Matthias Leopold

Matthias Leopold will work with Kristy Tiampo applying shallow geophysical methods in high alpine and other periglacial environments to obtain non-destructive information about buried bodies of ice or sporadic permafrost, as well as to study linked hydrological processes. Leopold will collect new geophysical data from his field site on top of Mauna Kea Hawaii, where we have currently studied isolated bodies of permafrost (Schorghofer et al. 2018). New locations will be tested for permafrost and the geophysical field data will be processed at CU Boulder. During his stay at CU Boulder, he will initiate a new project near the Martinelli Snowfield at Niwot Ridge to determine if this area holds permafrost and if so, how much it influences the local hydrology. A complete installation of a time-lapse ERT monitoring including soils and trees at the current tree line will be established. Together with a set of moisture sensors, the research aims to better understand links between degrading permafrost, hydrology, and tree response in summer.  He will also collaborate with CIRES’ Mylène Jacquemart, who studies glacial surges in southern Alaska.