Permafrost in steep slopes on Svalbard - an unknown hazard in the transition to a warmer climate?

Within her PhD project, Juditha Schmidt will investigate the thermal state of steep cliffs near Ny-Ålesund, using miniature loggers installed in the cliffs to measure temperatures. The temperatures are strongly influenced by the presence of snow, and are presumably very close to the thaw threshold. In coastal cliffs, absence of sea ice during the winter leads to even warmer temperatures, as demonstrated by first measurements an cliffs near Ny-Ålesund and modeling conducted by PhD candidate Juditha Schmidt. Coastal permafrost rockwalls could become unstable in the future, collapsing into the sea and causing displacement waves hazardous for settlements (as has recently occurred in Greenland, killing people and damaging houses). This fieldwork is based on the experiences initial measurements in coastal cliffs within the settlement of Ny-Ålesund conducted by S. Westermann, which suggest that permafrost already near the that threshold in these cliffs.