Ph.D., Geology, University of Michigan, 1986
Periglacial Geomorphology, Climatology
Office: 400F Braunstein, Ph: (513) 556-3430
E-mail: Kenneth.Hinkel@uc.edu
Click here to link to:
Link to Department of Geography Home Page
Link to CALM Home Page
Link to Barrow Snowfence Study
Link to Barrow Urban Heat Island Study
Link to Cincinnati Urban Heat Island Study (under development)
Link to Recent studies of lakes and lake basins on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska
Link to GPR work in Barrow, April 2006
Link to Geography 101: Weather
and Climate
Link to Geography 111: Weather and Climate
Lab
Link to Geography 102: Landscapes
(Summer)
Link to Geography 301: Elements
of Climatology
Link to Geography 302: Climate
and Landscapes
Link to Geography 574: Introduction
to Computer Cartography
Link to Geography 586: Advanced
Spatial Statistics
My general interest in the Earth Sciences focuses on the topic of "surficial processes." This discipline examines the physical and chemical processes that occur near the earth's surface. Because the near-surface is an interface between the atmosphere and the underlying lithosphere, an understanding of meteorology, hydrology, and geology is required. The interdisciplinary nature of the discipline is reflected in my training, as I have degrees in both Physical Geography (MS) and Geology (Ph.D).
My primary areas of research are three-fold. The bulk of my efforts are concentrated on permafrost and periglacial studies conducted in the Arctic, primarily in northern Alaska. This research has been continually funded by the Office of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation since 1991, and focuses on energy and moisture exchange between the atmosphere and permafrost, or permanently frozen ground. Permafrost underlies about 20% of the earth's land surface.
Global warming is expected to be enhanced at high latitudes and, for this reason, should be detected there first. An increase in air temperatures would cause warming of the ground surface and melting of the upper regions of permafrost. Upon melting, this ice-rich frozen ground would sink and the ground surface would be displaced downward, disrupting any engineering structures such as roads, house foundations, and pipelines. Furthermore, the carbon stored in the frozen materials in the form of partially decomposed organic material would be released into the atmosphere as "Greenhouse Gases", thus providing a positive feedback to warming.
This research entails the installation of sensor arrays at sites across northern Alaska. Temperature and soil moisture data are used to monitor the effects of climate. These data are also used to construct models of heat and moisture flow across the active layer, the thin zone above permafrost that experiences seasonal freezing and thawing. By understanding how heat energy is transferred between the atmosphere to the permafrost, we will be able to estimate the impact of climate change in permafrost regions.
Thaw lakes develop atop permafrost if the conditions are suitable. Near the Arctic coast, unidirectional winds cause the lakes to become elongated and oriented, with the long axis perpendicular to the prevailing summer wind direction. Thousands of lakes and ponds cover about 20% of the surface; view the links above to see satellite images of northern Alaska. These lakes eventually drain to become basins covering 26% of the landscape, and basins are preferential sites for organic matter accumulation in the form of peat. We have been studying the geostatistical and morphometric (shape) characteristics of lakes as they vary over space, and to understand the influence of climatic and geomorphic conditions on lake formation, expansion and drainage. Additional information is available at the links above.
In addition to studies of permafrost and periglacial processes, my research also encompasses climatology and meteorology. This entails instrumentation and analysis of meteorological data. For example, I am completing a project to monitor and model the "urban heat island" effect in Barrow, Alaska to determine the degree of urban warming associated with burning natural gas for power production and for residential heating. In winter, the core region of the village is about 3 C warmer than the surrounding tundra. This may not seem like much, and you might even think local folks would appreciate the extra warmth. However, this extra anthropogenic heat causes spring snowmelt to occur earlier in the village and may contribute to destabilization of the ice-rich permafrost. Similar studies are being conducted in Cincinnati to determine the influence of automobile traffic on air temperature, and to estimate the potential impact of the proposed monorail on reducing urban heating and air pollution. Similarly, studies are being conducted in agricultural fields to model the impact of conservation tillage practices on soil temperature and soil moisture availability.
Finally, I am interested in techniques to analyze spatial and temporal data. This involves developing algorithms to quantify geophysical data sets, and includes use of fractal dimensions and Hurst rescaling. Geostatistical techniques to describe spatial variability are also central elements in my research.
Recent Publications
Hinkel, K.M., Klene, A.E. and Nelson, F.E. (2008). Spatial and interannual patterns of winter N-factors near Barrow, Alaska. In: Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, Kane and Hinkel (Eds.), Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 705-709.
Jones, B.M., Arp, C.D., Hinkel, K.M., Beck, R.A., Schmutz, J.A. and Winston, B. (accepted). Lake hydrodynamics in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and implications for winter water availability and management. Environmental Management,
Nelson, F.E., Shiklomanov, N.I., Hinkel, K.M. and Brown, J. (2008). Decadal results from the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program. Plenary paper in: Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, Kane and Hinkel (Eds.), Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1273-1280.
