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An Analytical Model of Active Layer Depth under Changing Ground Heat Flux
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  • Modi ZHU,
  • Jingfeng Wang,
  • Valeriy Yuryevich Ivanov,
  • Aleksey Y Sheshukov,
  • Wenbo Zhou,
  • Liujing Zhang,
  • Valeriy Mazepa,
  • Alexandr Sokolov,
  • Victor Valdayskikh
Modi ZHU
Georgia Institute of Technology
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Jingfeng Wang
Georgia Institute of Technology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Valeriy Yuryevich Ivanov
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Aleksey Y Sheshukov
Kansas State University
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Wenbo Zhou
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Liujing Zhang
University of Michigan
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Valeriy Mazepa
Russian Academy of Sciences-Ural Branch
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Alexandr Sokolov
Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Arctic Research Station
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Victor Valdayskikh
Unknown
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Abstract

A physically based analytical model is formulated to simulate the thaw depth of active layer under changing boundary condition of soil heat flux. The energy conservation statement leads to a nonlinear integral equation of the thaw depth using an approximate temperature profile as an analytical solution of the diffusion equation describing the heat transfer in the active layer. The time-varying soil surface heat flux is estimated using non-gradient models when field observations are not available. The proposed model was validated against field observations at three Arctic forest and tundra sites. The simulated thaw depth and soil temperature profiles are in good agreement with observations hinting the potential for model application at larger spatial scales.
15 Jun 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
23 Jun 2023Published in ESS Open Archive