Abstract
The freeze-thaw (FT) erosion is a type of soil erosion like water erosion and wind erosion. Limited by many factors, the grading evaluation of soil FT erosion quantities is not well studied. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the evaluation indices of soil FT erosion, we for the first time utilized the sensitivity of microwave remote sensing technology to soil moisture for identification of FT state. We established an estimation model suitable to evaluate the soil FT erosion quantity in Silingco watershed wetland of Northern Tibet using weighted summation method of six impact factors including the annual FT cycle days, average diurnal FT phase-changed water content, average annual precipitation, slope, aspect, and vegetation coverage. Finally, with the support of GIS, we classified soil FT erosion quantity in Silingco watershed wetland. The results showed that soil FT erosion are distributed in broad areas of Silingco watershed wetland. Different soil FT erosions with different intensities have evidently different spatial and geographical distributions.
Highlights
The annual freeze-thaw cycle of soils in cold regions is an important aspect of agricultural and ecological environments because this cycle may significantly impact soil physical properties [1, 2]
The precipitation occurring in early spring often results in high rates of runoff and erosion on frozen soil due to its poor infiltration capacity
The main reason is that the moisture transfers to the freezing front during the freezing period, which results in water content increasing in places of shallow slope, and frost heaving occurs under subzero temperature
Summary
The annual freeze-thaw cycle of soils in cold regions is an important aspect of agricultural and ecological environments because this cycle may significantly impact soil physical properties [1, 2]. The melting water was hampered by unfrozen layer under them during their infiltration downward, results in the water content increasing rapidly in the layer between melt layer and frozen layer, and reaching saturation or super saturation state, the effective stress within the slope reduced, the partial or whole of the shallow slope slide down along the water saturation layer under gravity [6]. It occurs mostly in the cold regions with high latitude and high altitude [7]. With the onset of global warming there has been an increasing concern of greenhouse gas release from permafrost, and interest in monitoring freeze-thaw erosion dynamics is increasing [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
