CryoGrid/CryoGrid3: Model setup for representing lateral thermokarst in a peat plateau

CryoGrid 3 is a land-surface scheme dedicated to modeling of ground temperatures in permafrost environments. Its excess ice module Xice is capable of simulating ground subsidence and thermokarst lake formation due to melting of excess ground ice. The basic version of CryoGrid 3 and Xice is described in the following article:

Westermann, S., Langer, M., Boike, J., Heikenfeld, M., Peter, M., Etzelmüller, B., & Krinner, G. (2016). Simulating the thermal regime and thaw processes of ice-rich permafrost ground with the land-surface model CryoGrid 3. Geosci. Model Dev., 9(2), 523–546. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-523-2016

This version v1.0.2 has been configured to represent vertical and lateral thermokarst processes and includes lateral transport of heat, water, and snow. It has been used for simulations of peat plateau degradation in northern Norway which are described in a research article accepted for publication in the scientific journal The Cryosphere:

Martin, L. C. P., Nitzbon, J., Scheer, J., Aas, K. S., Eiken, T., Langer, M., Filhol, S., Etzelmüller, B., & Westermann, S. (2020). Thermal erosion patterns of permafrost peat plateaus in northern Norway. The Cryosphere Discussions, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-338