Permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, is beginning to thaw in response to a warming Arctic. Tracking this thaw is critical for understanding environmental change and protecting infrastructure in cold regions. One way scientists monitor these changes is by measuring how well the ground conducts electricity, which differs between frozen and unfrozen soils.

In laboratory experiments, we found that soil electrical properties don’t behave the same during freezing and thawing. This difference, called hysteresis, is influenced by how much salt is in the pore water and by the type of soil—especially whether it has more fine particles like clay or more coarse material like sand. These differences can make electrical measurements more complex, especially during seasonal transitions.

To explore whether this behavior occurs outside the lab, we studied electrical and temperature data collected every 12 hours at a remote monitoring station near Utqiaġvik, Alaska, during the 2024 thaw and freeze seasons. While early results suggest similar patterns may exist in the field, further study is needed to confirm this.

This work helps improve our understanding of how frozen ground responds to seasonal changes and supports better interpretation of remote sensing data used to monitor permafrost landscapes.