Coupling of the Calculated Freezing and Thawing Front Parameterization in the Earth System Model CAS-ESM

The soil freezing and thawing process affects soil physical properties,such as heat conductivity,heat capacity,and hydraulic conductivity in frozen ground regions,and further affects the processes of soil energy,hydrology,and carbon and nitrogen cycles.In this study,the calculation of freezing and thawing front parameterization was implemented into the earth system model of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS-ESM)and its land component,the Common Land Model(CoLM),to investigate the dynamic change of freezing and thawing fronts and their effects.Our results showed that the developed models could reproduce the soil freezing and thawing process and the dynamic change of freezing and thawing fronts.The regionally averaged value of active layer thickness in the permafrost regions was 1.92 m,and the regionally averaged trend value was 0.35 cm yr–1.The regionally averaged value of maximum freezing depth in the seasonally frozen ground regions was 2.15 m,and the regionally averaged trend value was–0.48 cm yr–1.The active layer thickness increased while the maximum freezing depth decreased year by year.These results contribute to a better understanding of the freezing and thawing cycle process.

Simulated response of the active layer thickness of permafrost to climate change

The active layer thickness(ALT)in permafrost regions,which affects water and energy exchange,is a key variable for assessing hydrological processes,cold-region engineering,and climate change.In this study,the authors analyzed the variation trends and relative changes of simulated ALTs using the Chinese Academy of Sciences Land Surface Model(CAS-LSM)and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model,gridpoint version 3(CAS-FGOALS-g3).Firstly,the simulated ALTs produced by CAS-LSM were shown to be reasonable by comparing them with Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring observations.Then,the authors simulated the ALTs from 1979 to 2014,and their relative changes across the entire Northern Hemisphere from 2015 to 2100.It is shown that the ALTs have an increasing trend.From 1979 to 2014,the average ALTs and their variation trends over all permafrost regions were 1.08 m and 0.33 cm yr-1,respectively.The relative changes of the ALTs ranged from 1%to 58%,and the average relative change was 10.9%.The variation trends of the ALTs were basically consistent with the variation trends of the 2-m air temperature.By 2100,the relative changes of ALTs are predicted to be 10.3%,14.6%,30.1%,and 51%,respectively,under the four considered hypothetical climate scenarios(SSP-2.6,SSP2-4.5,SSP3-7.0,and SSP5-8.5).This study indicates that climate change has a substantial impact on ALTs,and our results can help in understanding the responses of the ALTs of permafrost due to climate change.

Numerical simulation based on two-directional freeze and thaw algorithm for thermal diffusion model

Freeze-thaw processes significantly modulate hydraulic and thermal char- acteristics of soil. The changes in the frost and thaw fronts （FTFs） affect the water and energy cycles between the land surface and the atmosphere. Thus, the frozen soil com- prising permafrost and seasonally frozen soil has important effects on the land surface hydrology in cold regions. In this study, a two-directional freeze and thaw algorithm is incorporated into a thermal diffusion equation for simulating FTFs. A local adaptive variable-grid method is used to discretize the model. Sensitivity tests demonstrate that the method is stable and FTFs can be tracked continuously. The FTFs and soil tempera- ture at the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau D66 site are simulated hourly from September 1, 1997 to September 22, 1998. The results show that the incorporated model performs much better in the soil temperature simulation than the original thermal diffusion equation, showing potential applications of the method in land-surface process modeling.