Integrated geophysical imaging of permafrost distribution across an Arctic watershed

Sebastian Uhlemann, Anne Isabelle, Florian M. Wagner, Baptiste Dafflon, Craig Ulrich, Susan S. Hubbard

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Arctic systems are changing rapidly, yet data characterizing the thermohydrological conditions of these systems are rare. We apply a recently developed petrophysical joint inversion approach to seismic refraction and electrical resistivity tomography data to estimate the rock, ice, water, and air content throughout a watershed on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Our results show that single geophysical techniques fail in imaging the base of permafrost, while the results of the petrophysical joint inversion provide an estimate of this interface, as well as a refined imaging of soil and permafrost properties. While our results are in agreement with surface observations and shallow soil temperature and moisture measurements, deep borehole data coníirming our results are still missing. Nevertheless, this approach provides a means to overcome inherent limitations of Arctic research by enabling imaging the base of permafrost.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3115-3119
Number of pages5
JournalSEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts
Volume2021-September
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes
Event1st International Meeting for Applied Geoscience and Energy - Denver, United States
Duration: Sep 26 2021Oct 1 2021

Funding

This research has been supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science (Grant No. DE-AC02-05CH11231).

FundersFunder number
Office of ScienceDE-AC02-05CH11231
Biological and Environmental Research

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