Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
Javascript must be enabled to continue!
Assessing the sustainability of mountain groundwater resources under conditions of permafrost degradation and glacial recession
View through CrossRef
Mountain regions, characterized by glacial and periglacial features, constitute a major global freshwater resource, yet climate-driven changes in the magnitude and timing of groundwater discharge threaten large-scale water resource sustainability. Though the widespread retreat of mountain glaciers and degradation of permafrost are well-documented, their individual and combined influences on groundwater systems remains poorly understood. Quantifying the temporal and spatial relationship between glacial melt, permafrost extent, groundwater discharge, and streamflow is necessary to assess the sustainability of streamflow under changing climate conditions. We present a two-dimensional coupled groundwater flow and heat transport model with seasonal freeze-thaw capability using the United States Geological Survey SUTRA 4.0 modeling software to investigate how warming air temperatures influence groundwater discharge patterns from a permafrost-affected aquifer recharged by glacial meltwater. The model represents a hillslope-valley cross-section adjacent to a small alpine glacier in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA. The model is forced with baseline and observed warming air temperature scenarios and explicitly resolves the relative importance of permafrost thaw, seasonally-variable recharge, and changes in glacial meltwater contribution to groundwater discharge patterns to an alpine lake. Results suggest that interactions between a saturated glacial meltwater recharge zone and the adjacent permafrost hillslope may drive groundwater discharge seasonality and contribute to talik development beneath the hillslope. Simulations assess sensitivity to warming rate, permafrost thickness and continuity, and the timing and magnitude of glacial meltwater recharge.This research provides process-based insight into mountain groundwater flow dynamics in areas of degrading permafrost and glacial features, and helps clarify the role of glacial meltwater recharge in sustaining mountain-derived streamflow under elevation-dependent warming. Results will inform predictions of hydrologic resilience and water resource sustainability in alpine watersheds, which are experiencing rapid environmental change.
Title: Assessing the sustainability of mountain groundwater resources under conditions of permafrost degradation and glacial recession
Description:
Mountain regions, characterized by glacial and periglacial features, constitute a major global freshwater resource, yet climate-driven changes in the magnitude and timing of groundwater discharge threaten large-scale water resource sustainability.
Though the widespread retreat of mountain glaciers and degradation of permafrost are well-documented, their individual and combined influences on groundwater systems remains poorly understood.
Quantifying the temporal and spatial relationship between glacial melt, permafrost extent, groundwater discharge, and streamflow is necessary to assess the sustainability of streamflow under changing climate conditions.
We present a two-dimensional coupled groundwater flow and heat transport model with seasonal freeze-thaw capability using the United States Geological Survey SUTRA 4.
0 modeling software to investigate how warming air temperatures influence groundwater discharge patterns from a permafrost-affected aquifer recharged by glacial meltwater.
The model represents a hillslope-valley cross-section adjacent to a small alpine glacier in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA.
The model is forced with baseline and observed warming air temperature scenarios and explicitly resolves the relative importance of permafrost thaw, seasonally-variable recharge, and changes in glacial meltwater contribution to groundwater discharge patterns to an alpine lake.
Results suggest that interactions between a saturated glacial meltwater recharge zone and the adjacent permafrost hillslope may drive groundwater discharge seasonality and contribute to talik development beneath the hillslope.
Simulations assess sensitivity to warming rate, permafrost thickness and continuity, and the timing and magnitude of glacial meltwater recharge.
This research provides process-based insight into mountain groundwater flow dynamics in areas of degrading permafrost and glacial features, and helps clarify the role of glacial meltwater recharge in sustaining mountain-derived streamflow under elevation-dependent warming.
Results will inform predictions of hydrologic resilience and water resource sustainability in alpine watersheds, which are experiencing rapid environmental change.
Related Results
Air convection in coarse blocky permafrost : a numerical modelling approach to improve the understanding of the ground thermal regime
Air convection in coarse blocky permafrost : a numerical modelling approach to improve the understanding of the ground thermal regime
Permafrost is a thermal phenomenon, defined as subsurface material with a temperature remaining below 0°C for at least two consecutive years. Permafrost occurs at high latitudes an...
Characterizing Groundwater Quality, Recharge and Distribution under Anthropogenic conditions
Characterizing Groundwater Quality, Recharge and Distribution under Anthropogenic conditions
Awareness concerning sustainable groundwater management is gaining traction and calls for adequate understanding of the complexities of natural and anthropogenic processes and how ...
Status, Changes and Impacts of Permafrost on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Status, Changes and Impacts of Permafrost on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
<p>Due to the climate warming, permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) was degradating in the past decades. Since its impacts on East Asian monsoon, and even on...
Review article: A systematic review of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon in northern permafrost
Review article: A systematic review of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon in northern permafrost
Abstract. As the permafrost region warms and permafrost soils thaw, vast pools of soil organic carbon (C) become vulnerable to enhanced microbial decomposition and lateral transpor...
The degree of glacial modification controls non-glacial erosion in alpine landscapes
The degree of glacial modification controls non-glacial erosion in alpine landscapes
Alpine topography of many high- and mid-latitude mountain ranges gives the qualitative impression that glaciers have been highly efficient erosive agents during the Quaternary. Gla...
Permafrost geotechnique for engineering design and land use planning
Permafrost geotechnique for engineering design and land use planning
The vulnerability of infrastructure to permafrost degradation strongly depends on the physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of the ground. The study of permafrost p...
Integrating subsea permafrost into an Earth System Model (MPI-ESM)
Integrating subsea permafrost into an Earth System Model (MPI-ESM)
<p>Subsea permafrost on the Arctic Shelf originates as terrestrial permafrost which was submerged by ocean water following sea level rise during deglaciation. The thi...
Review of Permafrost Degradation in the Mongolian Plateau
Review of Permafrost Degradation in the Mongolian Plateau
Permafrost serves as a crucial indicator of global climate change. Its degradation significantly influences Earth’s surface systems, including hydrology, soil, climate, ecosystems,...