Jorgenson, M.T., Walker, H.J., Brown, J., Hinkel, K.M., Shur, Y., Osterkamp, T., Ping, C-L., Kanevskiy, M., Eisner, W., Rea, C. and Jensen, A. 2008. Coastal Region of Northern Alaska: Guidebook to Permafrost and Related Features. Edited by M.T. Jorgenson, Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, 29 June-3 July 2008, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Department of Natural Resources, State of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1__ pp.
Hinkel, K.M., Klene, A.E. and Nelson, F.E. (2008). Spatial and interannual patterns of winter N-factors near Barrow, Alaska. In: Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, Kane and Hinkel (Eds.), Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 705-709.
Eisner, W.R., Hinkel, K.M., Jones, B.M. and Cuomo, C.J. (2008). Using indigenous knowledge to assess environmental impacts of overland travel routes, Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. In: Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, Kane and Hinkel (Eds.), Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 415-420.
Nelson, F.E., Shiklomanov, N.I., Streletskiy, D.A., Romanovsky, V.E., Yoshikawa, K., Hinkel, K.M. and Brown, J. (2008). A permafrost observatory at Barrow, Alaska: Long-term observations of active-layer thickness and permafrost temperature. In: Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, Kane and Hinkel (Eds.), Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1267-1272.
Nelson, F.E., Shiklomanov, N.I., Hinkel, K.M. and Brown, J. (2008). The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) Program: Data collection, management, and dissemination strategies. Plenary paper in: Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, Kane and Hinkel (Eds.), Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1647-1652.
Jones, B.M., Hinkel, K.M., Arp, C.D. and Eisner, W.R. (accepted). Modern erosion rates and loss of coastal features and sites, Beaufort Sea coastline, Alaska. Arctic.
Beck, R.A., Hinkel, K.M. and many others (accepted). GPSDTN: Predictive velocity-enabled delay-tolerant networks for Arctic research and sustainability. IARIA-IEEE First International Workshop on Tracking Computing Technologies.
Bockheim, J.G. and Hinkel, K.M. (2007). The importance of “deep” organic carbon in permafrost-affected soils of arctic Alaska. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 71, 1889-1892. DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2007.0070N
Munroe, J.S., Doolittle, J.A., Kanevisky, M.Z., Hinkel, K.M., Nelson, F.E., Jones, B.M., Shur, Y. and Kimble, J.M. (2007). Application of ground-penetrating radar imagery for three-dimensional visualization of near-surface structures in ice-rich permafrost, Barrow, Alaska. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 18(4), 309-321.
Hinkel, K.M. and Nelson, F.E. (2007). Anthropogenic heat island at Barrow, Alaska, during winter: 2001-2005. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 112, D06118, doi:10.1029/2006JD007837.
Hinkel, K.M., Jones, B.M., Eisner, W.R., Cuomo, C.J., Beck, R.A. and Frohn, R. (2007). Methods to assess natural and anthropogenic thaw lake drainage on the western Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska, Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface, 112, F02S16, doi:10.1029/2006JF000584.
Hinkel, K.M. (2007). The urban heat island of Cincinnati, Ohio, Geography Research Forum, 27, 10-28.
Hinkel, K.M. and Hurd, J.K., Jr. (2006). Permafrost destabilization and thermokarst following snow fence installation, Barrow, Alaska, U.S.A., Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 38(4), 530-539.
Hinkel, K.M. (2006). Comment on "Formation of oriented thaw lakes by thaw slumping" by Jon D. Pelletier, Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface, 111, F01021, doi:10.1029/2005JF000377.
Hinkel, K.M., Frohn, R.C., Nelson, F.E., Eisner, W.R. and Beck, R.A. (2005). Morphometric and spatial analysis of thaw lakes and drained thaw lake basins in the western Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska, Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 16(4), 327-341.
Frohn, R.C., Hinkel, K.M. and Eisner, W.R. (2005). Satellite remote sensing classification of thaw lakes and drained thaw lake basins on the North Slope of Alaska, Remote Sensing of the Environment, 97, 116-126.
Bockheim, J.G. and Hinkel, K.M. (2005). Characteristics and significance of the transition zone in drained thaw-lake basins of the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska, Arctic, 58(4), 406-417.
Shur, Y., Hinkel, K.M. and Nelson, F.E. (2005). The transient layer: Implications for geocryology and climate-change science. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 16(1), 5-17.
Eisner, W.R., Bockheim, J.G., Hinkel, K.M., Brown, T.A., Nelson, F.E., Peterson, K.M. and Jones, B.M. (2005). Paleoenvironmental analyses of an organic deposit from an erosional landscape remnant, Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology, 217, 187-204.
Beck, R., Eisner, W.R., Hinkel, K.M., Pesanti, H., Ellis, B., Beiswenger, E., Parker, W., Treadwell, M., Smith, S., Krogh, L., Hansen, K.G. and Peskov, V. (2005). Nutarniq: Uniting the Arctic community with a wireless arctic network for circumpolar communications. Polar Geography, 29(1), 1-25.
Nelson, F.E., Shiklomanov, N.I., Hinkel, K.M. and Christiansen, H.H. (2004). Introduction: The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) workshop and the CALM II program, Polar Geography, 28(4), 253-266.
