Purdue Hydrology

Seasonal soil frost: A study of its significance to the hydrologic cycle of North America

Goals:

  1. To identify the role of seasonal soil frost in the spring hydrologic response of North American rivers and streams.
  2. To determine how seasonal frozen soils have responded to historic climate variability.

Statement of Problem:

Frozen soil can be a significant factor in the function of the hydrologic cycle during winter and spring. It can cause severe reductions in soil infiltration rates potentially leading to increases in spring peak flows. Soil frost can also increase storage of soil moisture through the winter and change the exchange of energy between the land-surface and atmosphere by damping changes in soil surface temperature. Small watershed and field scale studies have shown that the role of frozen soil can be significant under specific conditions. This study will use the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrologic model version 4.1, to study the importance of seasonally frozen soil to winter and spring hydrology in North America over a variety of scales. Simulations will be run at a resolution of 1/8th degree over the domain used for the North American Land Data Assimilation Systems (LDAS) project (125° to 67° W longitude; 25° to 53° N latitude). Meteorological forcings from 1915 to 2004 will be used to study the simulated impact of seasonal soil frost with regional climate variability.

Dissertations

Mao, D. (2008). Development and application of a coupled erosion and hydrology modeling system. PhD Dissertation. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Sinha, T. (2008). Climate change impacts on the hydrologic role of seasonal soil frost in the northern Midwestern United States. PhD Dissertation. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Publications

Sinha, T., and K. A. Cherkauer, (2010), Impacts of future climate change on soil frost in the Midwestern United States, Journal of Geophysical Research, doi:10.1029/2009JD012188.

Cherkauer, K. A. and T. Sinha (2010), Hydrologic Impacts of Projected Future Climate Change in the Lake Michigan Region, Journal of Great Lakes Research, doi: 10.1016/j.jglr.2009.11.012.

Sinha, T., K. A. Cherkauer and V. Mishra (2010), Impacts of historic climate variability on seasonal soil frost in the Midwestern United States, Journal of Hydrometeorology, 11(2), 229-252. doi: 10.1175/2009JHM1141.1.

Mao, D., K. A. Cherkauer and D.C. Flanagan (2010), Development of a coupled soil erosion and large-scale hydrology modeling system, Water Resources Research, 46, W08543, doi:10.1029/2009WR008268.

Mao, D., and K.A. Cherkauer (2009), Impacts of land-use change on hydrologic responses in the Great Lakes region. Journal of Hydrology, 374(1-2), 71-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.06.016.

Sinha, T., and K. A. Cherkauer, 2008. Time series analysis of soil freeze and thaw processes in Indiana, Journal of Hydrometeorology, 9(5), 936-950.

Hayhoe, K. and D. Wuebbles (eds.) (2008). Climate change and Chicago: Projections and potential impacts, K. A. Cherkauer 1 of 21 contributing authors (Chapters 2 and 3), available for download at http://www.chicagoclimateaction.org/pages/research___reports/48.php.

Presentations

Cherkauer, K. A., V. Mishra and T. Sinha (2009), Hydrologic Impacts of Projected Future Climate Change in the Lake Michigan Region. Western Great Lakes Research Conference, Ashland, WI.

Cherkauer, K. A., V. Mishra and T. Sinha (2009), Hydrologic Impacts of Projected Future Climate Change in the Lake Michigan Region. 2009 Joint Assembly, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Cherkauer, K. A. (2008), Potential impacts of a changing climate in the Great Lakes basin, Rotary Club World Affiars Conference - Hammond, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN.

Cherkauer, K. A. (2008), The impact of changing climate and precipitation in the Great Lakes basin, Illinois - Indiana Sea Grant seminar series, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN.

Sinha, T., K. A. Cherkauer, and V. Mishra (2008), Seasonal soil frost in response to future climate change in Midwest US, Annual Meeting ASABE, Providence, Rhode Island.

Sinha, T., K. A. Cherkauer, and V. Mishra (2008), Historic climate impacts on seasonal soil frost in the Midwestern US, 88th AMS Annual Meeting, NewOrleans, LA, Abstract 135102.

Wuebbles, D., K. Hayhoe and K.A. Cherkauer (2008), Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in the Great Lakes Region, EOS Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract OS54B-08.

Wuebbles, D., K. Hayhoe and K.A. Cherkauer (2008), Climate change and the upper Mississippi River basin, Flood Forum, St. Louis University, November 11, 2008.

Cherkauer, K. A., Y.-T. Su, T. Sinha (2007), Parameterization of the spatial variability of cold season processes in the Midwestern United States, AGU Fall Meeting. Eos Trans. AGU, San Francisco, CA, Abstract H31D-0636.

Mao, D., K. A. Cherkauer, and L. C. Bowling (2007), Improved vegetation properties for the estimation of evapotranspiration in the Midwestern United States, ASABE Annual International Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.

Mao, D., K. A. Cherkauer, and D. C. Flanagan (2007), Development of a coupled soil erosion and large-scale hydrology modeling system: evaluation of impacts of land-use change on soil erosion, ASABE Annual International Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.

Mao, D., K. A. Cherkauer, and D. C. Flanagan (2007), Impact of land-use change on soil erosion at regional scale: application of a coupled erosion and hydrologic modeling scheme, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, Abstract H31G-0751.

Sinha, T., and K. A. Cherkauer (2007), Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Soil Frost in the Northern Midwest United States, ASABE Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, Abstract 072159.

Mao, D., K. A. Cherkauer and D. C. Flanagan (2006), Large-scale impacts of frozen soil on soil erosion: coupling the WEPP model to a macro-scale hydrologic model, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H31C-1438.

Mao, D., K. A. Cherkauer and D. C. Flanagan (2006), Large-scale impacts of frozen soil on soil erosion: coupling the WEPP model to a macro-scale hydrologic model, ASABE Annual International Meeting, Portland, OR, july 11, Paper No. 062188.

Sinha, T. and K. A. Cherkauer (2006), Time series analysis of soil freeze thaw processes in Indiana, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, November 12-16, Abstract 318-3.

Mao, D. and K. A. Cherkauer (2005), Effects of Land Use Change on Evapotranspiration and Water Yield in the Great Lakes Region, Eos Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H41D-0446.

Sinha, T. and K. A. Cherkauer (2005), Hydrologic Time Series Analysis Of Climatic Variables To Study Changes In Soil Freezing And Thawing Processes For Indiana, Eos Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract C31A-1114.

Mao, D. and K. A. Cherkauer (2004), Impacts of Land Cover and Land-use Change on the Water and Energy Cycle of the Great Lakes Region, Eos Trans. AGU, 85(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H11F-0346.