Permafrost

e.s.l.). In 2005 this mine was equipped by modern system of temperature sensors. We obtained
short-term regime information for summer condition and we expect getting out new extensive
data after fieldwork 2006. The temperature measurements in 4 adjacent boreholes characterize
the mean annual ground temperatures at 20 m depth. These data characterize the basic
permafrost condition and show the 1-degree warming during 19-year observation period.
We continued to analyze an array of geotemperature and active layer depths data
(Romanovskii et al., 1991). The geotemperature conditions in Zabaykalye are extremely
variable. The average permafrost temperature at 20 m depth varies from -9 to +1.5°C. The
maximal permafrost depth amounts to 900 m. The kurums, which are extremely expanded in
Eastern Siberia’s mountains, are cooler factor for permafrost conditions. Usually kurums cool
the underlying rocks up to 1.5 ÷ 2.5 degrees (average temperature at 20 m depth). There is
linked with intensive air convection, the seasonal wandering (“goltzoviy”) ice forming and the
water condensation in the summer time in the active layer. Extremely low temperature (up to
-20°C at 3 m depth in January) in the kurum active layer results in the possibility of the active
ice wedges developing under coarse debris layer.
Key words: mountain permafrost, kurum, block slope, temperature observation.
Air and Ground Surface Temperature Monitoring in Arctic Foothills of
Alaska
Dmitry A. Streletskiy 1 , Nikolay I. Shiklomanov 1 , Anna E. Klene 2 , and Frederick E. Nelson 1
(1.Department of Geography, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA;
2.Department of Geography, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA)
Abstract: The dearth of standard meteorological and ground temperature data from
high-elevation locations is well known. This problem is exacerbated in the remote areas of
Alaska where logistical constraints and topoclimatic effects complicate the construction of
reliable air-temperature fields. Hydrologic and permafrost models rely on baseline climate data,
yet weather stations in northern Alaska are concentrated along the arctic coastline leaving
remote higher-elevation inland regions largely underrepresented. To improve existing air
temperature fields and to establish baseline air and soil surface temperature data from
representative upland locations, air and soil temperature was continuously monitored from
1995-2005 at nine sites distributed along the primary climatic gradient across Northern
Arctic Foothills of Alaska. The Arctic Foothills occupy an extensive swath of rolling hills
and dissected plateaus between the Arctic Coastal Plain and the Brooks Range. Fluvial drainage
networks are well developed, however complex soil/vegetation communities exist owing to the
effects of permafrost on local hydrology. Tussock tundra and assemblages of shrubby plant
species occupy extensive water tracks characterized by acidic soils. Nonacidic soils are
predominantly covered by sedges, forbs, and mosses. Standardized air and soil temperature
measurements were collected using miniature automated data loggers (Onset®). The data were
used to examine spatial and temporal trends in air and ground surface temperature, and their
relations to varying vegetation and terrain conditions. The effects of topography on air
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