Omonigbehin, Olorunfemi; Ben Said, Hatim; Stolle, Jacob 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0902-9339; Francus, Pierre ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5465-1966; Kurylyk, Barret L.; Guimond, Julia A.; Didier, David; Coulombe, Stéphanie et Goseberg, Nils
(2026).
Experimental investigation of wave-forced heat convection across water-permafrost boundaries.
Cold Regions Science and Technology
, vol. 242
.
p. 104718.
DOI: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2025.104718.
Résumé
Arctic permafrost coastlines are retreating faster as climate warming intensifies. Accurate modelling of the thermomechanical process is hindered by a lack of direct measurement of heat flux or heat transfer coefficients (hw) at the water-permafrost interface. This study presents the first, direct laboratory measurements of wave-induced convective heat transfer coefficients. In twelve wave-flume experiments, artificial permafrost samples were exposed to air, still water, and irregular waves (0.02–0.04 m height; 0.8–1.2 s period). Embedded resistance temperature detectors tracked temperature changes at high spatial and temporal resolution, allowing for precise heat flux and heat transfer coefficient calculations. Under wave action, thaw-front advanced rapidly into the permafrost blocks at about 160–350 mmh−1 compared to 3.24 mmh−1 in air and 50.14 mmh−1 in still water. Similarly, heat transfer coefficient ranged from 459 to 1210 Wm−2 K−1 in wave tests, significantly exceeding those for still water (∼165 Wm−2 K−1) and air exposure (∼4.4 Wm−2 K−1) tests. Heat flux correlated most strongly with wave height; higher ice content slowed thawing but did not evidently affect hw magnitude. A novel empirical model was developed that pioneers the linking of hw to surf similarity and dimensionless wave height and period. With strong predictive performance (R2 = 0.89, RMSE = 81.1 Wm−2 K−1), the model provides a practical, experimentally validated tool for specifying hw in coastal permafrost erosion models, eliminating the reliance on parameter tuning required by previous analytical approaches. Overall, this study demonstrates the critical role of waves in heat delivery to permafrost coastlines.
| Type de document: | Article |
|---|---|
| Mots-clés libres: | arctic; permafrost; heat transfer coefficient; wave-permafrost interaction |
| Centre: | Centre Eau Terre Environnement |
| Date de dépôt: | 26 févr. 2026 18:57 |
| Dernière modification: | 26 févr. 2026 18:57 |
| URI: | https://espace.inrs.ca/id/eprint/16744 |
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