Massive ground ice and ice-cored terrain near Sabine Point, Yukon Coastal Plain

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1846-1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Harry ◽  
H. M. French ◽  
W. H. Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Flow Slides ◽  
Petrographic Analyses ◽  
Multiple Cycles ◽  
Lacustrine Basins

Massive ground ice, 5–6 m in thickness, is exposed within retrogressive thaw flow slides near Sabine Point, Yukon Territory. The ice is present near the upper surface of Buckland Till and is overlain and thaw truncated by mudflow sediments and a thick unit of peat and organic silt. Cryotextural and petrographic analyses suggest that the ice formed primarily by segregation processes. The ice occurs within an area of rolling terrain, surrounded by lacustrine basins. This may form a remnant of an initial post-Buckland surface, degraded by multiple cycles of thermokarst during the period 14 000 to 8000 years BP.

Modern and Late Holocene Retrogressive Thaw Slump Activity on the Yukon Coastal Plain and Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lantuit ◽  
W. H. Pollard ◽  
N. Couture ◽  
M. Fritz ◽  
L. Schirrmeister ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Retrogressive Thaw Slump

Evidence for recent temperature-induced water migration into permafrost from the tritium content of ground ice near Mayo, Yukon Territory, Canada

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 909-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Burn ◽  
F. A. Michel
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transport ◽  
Molecular Diffusion ◽  
Tritiated Water ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Water Migration ◽  
Atmospheric Water ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Tritium Content

Determinations of the tritium (3H) content of ground ice collected near Mayo, Yukon Territory, indicate that since the mid-1950s atmospheric water has infiltrated permafrost to depths of up to 50 cm. The rate of tritium infiltration into permafrost at two plots irrigated with tritiated water in 1983 suggests that tritium movement is principally due to temperature-induced mass transport rather than molecular diffusion.

scholarly journals Temporal stereophotogrammetric analysis of retrogressive thaw slumps on Herschel Island, Yukon Territory

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lantuit ◽  
W. H. Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Erosion ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Thawing Permafrost ◽  
Retrogressive Thaw Slump ◽  
Using Data

Abstract. The western Canadian Arctic is identified as an area of potentially significant global warming. Thawing permafrost, sea level rise, changing sea ice conditions and increased wave activity will result in accelerated rates of coastal erosion and thermokarst activity in areas of ice-rich permafrost. The Yukon Coastal Plain is widely recognized as one of the most ice-rich and thaw-sensitive areas in the Canadian Arctic. In particular, Herschel Island displays extensive coastal thermokarst. Retrogressive thaw slumps are a common thermokarst landform along the Herschel Island coast that have been increasing in both frequency and extent have in recent years due to increased thawing of massive ground ice and coastal erosion. The volume of sediment and ground ice eroded by retrogressive slump activity and the potential release of climate change related materials like organic carbon, carbon dioxide and methane are largely unknown. The remote setting of Herschel Island, and the Arctic in general, make direct observation of this type of erosion and the analysis of potential climate feedbacks extremely problematic. Remote sensing provides possibly the best solution to this problem. This study looks at two retrogressive thaw slumps located on the western shore of Herschel Island and using stereophotogrammetric methods attempts to (1) develop the first three-dimensional geomorphic analysis of this type of landform, and (2) provide an estimation of the volume of sediment/ground ice eroded through back wasting thermokarst activity. Digital Elevation Models were extracted for the years 1952, 1970 and 2004 and validated using data collected in the field using Kinematic Differential Global Positioning System. Estimates of sediment volumes eroded from retrogressive thaw slumps were found to vary greatly. In one case the total volume of material lost for the 1970–2004 period was approximately 1560000m3. The estimated volume of sediment alone was 360000m3. The temporal analysis of the DEMs suggest that second generation retrogressive thaw slump activity within the floor of a large polycyclic retrogressive thaw slump is possible.

Ground-ice investigations, Klondike District, Yukon Territory

1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. French ◽  
W. H. Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Mining Operations

Massive bodies of ground ice, 2.0–4.0 m thick, are regularly exposed in small placer mining operations in the Klondike District, Yukon. At Mayes claim, Hunker Creek, the ice is underlain by 2.0–3.0 m of creek gravels and overlain by 10.0–15.0 m of organic-rich and ice-rich muck deposits. The crystallographic and petrographic characteristics of the ice and its stratigraphic occurrence suggest that the ice body either had a segregation origin or was a residual snowbank subsequently buried by muck deposits and recrystallized.

scholarly journals Regional Patterns and Asynchronous Onset of Ice-Wedge Degradation since the Mid-20th Century in Arctic Alaska

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Frost ◽  
Tracy Christopherson ◽  
M. Jorgenson ◽  
Anna Liljedahl ◽  
Matthew Macander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Ground Subsidence ◽  
Ground Ice ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Ice Wedge

Ice-wedge polygons are widespread and conspicuous surficial expressions of ground-ice in permafrost landscapes. Thawing of ice wedges triggers differential ground subsidence, local ponding, and persistent changes to vegetation and hydrologic connectivity across the landscape. Here we characterize spatio-temporal patterns of ice-wedge degradation since circa 1950 across environmental gradients on Alaska’s North Slope. We used a spectral thresholding approach validated by field observations to map flooded thaw pits in high-resolution images from circa 1950, 1982, and 2012 for 11 study areas (1577–4460 ha). The total area of flooded pits increased since 1950 at 8 of 11 study areas (median change +3.6 ha; 130.3%). There were strong regional differences in the timing and extent of degradation; flooded pits were already extensive by 1950 on the Chukchi coastal plain (alluvial-marine deposits) and subsequent changes there indicate pit stabilization. Degradation began more recently on the central Beaufort coastal plain (eolian sand) and Arctic foothills (yedoma). Our results indicate that ice-wedge degradation in northern Alaska cannot be explained by late-20th century warmth alone. Likely mechanisms for asynchronous onset include landscape-scale differences in surficial materials and ground-ice content, regional climate gradients from west (maritime) to east (continental), and regional differences in the timing and magnitude of extreme warm summers after the Little Ice Age.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document