Characteristics of discontinuous permafrost based on ground temperature measurements and electrical resistivity tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada

Special issue : In honour of Professor Charles harris

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

LEWKOWICZ, A.G.

Dep. of Geography, Univ., Ottawa, Canada

ETZELMÜLLER, B.

Dep. of Geosciences, Univ., Oslo, Norvege

SMITH, S.L.

Geological Survey of Canada, Natural resources, Ottawa, Canada

Description :
Warm permafrost conditions (mean temperatures of −3°C to −0.1°C) were investigated in detail at 13 valley and mountain sites in the sporadic (10–50%) and extensive (50–90%) discontinuous permafrost zones in the southern half of the Yukon (60°N to 64°N), using a combination of ground temperature monitoring, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), frost table probing and coring. Sites were selected to cover a wide range of substrates, vegetation types and ground ice contents. ERT profiling in the spring imaged both deep seasonal frost and perennially frozen ground. The observations revealed the complexity of site conditions where permafrost is discontinuous and the utility of ERT, in combination with other methods, to investigate permafrost thickness, spatial extent and ice content for infrastructure planning or climate change studies.

Type de document :
Article de monographie

Source :
Permafrost and periglacial processes, issn : 1045-6740, 2011, vol. 22, n°. 4, p. 320-342, nombre de pages : 23, Références bibliographiques : 2 p.

Date :
2011

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley

Langue :
Anglais