Detection of Heat and Moisture Movement in the Upper Permafrost, Northern Alaska

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This project will examine the processes for transfer of heat from the atmosphere into the permafrost at the Barrow Environmental Observatory on the North Slope of Alaska. Data loggers will be installed at 3 m depth in the soil at numerous sites to monitor the effects moisture on heat transfer during the seasonal freeze/thaw cycle of the upper permafrost layer. The data will be used to establish how moisture and climate affect the permafrost so that the potential effects of climate change on the permafrost layer may be predicted. The research will test a new theory about the way permafrost responds to seasonal temperature changes in order to examine the role that global warming may play on the surficial frozen soil layer in the arctic. The results are critically important to planning for the potential impacts of proposed climate change on the construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure in the arctic.