Influence of Climate and Environmental Factors on the Thermal and Moisture Regimes of the Layer and Permafrost

最近意外的和无法解释的发现，在活动层和永久冻土从普鲁德霍湾的布鲁克斯范围，阿拉斯加的大幅度温度循环已被确定。 观测结果包括活动层的大规模和系统性变化、冻结活动层中的大量未冻结水、某些地点的近地表永久冻土以及活动层和永久冻土表面温度的大空间梯度。 这些变化表明，目前对气候活跃层相互作用的理解还没有得到很好的理解。 据预测，北极地区的温室气体增加将导致气温升高。 这些温度变化可能会导致永久冻土融化，因为活动层变得更厚。 更好地了解大气，土壤表面活性层和冻土之间的关系，需要解释的速率和程度的冻土退化，修改其制度，碳和微量气体的释放融化冻土，土壤水分的变化，和水文循环。这项拟议的研究包括实地和实验室测量，以及对数据的分析和解释，这些数据将从沿着一个从普鲁德霍湾穿过沿海平原到布鲁克斯山脉山麓的横断面的六个长期研究地点获得。 这些遗址位于未受干扰的地区，跨越了广泛的永久冻土、气候和环境条件。 他们有一个相对长期的数据库（自1983年以来）。 这项研究将调查如何活动层和连续多年冻土，在各种气候和环境制度，已作出反应，并继续对气候变化作出反应。

Recent unexpected and unexplained discoveries of a large amplitude temperature cycle in the active layer and permafrost from Prudhoe Bay to the Brooks Range, Alaska have been identified. Observations include large and systematic changes in the active layer, a large amount of unfrozen water in the frozen active layer, near-surface permafrost at some sites, and large spatial gradients in the active layer and permafrost surface temperatures. These changes indicate that the current understanding of climate-active layer interactions are not well understood. Warmer temperatures from increased greenhouse gases have been predicted in the Arctic. These temperature changes could cause permafrost to thaw as the active layer becomes thicker. A better understanding of the relationships among the atmosphere, soil surface active layer, and permafrost is required to interpret the rate and extent of permafrost degradation, modifications to its regime, release of carbon and trace gases by thawing permafrost, changes in soil moisture, and the hydrological cycle. This proposed research contains field and laboratory measurements, and analyses and interpretations of the data which will be obtained from six long-term study sites along a transect from Prudhoe Bay across the coastal plain and to the foothills of the Brooks Range. These sites are in undisturbed areas and span a wide range of permafrost, climatic, and environmental conditions. They have a relatively long term data base (since 1983). This research will investigate how the active layer and continuous permafrost, in a variety of climatic and environmental regimes, has responded and continues to respond to climatic change.