Heat conduction through permafrost and its potential for explosive behavior

TL;DR

This paper suggests that explosive gas emissions from thawing permafrost can be explained by a simple heat diffusion process causing pressure buildup and sudden release, rather than complex models.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified heat diffusion model to explain explosive permafrost phenomena, challenging more complex existing models.

Findings

Heat diffusion can cause pressure buildup in permafrost.

Thawing from below can lead to explosive gas release.

Simple models may suffice to explain crater formation.

Abstract

The recent widespread thaw of permafrost has led to observations of explosive gas emissions, which expel ice and soil debris and leave behind large craters. This phenomenon appears to be caused by a buildup of pressure from below the permafrost, possibly due to gas released as permafrost melts, followed by a sudden emission of gas through the surface. Although there have been some studies modeling the processes involved in crater formation using computationally complex models, we propose that these explosive events can be attributed to a simple heat diffusion-based process. Under certain boundary conditions and parameters, this may be sufficient to describe the explosive behavior observed. We demonstrate this effect by linearly increasing surface temperature from average monthly values (1961-1990) at an example latitude, which causes more dramatic melting from below the permafrost than above. This may lead to a buildup of gas pressure, if the permafrost is both continuous and has a high ice saturation, and has the potential for sudden gas release.