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Talik Formation at a Snow Fence in Continuous Permafrost, Western Arctic Canada
Author(s) -
O'Neill H. B.,
Burn C. R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
permafrost and periglacial processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-1530
pISSN - 1045-6740
DOI - 10.1002/ppp.1905
Subject(s) - permafrost , fence (mathematics) , snow , geology , terrain , geomorphology , frost heaving , hydrology (agriculture) , snow cover , physical geography , geotechnical engineering , geography , oceanography , cartography , engineering , structural engineering
The long‐term ground thermal effects of a snow fence were examined in continuous permafrost on Peel Plateau, Northwest Territories. As the fence was erected in the early 1980s, present‐day ground thermal conditions include the response to over 30 years of snow pack modification. Snow cover, ground temperatures, late‐summer thaw depth and moisture content are higher at the fence than in ground nearby. The terrain surface around the fence has subsided about 0.5 m due to the disturbance. Field measurements indicate that a talik has developed below the fence. Numerical simulation of the ground thermal regime beneath the snow drift suggests that the talik began to form 25 years after the fence was constructed, and that thaw depth in late summer is now about 3 m. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.