Cave mountain permafrost environments in Picos de Europa and their implications

Abstract

The thermal definition of permafrost can be attributed to a wide diversity of periglacial environments, one of which is ice caves. This study analyzes ice caves in relation to the thermal aspect of permafrost with the aim of describing ice caves with permafrost in the temperate high mountain of the Picos de Europa and their implications in the interpretation of ice caves as permafrost indicators. Ice caves provide the environmental conditions of mountain permafrost, with annual mean temperatures below 0ºC over several consecutive years and multiple perennial cryomorphologies. Ice caves are not found at sites where surface environments have permafrost, however endoclimatic features and cryomorphological elements indicate environments with permafrost in the upper part of the cavities currently entirely unrelated to surface climatic conditions. Based on endoclimate data and on landform types and cryomorphic processes, a classification is established unrelated to surface permafrost environments: cave mountain permafrost environment.