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Sensitivity to long-term climate change of subpermafrost groundwater systems in Svalbard

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sylvi Haldorsen ,
Michael Heim ,
Barrie Dale ,
Jon Y. Landvik ,
Martine van der Ploeg ,
Anton Leijnse ,
Otto Salvigsen ,
Jon Ove Hagen  and
David Banks
Sylvi Haldorsen*
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.B. 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
Michael Heim
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.B. 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
Barrie Dale
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, University of Oslo, P.B. 1047 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
Jon Y. Landvik
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.B. 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
Martine van der Ploeg
Affiliation:
Wageningen University, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Soil Physics, Ecohydrology and Ground Water Management Group, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Anton Leijnse
Affiliation:
Wageningen University, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Soil Physics, Ecohydrology and Ground Water Management Group, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Otto Salvigsen
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, University of Oslo, P.B. 1047 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
Jon Ove Hagen
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, University of Oslo, P.B. 1047 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
David Banks
Affiliation:
Holymoor Consultancy, 8 Heaton Street, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 3AQ, UK
*
*Corresponding author.E-mail addresses:[email protected] (S. Haldorsen), [email protected] (M. Heim), [email protected] (B. Dale), [email protected] (J.Y. Landvik), [email protected] (M. van der Ploeg), [email protected] (A. Leijnse), [email protected] (O. Salvigsen), [email protected] (J.O. Hagen), [email protected] (D. Banks).
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Abstract

Deep subpermafrost aquifers are highly climate-dependent, with the permafrost as an aquitard preventing groundwater recharge and discharge. A study from the high-arctic island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, shows that during a glacial to interglacial phase, both the permafrost and the glacier regime will respond to climatic changes, and a glacier-fed groundwater flow system will vary accordingly. A full glaciation results in the melting of permafrost, and groundwater can flow through pores and fracture systems in the rocks and sediments below the temperate zones of glaciers. These groundwater flow systems will mainly be localized to fjords and valleys and form low-lying terrestrial springs when the relative sea level drops during deglaciation due to glacio-isostatic rise. During an interglaciation, permafrost develops and thickens and the groundwater recharge and discharge areas will thereby be gradually reduced to a minimum reached at the warmest part of an interglaciation. An already frozen spring system cannot reopen before the permafrost melts. Only groundwater springs related to permanently warm-based glacial ice will persist into the next glaciation. During a new glaciation, flow systems that terminated during the previous interglaciation may become revitalized if overridden by warm-based ice causing permafrost thawing.

Keywords

PermafrostGroundwaterGlacierClimate change permafrost
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 73 , Issue 2 , March 2010 , pp. 393 - 402
Copyright
University of Washington

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