Hinkel, K.Christiansen, H. 2004. Introduction: the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring Network (CALM) workshop and CALM II program. Polar Geography, 28, 253–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quesada, A., Camacho, A., Rochera, C.Velázquez, D. 2009. Byers Peninsula: a reference site for coastal, terrestrial and limnetic ecosystems studies in maritime Antarctica. Polar Science, 3, 181–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quinn, F.H., Assel, R.A., Boyce, D.E., Leshkevich, G.A., Snider, C.R.Weisnet, D. 1978. Summary of Great Lakes weather and ice conditions, winter 1976–77. NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL GLERL-20, 141 pp.Google Scholar
Ramos, M.Vieira, G. 2009. Evaluation of the ground surface enthalpy balance from bedrock shallow borehole temperatures (Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctic). The Cryosphere, 3, 133–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramos, M., Vieira, G., Gilichinsky, D.de Pablo, M.A. 2009b. Establecimiento de estaciones de medida del régimen térmico del permafrost en el área de ‘Crater Lake’. Isla Decepción (Antártida). In Blanco,J.J.,dePablo,M.A.&Ramos,M., eds. Ambientes periglaciares, permafrost y variabilidad Climática: II Congreso Ibérico de la International Permafrost Association. Alcalá de Henares: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alcalá, 93–108.Google Scholar
Ramos, M., Hasler, A., Vieira, G., Gruber, S.Hauck, C. 2009a. Setting up boreholes for permafrost thermal monitoring on Livingston Island in the Maritime Antarctic. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 20, 57–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramos, M., Vieira, G., Blanco, J.J., Gruber, S., Hauck, C., Hidalgo, M.A.Tomé, D. 2008. Thermal active layer monitoring in two different sites on Livingston Island during the last seven years: a comparative study. In Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska, Institute of Northern Engineering, 1463–1467.Google Scholar
Rochera, C., Justel, A., Fernández-Valiente, E., Bañón, M., Rico, E., Toro, M., Camacho, A.Quesada, A. 2010. Interannual meteorological variability and its effects on a lake from maritime Antarctica. Polar Biology, 33, 1615–1628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serrano, E., Martínez de Pisón, E.López-Martínez, J. 1996. Periglacial and nival landforms and deposits. In López-Martínez,J.,Thomson,M.R.A.&Thomson,J.W.,eds. Geomorphological map of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, BAS Geomap Series, Sheet 5-A, Scale 1:25 000. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey, 28–34.Google Scholar
Toro, M., Granados, I., Pla, S., Giralt, S., Antoniades, D., Galán, L., Martínez-Cortizas, A., Lim, H.S.Appleby, P.G. 2013. Chronostratigraphy of the sedimentary record of Limnopolar Lake, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 26, 10.1017/S0954102012000788.Google Scholar
Toro, M., Camacho, A., Rochera, C., Rico, E., Bañón, M., Fernández-Valiente, E., Marco, E., Justel, A., Vincent, W.F., Avendaño, M.C., Ariosa, Y.Quesada, A. 2007. Limnological characteristics of the freshwater ecosystems of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, in maritime Antarctica. Polar Biology, 30, 635–649.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, J., Lachlan-Cope, T.A., Colwell, S., Marshall, G.J.Connolley, W.M. 2007. Significant warming of the Antarctic winter troposphere. Science, 131, 1914–1917.Google Scholar
Turner, J., Bindschadler, R., Convey, P., di Prisco, G., Fahrbach, E., Gutt, J., Hodgson, D.A., Mayewski, P.A.Summerhayes, C.P.eds. 2009. Antarctic climate change and the environment. Cambridge: Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, 554 pp.Google Scholar
Vieira, G., Bockheim, J., Guglielmin, M., Balks, M., Abramov, A., Boelhouwers, J., Cannone, N., Ganzert, L., Gilichinsky, D.A., Gotyachkin, S., Lopez-Martinez, J., Meiklejohn, I., Raffi, R., Ramos, M., Schaefer, C., Serrano, E., Simas, F., Sletten, R.Wagner, D. 2010. Thermal state of permafrost and active-layer monitoring in the Antarctic: advances during the International Polar Year 2007–2009. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 21, 182–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woo, M.Carey, S.K. 1998. Permafrost, seasonal frost and slope hydrology, Central Wolf Creek Basin, Yukon. In Pomeroy,J.W.&Granger,R.J.,eds. Proceedings of Workshop on Wolf Creek Research Basin: hydrology, ecology, environment. Saskatoon: National Water Research Institute, 45–53.Google Scholar