CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Burn, C.R.
Date : 1991
Title : Snowmelt infiltration into frozen soil at sites in the discontinuous permafrost zone near Mayo, Yukon Territory
Publication : Northern Hydrology : Selected perspectives : Proceedings of the Northern Hydrology Symposium, 10-12 July 1990, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Edited by T.D. Prowse and C.S.L. Ommanney. NHRI Symposium
Issue : 6:
Page(s) : 445-459.
Abstract
The near-surface ground thermal and hydrological regimes of four sites near Mayo, central Yukon, were monitored during spring 1985 and 1988 to determine: the snowmelt infiltration into frozen ground, in absolute terms and as a fraction of snowpack water equivalent; the extent of soil warming associated with infiltration; and, the frost heave associated with infiltration. Three of the sites are underlain by permafrost up to 30-m thick; at the other, the soil is only frozen seasonally. Infiltration was monitored via neutron probe, soil temperatures were determined with thermistors, and frost heave was measured with magnetic heavemeters. Between 10 and 70 percent of the snowpack water infiltrated the frozen soil at the sites. Maximum infiltration was recorded in coarsest-grained soils which were unsaturated during the preceding fall. At these sites most infiltration was driven by gravity rather than by soil temperature gradient, but at sites which were saturated during fall, temperature-induced infiltration was observed. Relatively little of the infiltration caused soil frost heave: most of the water filled soil pore spaces. Ground temperatures to 3-m depth increased duringsnowmelt. The increase in soil temperature was due to conduction and sensible-heat transfer by the infiltrating water rather than refreezing.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology