The importance of freeze/thaw cycles on lateral tracer transport in ice-wedge polygons

Abstract. A significant portion of the Arctic coastal plain is classified as polygonal tundra and plays a vital role in soil carbon cycling. Recent research suggests that lateral transport of dissolved carbon could exceed vertical carbon releases to the atmosphere. However, the details of lateral subsurface flow in polygonal tundra have not been well studied. We incorporated a subsurface transport process into an existing state-of-art hydrothermal model. The model captures the physical effects of freeze/thaw cycles on lateral flow in polygonal tundra. The new modeling capability enables non-reactive tracer movement within subsurface. We utilized this new capability to investigate the impact of freeze/thaw cycle on lateral flow in the polygon polygonal tundra. Our study indicates the important role of freeze/thaw cycle and freeze-up effect on lateral tracer transport, suggesting that dissolved species could be transported from the middle of the polygon to the sides within a couple of thaw seasons. Introducing carbon lateral transport in the climate models could substantially reduce the uncertainty associated with the impact of thawing permafrost.