The 2021 Navalacruz wildfire occurred in a mountainous area in the Sistema Central (Spain). Despite having an average low severity index (dNBR), the loss of vegetation cover associated with the fire was responsible for a high rate of sedimentation in the rivers and streams. Additionally, the burned area affected up to 60 cultural heritage sites, including archaeological and ethnological sites, and damage ranged from burnt pieces of wood to the burial of archaeological sites. In the present work, we document and analyze the post-fire evolution in several rivers and streams. This is based on a field survey of infiltration rates, hydrodynamic modeling, and the study of channel morphological changes. Our analysis revealed how the first post-fire rains caused the mobilization and transport of ashes. This created hydrophobicity in the soils, resulting in large amounts of materials being transported to rivers and streams by subsequent medium- and low-magnitude storms. A hydrological and hydraulic model of the study catchments under pre- and post-fire conditions suggests that these trends are a consequence of a post-fire increase in flow rates for similar rainfall scenarios. In this respect, our estimates point at a significant increase in sediment transport capacities associated with this post-fire increase in flow rates. The combination of locally steep slopes with high-severity fire patches, and a considerable regolith (derived from pre-fire weathering), resulted in a series of cascading responses, such as an exacerbated supply of sand to the drainage network and the triggering of debris flows, followed by erosion and entrenchment.

In February 2009 a new permafrost borehole was installed close to the British Antarctic Survey Station at Rothera Point, Adelaide Island (67.57195 degrees S 68.12068 degrees W). The borehole is situated at 31 m asl on a granodiorite knob with scattered lichen cover. The spatial variability of snow cover and of ground surface temperature (GST) is characterised through the monitoring of snow depth on 5 stakes positioned around the borehole and with thermistors placed at three different rock surfaces (A, B and C). The borehole temperature is measured by 18 thermistors placed at different depths between 0.3 and 30 m. Snow persistence is very variable both spatially and temporally with snow free days per year ranging from 13 and more than 300, and maximum snow depths varying between 0.03 and 1.42 m. This variability is the main cause of high variability in GST, that ranged between -3.7 and -1.5 degrees C. The net effect of the snow cover is a cooling of the surface. Mean annual GST, mean summer GST, and the degree days of thawing and the n-factor of thawing were always much lower at sensor A where snow persistence and depth were greater than in the other sensor locations. At sensor A the potential freeze-thaw events were negligible (0-3) and the thermal stress was at least 40% less than in the other sensor locations. The zero curtain effect at the rock surface occurred only at surface A, favouring chemical weathering over mechanical action. The active layer thickness (ALT) ranged between 0.76 and 1.40 m. ALT was directly proportional to the mean air temperature in summer, and inversely proportional to the maximum snow depth in autumn. ALT temporal variability was greater than reported at other sites at similar latitude in the Northern Hemisphere, or with the similar mean annual air temperature in Maritime Antarctica, because vegetation and a soil organic horizon are absent at the study site. Zero annual amplitude in temperature was observed at about 16 m depth, where the mean annual temperature is 3 degrees C. Permafrost thickness was calculated to range between 112 and 157 m, depending on the heat flow values adopted. The presence of sub-sea permafrost cannot be excluded considering the depth of the shelf around Rothera Point and its glacial history. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.