Bedrock freeze‐thaw weathering regime in an alpine environment, colorado front range

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Abstract
Reduced major axis analysis is used to describe monthly temperature averages for daily maxima, minima, means and ranges at a sequence of bedrock microenvironments in the alpine zone of the Colorado Front Range. Seven thermistors buried at 1 cm in bedrock provide comparative data on easterly, southerly and westerly aspects, and also upon the impact of snow accumulation (⩽0.5m to ≥4.0m deep) against an east‐facing rock wall. Intersite temperatures commonly differ by less than 5°C and, rarely, by more than 10°C. The freezing intensity of freeze‐thaw cycles occurring within the confines of a seasonal snow patch rarely dropped to −5°C, while at snowfree, vertical faces freezing dropped to −5°C quite commonly. Comparison with laboratory established criteria for effective freeze‐thaw weathering (abundant moisture and freezing to at least −5°C) suggests that moisture rich microsites lack adequate freezing intensity, while adequately frozen sites lack moisture. Available data suggest that the overlap between freeze‐thaw and hydration weathering requires careful re‐evaluation.

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