Permafrost in Herschel Island

Permafrost (or cryotic soil) refers to soil or bedrock that is constantly frozen over a long timescale. This timescale is a minimum of two years or more.[1]

Permafrost often contains ice within pore spaces and the changes in this ice impact the ground through the contraction and expansion processes, causing the ground beneath to move slowly.

The permafrost is in an area too cold for tree growth and usually marks the end of forest areas.

Distribution of permafrost[edit | edit source]

Permafrost includes the vast length of permanently frozen subsoil that is found in the extreme northern latitudes of Europe, Asia and North America.

Polar permafrost:

  • Alaska
  • Canada
  • Northern Siberia

Alpine permafrost:

  • Tibetan Plateau
  • European Alps
  • Rocky Mountains

Subsea permafrost

  • Arctic Ocean

Melting of permafrost and climate change[edit | edit source]

Things to cover (for example):

  • Measuring climate change with permafrost temperatures
  • Problems noted with climate change impacts
  • Seasonal features

Sources and citations[edit | edit source]

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Authors Felicity
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
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Created January 19, 2016 by Felicity
Modified August 26, 2023 by Irene Delgado
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