Hysteretic freezing characteristics of riparian peatlands in the Western Boreal Forest of Canada

Freezing characteristics were investigated for a sedge covered floating fen and spruce covered swamp located beside a shallow lake in the Western Boreal Forest of Canada. Thermal properties were measured in situ for one freeze‐thaw cycle, and for two freeze‐thaw cycles in laboratory columns. Thermal conductivity and liquid water content were related to a range of subsurface temperatures above and below the freezing thresholds, and clearly illustrate hysteresis between the freezing and thawing process. Thermal hysteresis occurs because of the large change in thermal conductivity between water and ice, high water content of the peat, and wide variation in pore sizes that govern ice formation. Field and laboratory results were combined to develop linear freezing functions, which were tested in a heat transfer model. For surface temperature boundary conditions, subsurface temperatures were simulated for the over‐winter period and compared with field measurements. Replication of the transient subsurface thermal regime required that freezing functions transition gradually from thawed to frozen state (spanning the ?0·25 to ?2 °C range) as opposed to a more abrupt step function. Subsurface temperatures indicate that the floating fen underwent complete phase change (from water to ice) and froze to approximately the same depth as lake ice thickness. Therefore, the floating fen peatland froze as a ‘shelf’ adjacent to the lake, whereas the spruce covered swamp had a higher capacity for thermal buffering, and subsurface freezing was both more gradual and limited in depth. These thermal properties, and the timing and duration of frozen state, are expected to control the interaction of water and nutrients between surface water and groundwater, which will be affected by changes in air temperature associated with global climate change. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.