Water movement into seasonally frozen soils

Kane, D. L.; Stein, Jean

doi:10.1029/wr019i006p01547

Cited by 211 publications

(162 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Infiltration of meltwater from the snow cover may cause significant warming in frozen soils, which is revealed by a sudden temperature shift to the melting point in near-surface layers (Kane and Stein, 1983;Boike et al, 1998;Ishikawa et al, 2006). Similar temperature shifts were reported for the high-elevation permafrost station at Schilthorn, Swiss Alps (2970 m a.s.l.)…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kane and Stein, 1983;Outcalt et al, 1990;Romanovsky and Osterkamp, 2000). Unfrozen moisture can exist at sub-zero temperatures and advective water migration to the freezing front can redistribute water and ice, thus changing the thermal and hydrological properties of the soil (Kane and Stein, 1983;Trimble et al, 1958). Convective heat transfer via unfrozen pore water has been described by Outcalt et al (1990) as the primary heat transfer process during the zero curtain phase, a time period where phase change in the active layer leads to isothermal conditions near the melting point.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Scherler

Hauck

Hoelzle

et al. 2010

Permafrost & Periglacial

109

115

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A coupled heat and mass transfer model simulating mass and energy balance of the soil-snow-atmosphere boundary layer was applied to simulate ground temperatures, together with water and ice content evolution, in the active layer of an alpine permafrost site on Schilthorn, Swiss Alps. Abrupt shifts and subsequent fluctuations in ground temperature observed in alpine permafrost boreholes at the beginning of the zero curtain phase in summer were explained by snowmelt and meltwater infiltration. Simulated water contents were compared to values derived from inverted electrical resistivity measurements and yielded a further independent validation of the model results. The study shows that infiltration into frozen soil takes place as an oscillating process in the model. This process is constrained by initial ground temperatures, infiltrability and the availability of meltwater from the snow cover.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Scherler

Hauck

Hoelzle

et al. 2010

Permafrost & Periglacial

109

115

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“…Field experiments to determine infiltration rates into frozen soil are not easy to conduct since there are many technical difficulties to overcome. Kane and Stein [1983], Granger et al [1984], Karvonen et al [1986], and others used methods that are commonly applied to unfrozen soils. These field experiments gave valuable understanding of the dominating factors in the snowmelt runoff/infiltration process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil moisture redistribution and infiltration in frozen sandy soils

Stähli¹,

Jansson²,

Lundin³

1999

Water Resources Research

148

115

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Abstract. Infiltration into frozen soil is a result of the whole climate dynamics of the preceding winter with all its importance for the freezing of the soil. Therefore a predictive infiltration model needs to include a proper description of the main processes of soil water and heat transfer during season-long periods. Such a model may assume two waterconducting flow domains. A lysimeter experiment was set up with the aim of studying these processes in two different sandy soils. Frequent measurements of total and liquid soil water content, soil temperature, and groundwater level were made during two winters with contrasting meteorological conditions. The main problems in the simulation of the two winters were (1) frost-induced upward water redistribution, (2) rate of infiltration in the initially air-filled pores, and (3) heat transfer caused by snowmelt refreezing in the frozen soil. An extensive calibration of the model suggested that some key empirical parameters were not constant for the two soils and the two seasons. Complementary methods for determining the hydraulic conductivity of frozen unsaturated field soils are necessary to further improve the model. IntroductionKnowledge of hydraulic processes in frozen soils are of particular practical importance in Nordic and high-altitude regions. The snowmelt periods at the end of the winter have a major influence on the hydrological environment. When these occur, the amount of meltwater may be very large, causing erosion where it runs off on the surface or solute leaching where it infiltrates. Consequently, the soil and its varying infiltration capacity plays a crucial role. Usually, it is still frozen, at least partly, when snowmelt occurs, which reduces the hydraulic conductivity. However, it is important to stress that frozen soil is not impermeable to infiltration. A number of field studies [e.g., Kane, 1980] where 0to t is the total water content, 0i½ e is the ice content, and 0•f is the water content in the low-flow domain. Stadler [1996] argued that (2) overestimates khf for the case of high saturation because it does not account sufficiently for the water flow-impeding effect of ice. In fact, with a high ice content the water-conducting pores are assumed to be blocked by ice and the tortuosity increases markedly. Following Stadler's ideas a reduction term was added in the hydraulic conductivity function of the high-flow domain (equation (2) where fci is an impedance factor and Q is the thermal quality of the soil, that is, the mass ratio of frozen water to total amount of water. The impedance factor will be a point of discussion later in this paper (section 4). Experimental SetupFour small lysimeters (2 x 2 m, 1.4 m depth) were installed at Ultuna (central Sweden) and identically instrumented (Figure 2): TDR probes and thermocouples were placed at six different soil depths (10, 17, 25, 35, 50, and 70 cm) to monitor profiles of liquid soil water content and temperature. A tube was installed vertically for measuring the total water content (ice plus li...

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“…Many field studies of snowmelt infiltration into frozen soils are reported in the literature (e.g., Willis et al 1961;Kane 1980;Kane and Stein 1983;Granger et al 1984;Gray et al 1985;Burn 1990;Woo and Marsh 1990). These studies show that the cumulative infiltration of meltwater released by a seasonal snowcover (seasonal infiltration) varies directly with the snow water equivalent and inversely with the total water (liquid + ice) content of the soil at the time of melt.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of soil texture on snowmelt infiltration into frozen soils

Zhao¹,

Gray²,

Toth³

2002

Can. J. Soil. Sci.

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Zhao, L., Gray, D. M. and Toth, B. 2002. Influence of soil texture on snowmelt infiltration into frozen soils. Can. J. Soil Sci. 82: 75-83. This paper describes the influence of soil texture on snowmelt infiltration into frozen soils. Field data collected on frozen, unsaturated agricultural soils of the Canadian Prairies during snow ablation demonstrate: (a) poor association between the amount of infiltration of meltwater released by the seasonal snowcover and soil texture, and (b) small differences in cumulative amounts among soils of widely different textures. A physics-based numerical simulation of heat and mass transfers with phase changes in frozen soils is used to study the mechanics of the infiltration process in representative clay, silty clay loam, silt loam and sandy loam soils. The results of the simulations show that the differences among cumulative snowmelt infiltration into clay, silty clay loam and silt loam soils after 24 h of continuous infiltration are small. Infiltration into a lighter-textured sandy loam after 24 h was on average 23% higher than in the other three soils with most of the increase occurring in the first 5 h of the simulation. In the northern hemisphere, a large part of the annual precipitation occurs as snow, and melting of the seasonal snowcover in the spring is one of the most important hydrological events of the water year. Reliable methods for partitioning the meltwater released during snow ablation to runoff and infiltration are requisite for efficient management of the water resources of these regions.The infiltrability of frozen ground is affected by the thermal and hydrophysical properties of the soil, the soil temperature and moisture regimes, and the quantity and rate of release of meltwater from the snowcover. Many field studies of snowmelt infiltration into frozen soils are reported in the literature (e.g., Willis et al. 1961;Kane 1980;Kane and Stein 1983;Granger et al. 1984;Gray et al. 1985;Burn 1990;Woo and Marsh 1990). These studies show that the cumulative infiltration of meltwater released by a seasonal snowcover (seasonal infiltration) varies directly with the snow water equivalent and inversely with the total water

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Water movement into seasonally frozen soils

Cited by 211 publications

References 8 publications

Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Meltwater infiltration into the frozen active layer at an alpine permafrost site

Soil moisture redistribution and infiltration in frozen sandy soils

Influence of soil texture on snowmelt infiltration into frozen soils

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