PhD defence: Sebastian Fabian Zastruzny

Sebastian Fabian Zastruzny defends his thesis,

Water flow in the active layer
The dynamics of water movement in a changing environment

Supervisors:
Bo Elberling, Professor, University of Copenhagen
Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, Associate Professor, DTU

Assessment Committee:
Research Hydrologist Michelle Ann Walvoord, USGS Earth System Processes Division - US
Associate professor Victor Bense, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) - The Netherlands
Associate professor Guy Schurgers (chair), IGN

Summary:
The hydrothermal regime of the active layer in the Arctic is changing due to altered conditions at the surface. Field experiments have been conducted at two locations in Greenland and subsequently simulated in numerical models to investigate the effects on active layer thickness, discharge and solute movement.
The results show that surface changes influence the dynamic thermal properties of the soil which in turn shift the frost table position in absolute terms. As this varies the relative position of the water table, it changes the transmissivity of the active layer, and the soil layers that are hydraulically active. This results in changes of the potential discharge and alters travel velocities of solutes in the active layer.

A digital version of the PhD thesis can be obtained from the PhD secretary at phd@ign.ku.dk