Thaw Depth Progression in Response to Vehicle Disturbance
Steve RewaDiscussion: To some extent, the results support the hypothesis that thaw depth varies in relation to track location. In two of the experimental plots, a significant difference was noted. However, it is interesting that the two plots showed opposite results. As expected, in plot 2, the on-track points showed a deepening of the thawed layer, whereas in plot 1, the thawed layer was shallower in on-track locations.
At the plot level, the elevation seems to have no correlation with the thaw depth. This is interesting since moisture plays a big role in the thermodynamics of ground ice and higher elevations would be drier. However, the effect may be insignificant, as the elevations do not vary that drastically. However, at the point level the correlation is significant even if it is weaker. This is likely to result from the high sample size used in the analysis (630 points). It does make sense because in a landscape that is broadly flat, the microtopography will have a more significant impact.
One of the most interesting and unexpected results of the analysis is the difference in sign of the correlation from the beginning of the season to the end. At the beginning of the season the relationship between thaw depth and elevation is negative, meaning that increased elevations have greater thaw depth, whereas the opposite is true at the end of the season.
Continue browsing this poster:
- Beginning
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- References