Thaw depth spatial and temporal variability at the Limnopolar Lake CALM-S site, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica

Abstract

A new Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) site was established in 2009 at the Limnopolar Lake watershed in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica, to provide a node in the western Antarctic Peninsula, one of the regions that recorded the highest air temperature increase in the planet during the last decades. The first detailed analysis of the temporal and spatial evolution of the thaw depth at the Limnopolar Lake CALM-S site is presented here, after eight years of monitoring. The average values range between 48 and 29cm, decreasing at a ratio of 16cm/decade. The annual thaw depth observations in the 100×100 m CALM grid are variable (Variability Index of 34 to 51%), although both the Variance Coefficient and the Climate Matrix Analysis Residual point to the internal consistency of the data. Those differences could be explained then by the terrain complexity and node-specific variability due to the ground properties. The interannual variability was about 60% during 2009–2012, increasing to 124% due to the presence of snow in 2013, 2015 and 2016. The snow has been proposed here as one of the most important factors controlling the spatial variability of ground thaw depth, since its values correlate with the snow thickness but also with the ground surface temperature and unconfined compression resistance, as measured in 2010. The topography explains the thaw depth spatial distribution pattern, being related to snowmelt water and its accumulation in low-elevation areas (downslope-flow). Patterned grounds and other surface features correlate well with high thaw depth patterns as well. The edaphic factor (E=0.05842m2/°C·day; R2=0.63) is in agreement with other permafrost environments, since frozen index (F>0.67) and MAAT (<−2°C) denote a continuous permafrost existence in the area. All these characteristics provided the basis for further comparative analyses between others nearby CALM sites.