A decade of detailed observations (2008-2018) in steep bedrock permafrost at the Matterhorn Hörnligrat (Zermatt, CH)

The PermaSense project is an ongoing interdisciplinary effort between geo-science and engineering disciplines and started in 2006 with the goals of realizing observations that previously have not been possible. Specifically, the aims are to obtain measurements in unprecedented quantity and quality based on technological advances. This paper describes a unique >10-year data record obtained from in situ measurements in steep bedrock permafrost in an Alpine environment on the Matterhorn Hörnligrat, Zermatt, Switzerland, at 3500ma:s:l. Through the utilization of state-of-the-art wireless sensor technology it was possible to obtain more data of higher quality, make these data available in near real time and tightly monitor and control the running experiments. This data set (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.897640,Weber et al., 2019a) constitutes the longest, densest and most diverse data record in the history of mountain permafrost research worldwide with 17 different sensor types used at 29 distinct sensor locations consisting of over 114.5 million data points captured over a period of 10 or more years. By documenting and sharing these data in this form we contribute to making our past research reproducible and facilitate future research based on these data, e.g., in the areas of analysis methodology, comparative studies, assessment of change in the environment, natural hazard warning and the development of process models. Finally, the cross-validation of four different data types clearly indicates the dominance of thawing-related kinematics

Thirty years of permafrost research in the Corvatsch‐Furtschellas area, Eastern Swiss Alps: a review

During the past 30 years, intensive permafrost research has been performed in the area of Corvatsch-Furtschellas, Eastern Swiss Alps. Main progress has been achieved by borehole observations in creeping permafrost, geophysical soundings, energy flux measurements above and within permafrost, photogrammetric determination of surface kinematics of creeping permafrost and permafrost distribution pattern modelling. The paper gives a review of principle results during the 30 years' research period

Permafrost in Switzerland 2004/2005 and 2005/2006

The present report covers the period from October 2004 to September 2006. It is the last report of the pilot phase 2000–2006 of the network for permafrost monitoring in Switzerland (PERMOS). At this point, PERMOS includes (a) 11 drill sites (including 22 boreholes and geophysical monitoring at 4 of the sites), (b) 11 surface temperature sites (including measurements in loose debris at 9 sites, in bedrock at 5 sites, and at the bottom of the snow cover (BTS) at 3 sites), and (c) aerial photographs taken by Swisstopo. Winter 2004/2005 was characterized by an early and thin snow cover in the higher alpine regions and an early snow melt in spring. A long phase of above average air temperatures followed, which lasted until July and made summer 2005 the second warmest on record. Winter 2005/2006 started late, had a long lasting thick snow cover, and was followed by a warm summer with the hottest July ever measured. Active layer thicknesses in summer 2004 were similar to those before 2003 at most sites. Hence, thermal changes in the subsurface from the 2003 heat wave were not sustained, although the ice content at the permafrost table may have been permanently modified. The active layer deepened again in several boreholes in summer 2005, reaching values similar to 2003, and remained more or less stable in summer 2006. At ca. 10 m depth, ground temperatures at the drill sites displayed a warming until the beginning of 2005, which results from the preceding heat period in summer 2003. Then, mainly as a result of the snow conditions in winter, a cooling period followed. Since 2005, temperature observations are complemented by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements at 4 drill sites to monitor physical properties of the ground (e.g., ice content or unfrozen water content). The ERT monitoring strategy is outlined and discussed in this report. Ground surface temperatures (GST) were low in both years of the reporting period, especially during winter. In 2005, GST temporarily dropped to new minima and reached about mean values of the past decade at the end of the reporting period. Rock surface temperatures (RST) were integrated into PERMOS in summer 2004 and are presented and discussed in detail in this report. Temperature values in steep rock clearly display the cold conditions in winter 2004/2005 as well as the warm summer 2006. The chapter on special aspects of permafrost monitoring is dedicated to the observed acceleration of rock glaciers in the past two decades. The destabilization of several landforms shows that permafrost creep conditions in the Alps are changing. In general, both, surface temperatures and ground temperatures in the uppermost meters decreased to pre-2003 conditions at all sites during the reporting period, which is mainly a result of the snow conditions

Warming permafrost in European mountains

Here we present the first systematic measurements of European mountain permafrost temperatures from a latitudinal transect of six boreholes extending from the Alps, through Scandinavia to Svalbard. Boreholes were drilled in bedrock to depths of at least 100 m between May 1998 and September 2000. Geothermal profiles provide evidence for regional-scale secular warming, since all are nonlinear, with near-surface warm-side temperature deviations from the deeper thermal gradient. Topographic effects lead to variability between Alpine sites. First approximation estimates, based on curvature within the borehole thermal profiles, indicate a maximum ground surface warming of +1 °C in Svalbard, considered to relate to thermal changes in the last 100 years. In addition, a 15-year time series of thermal data from the 58-m-deep Murtèl–Corvatsch permafrost borehole in Switzerland, drilled in creeping frozen ice-rich rock debris, shows an overall warming trend, but with high-amplitude interannual fluctuations that reflect early winter snow cover more strongly than air temperatures. Thus interpretation of the deeper borehole thermal histories must clearly take account of the potential effects of changing snow cover in addition to atmospheric temperatures

Rockglaciers of the Engadine

The Engadine is one of the rockglacier hot spots in the European Alps. Many rockglaciers in all states of activity (active, inactive, relict) are found, indicating the former and present occurrence of permafrost. This is due to continental climate conditions, high elevation, and high weathering rates. Rockglaciers are developed in valley bottoms, such as the Val Sassa and the Val da l’Acqua rockglacier, or in formerly glaciated cirques, such as the Muragl or the Murtèl rockglacier. Hence, the Engadine is the home of research on rockglaciers in Europe with the first studies on rockglaciers of the Swiss National Park one century ago. Engadine was also the first place in the world where boreholes in rockglaciers were drilled in 1987. Nowadays, several Engadine rockglaciers are monitored within the Permafrost Monitoring Network Switzerland (PERMOS)