The Cryosphere www.the-cryosphere.net 1994-0416 1994-0424 4 3 2010 10.5194/tc-4-269-2010 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/4/269/2010/ http://www.the-cryosphere.net/4/269/2010/tc-4-269-2010.html http://www.the-cryosphere.net/4/269/2010/tc-4-269-2010.pdf 269 283 2010-08-16 Multi-channel ground-penetrating radar to explore spatial variations in thaw depth and moisture content in the active layer of a permafrost site U. Wollschläger ute.wollschlaeger@ufz.de H. Gerhards Q. Yu K. Roth Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soils Engineering Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, CAS, Lanzhou, China now at: UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstra{ß}e 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany Multi-channel ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was applied at a permafrost site on the Tibetan Plateau to investigate the influence of surface properties and soil texture on the late-summer thaw depth and average soil moisture content of the active layer. Measurements were conducted on an approximately 85 × 60 m² sized area with surface and soil textural properties that ranged from medium to coarse textured bare soil to finer textured, sparsely vegetated areas covered with fine, wind blown sand, and it included the bed of a gravel road. The survey allowed a clear differentiation of the various units. 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