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Permafrost project team report. Florence Marika Mathieu Meri. Instructor: Drew. Hugo Simberg: Frost. Surface frost number. Defined by degree-day sums of freezing and thawing. T w (T s ) = average winter (summer) temperature L w (L s ) = length of winter (summer). Surface frost number.
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Permafrost project team report Florence Marika Mathieu Meri Instructor: Drew Hugo Simberg: Frost
Surface frost number • Defined by degree-day sums of freezing and thawing Tw (Ts) = average winter (summer) temperature Lw (Ls) = length of winter (summer)
Surface frost number • Potential values range from 0 (no freezing) to 1 (no thawing) • Continuous permafrost expected poleward of locations at which F ≥ 0.67 • Extensive discontinuous permafrost when 0.6 < F < 0.67 • Sporadic permafrost when F > 0.5
Surface frost number • Defines a latitudinal zonation of contemporary permafrost at continental scales • Not used for relict permafrost or over small areas (<500,000 km2) without numerous climate stations
The theory behind the frost number “Change over”
Surface frost number • Used monthly climatological variables (air temperature, snow mass, and snow depth) as input for model • Data from MERRA Reanalysis
Influence of snow cover on permafrost • Density, thickness, and duration of snow cover • The time of year at which the snow falls • Snow cover can be the critical factor determining the presence or absence of permafrost (e.g., Granberg, 1973) A+ = temperature amplitude with snow cover Zs = average snow thickness Z*s = damping depth in the snow
Basic runs 1980-1989 1990-1999 2000-2009
Experiments Snow thickness +25 % +50 %
Experiments Snow thickness -25 % -50 %
Experiments Air temperature +2ºC+4ºC/90º ×Latitude
Conclusions • Model produces surface frost numbers that are consistent with observations (according to Drew) • Model is sensitive to temperature changes, but not so much to changes in snow cover thickness
Snow density was kept constant, when snow depth was increased / decreased up to 50 %
Total area: Observed Data • no permafrost : 23.14 mill sq Km • isolated permafrost : 3.48 mill sq Km • sporadic permafrost : 2.88 mill sq Km • discontinuous permafrost : 3.32 mill sq Km • continuous permafrost : 10.62 mill sq Km • all permafrost areas : 13.94 mill sq Km
Merra Permafrost extent 1980-1990 • Area no permafrost : 35.56 mill sq Km • Area with permafrost : 7.88 mill sq Km
Merra Permafrost extent 2002-2012 • Area no permafrost : 31.47 mill sq Km • Area with permafrost : 11.97 mill sq Km
Fortran vs. Matlab if (T<0) then do i=1,n … end do end if if T<0 for i=1:n … end end
Credits Thanks to our “debugging team” : Antoine, Eric, Jake, & Drew