Abstract
Permafrost hydrology is an emerging discipline, attracting increasing attention as the Arctic region is undergoing rapid change. However, the research domain of this discipline had never been explicitly formulated. Both ‘permafrost’ and ‘hydrology’ yield differing meanings across languages and scientific domains; hence, ‘permafrost hydrology’ serves as an example of cognitive linguistic relativity. From this point of view, the English and Russian usages of this term are explained. The differing views of permafrost as either an ecosystem class or a geographical region, and hydrology as a discipline concerned with either landscapes or generic water bodies, maintain a language-specific touch of the research in this field. Responding to a current lack of a unified approach, we propose a universal process-based definition of permafrost hydrology, based on a specific process assemblage, specific to permafrost regions and including: (1) Unconfined groundwater surface dynamics related to the active layer development; (2) water migration in the soil matrix, driven by phase transitions in the freezing active layer; and (3) transient water storage in both surface and subsurface compartments, redistributing runoff on various time scales. This definition fills the gap in existing scientific vocabulary. Other definitions from the field are revisited and discussed. The future of permafrost hydrology research is discussed, where the most important results would emerge at the interface between permafrost hydrology, periglacial geomorphology, and geocryology.
Highlights
The Arctic is undergoing a sound transformation, affecting climate [1] and ocean temperature [2], sea ice extent [3], and terrestrial and marine biodiversity [4,5], driven by the Arctic amplification phenomenon [6,7,8]
We consider regions with seasonally frozen ground to be out of the scope of permafrost hydrology, since the active layer base serves as an aquitard for only short period of a year, and after its disappearance, the water percolates into deeper horizons and is lost to water cycle, as elsewhere on Earth
The areas with two-layered permafrost where the top of permafrost is close to the active layer base, i.e., Northern Yenisey region or Subarctic European Russia, especially where the separating talik is occasionally refreezing in some years, are considered within permafrost hydrology domain
Summary
The Arctic is undergoing a sound transformation, affecting climate [1] and ocean temperature [2], sea ice extent [3], and terrestrial and marine biodiversity [4,5], driven by the Arctic amplification phenomenon [6,7,8]. One should acknowledge that the Arctic amplification and its effects on terrestrial hydrology occur in a very particular region in the high latitudes, regardless of its exact limits. They cannot be understood by analogy with temperate regions, primarily because of the presence of permafrost. The latter has an enormous effect on the water cycle, as most hydrological processes are confined to nonfrozen layers in an otherwise frozen media [18,19,20]. We attempt to redefine the permafrost hydrology domain through a process-based adjustment, and introduce several concepts relevant to future studies in the field
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