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Accurate representations of subsurface flow in hydrologic models of permafrost terrain during spring thaw require an understanding of soil thaw and soil thaw rates. Field data, including daily photographs for snowcover estimation and meteorological measurements, and measurements of soil thaw depth, soil temperature and soil moisture content, were acquired on an organic-covered hillslope in Granger Basin, Yukon Territory, to quantify relationships between net radiation and soil thaw energy. The infiltration and freezing of meltwater into the soil likely contributes to pre-thaw warming. When this energy (1.82 MJ m super(-2)d super(-1)) is taken into consideration, the daily mean contribution to soil thaw from net...
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Field studies were initiated in 1999 at Scotty Creek in the lower Liard River basin, NWT, Canada, to improve understanding of and ability to predict the major water fluxes and storage processes within a wetland-dominated zone of the discontinuous permafrost region. This paper synthesises a decade of published and unpublished research at Scotty Creek for the purpose of presenting the major factors that should be considered by water scientists and managers as a basis for modelling and management strategies. Five main topics are covered: (1) peatlands of lower Liard River valley; (2) hydrological characteristics of permafrost plateaus, flat bogs, and channel fens; (3) runoff generation on permafrost plateaus; (4) conceptual...
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Estimates of water flux and storage in organic-covered, permafrost terrains require an understanding of the factors controlling soil thaw. Field studies conducted in southern Yukon Territory, Canada, showed that ground freezing and thawing commenced at temperatures between -0.14 and -0.24 degree C. A temperature drop below -0.6 degree C had little effect on unfrozen moisture content. Unfrozen moisture storage shifted abruptly between a winter period value of ca. 50 mm and a summer period value of ca. 100 mm, although soil temperatures remained close to the freezing point for extended periods. The organic soil transmitted water laterally early in the thaw period while the water table still remained in the organic...
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