An Analysis of Diurnal Freeze-Thaw and Frost Heave Cycles in the Indian Peaks Region of the Colorado Front Range

Measurements were made along an altitudinal transect at five sites in the Colorado Front Range in order to determine the inter- and intrasite variability of diurnal freeze-thaw and frost heave cycles in an alpine region. Meteorological screen data showed the number of diurnal freeze-thaw cyles to decrease from 238 at 2,600 m to 89 at 3,750 m over a 22-month period. The same trend was established for diurnal freeze-thaw and frost heave cycles at the surface of snowfree sites. However, daily cycles based on air temperature could not be relied upon to accurately predict the number of frost heave events at the soil surface. The number of frost heave cycles also diminished sharply with depth; none was recorded at a depth of 20 cm, suggesting that their geomorphic effectiveness is limited to the upper 10 cm.