Hinkel, K.M., Nelson, F.E., Klene, A.E and Bell, J.H. (2003). The urban heat island in winter at Barrow, Alaska. International Journal of Climatology, 23, 1889-1905.
Hinkel, K.M., Klene, A.E and Nelson, F.E. (2004). The summer climate of an arctic coastal village: Preliminary observations from the Barrow Urban Heat-Island study. Polar Geography, 28(3), 197-221.
Bockheim, J.G., Hinkel, K.M., Eisner, W.R., Dai, X.Y. and Peterson, K.M. (2004). Carbon pools and accumulation rates in an age-series of soils in drained thaw-lake basins, Arctic Alaska. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 68, 697-704.
Bockheim, J.G., O’Brien, J.D., Munroe, J.S. and Hinkel, K.M. (2003). Factors affecting the distribution of Populus balsamifera on the North Slope of Alaska, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 35(3), 331-340.
Bockheim, J.G., Hinkel, K.M. and Nelson, F.E. (2001). Soils of the Barrow region, Alaska. Polar Geography, 25, 163-181.
Hinkel, K.M., Eisner, W.R., Bockheim, J.G., Nelson, F.E., Peterson, K.M. and Dai, X.Y. (2003). Spatial extent, age, and carbon stocks in drained thaw lake basins on the Barrow Peninsula, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 35(3), 291-300.
Bockheim, J.G., Hinkel, K.M. and Nelson, F.E. (2003). Predicting carbon storage in tundra soils of Arctic Alaska. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 67, 948-950.
Eisner, W.E., Hinkel, K.M., Nelson, F.E. and Bockheim, J.G. (2003). Late-Quaternary paleoenvironmental record from a palsa-scale frost mound in northern Alaska. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost, University of Zurich-Irchel, 229-234.
Nelson, F.E., Brigham, L., Hinkel, K.M., Parker, W., Romanovsky, V.E., Smith, O., Tucker, W., and Vinson, T. (2003). Climate Change, Permafrost, and Impacts on Civil Infrastructure. Special Report 01-03, Permafrost Task Force, U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Arlington, VA. 72 pp.
Hinkel, K.M., Bockheim, J.G., Peterson, K.M. and Norton, D.W. (2003). Impact of snow fence construction on tundra soil temperatures at Barrow, Alaska. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost, University of Zurich-Irchel, 401-406.
Klene, A.E., Hinkel, K.M. and Nelson, F.E. (2003). The Barrow heat island study: Soil temperatures and active-layer thickness. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost, University of Zurich-Irchel, 555-560.
Hinkel, K.M. and Nelson, F.E. (2003). Spatial and temporal patterns of active layer depth at CALM sites in Northern Alaska, 1995-2000. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 108(D2),10.129/2001JD000927.
Hinkel, K.M., Ellis, A.W. and Mosley-Thompson, E. (2003). Cryosphere. Chapter 4 (p. 47-55) in: Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, Edited by Gary L. Gaile and Cort J. Willmott.
Nelson, F.E. and Hinkel, K.M. (2002). The Far North: A Geographic Perspective on Permafrost Environments. Chapter 13 in: The Physical Geography of North America, Oxford University Press, New York, 551 pp.
Hinkel, K.M. (2002). Changes in the thermal and moisture regimes in the plow zone under corn following no-till implementation. In: Advances in Soil Science: Agriculture Practices and Policies for Carbon Sequestration in Soil, Chapt. 19, 207-222.
Contributing author (2001) on Chapter 16, Polar Regions (Arctic and Antarctic), pp. 801-841 in Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Cambridge University Press.
Frohn, R.C., Eisner, W.E., Hinkel, K.M., Arellano-Neri, O. and Peterson, K.M. (2001). Remote sensing of thaw lake basins on the North Slope of Alaska. Proceedings, American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, ASPRS 2001-Gateway to the New Millennium, April 23-27, 2001, St. Louis (on CD).
Hinkel, K.M., Doolittle, J.A., Bockheim, J.G., Nelson, F.E., Paetzold, R., Kimble, J.M. and Travis, R. (2001). Detection of subsurface permafrost features with ground-penetrating radar, Barrow, Alaska. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 12(2), 179-190.
Klene, A.E., Nelson, F.E., Shiklomanov, N.I. and Hinkel, K.M. (2001). The N-factor in natural landscapes: Variability of air and soil-surface temperatures, Kuparuk River Basin, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 33(2), 140-148.
Gomersall, C.E. and Hinkel, K.M. (2001). Estimating the variability of active layer thaw depth in two physiographic regions of northern Alaska. Geographical Analysis, 33(2), 141-155.
Hinkel, K.M., Paetzold, R.F., Nelson, F.E. and Bockheim, J.G. (2001). Patterns of soil temperature and moisture in the active layer and upper permafrost at Barrow, Alaska: 1993-1999. Global and Planetary Change, 29, 293-309.
Kane, D.L., Hinkel, K.M., Goering, D.J., Hinzman, L.D. and Outcalt, S.I., (2001). Nonconductive heat transfer associated with freezing soils. Global and Planetary Change, 29, 275-292.