Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments C-Change in GEES Changing Permafrost Environments Session One Session One: An Introduction to Permafrost Environments

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Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Permafrost Environments Dynamic geomorphological environment associated with high latitudes and altitudes Characterised by harsh climates, intense freeze/thaw cycles and frozen ground Geographically extensive Yet both research and teaching on permafrost environments is limited These resources will introduce you to this important but often forgotten environment characteristic of high latitudes and high altitudes. Tundra vegetation, snow geese and ice-wedge polygons, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (R.I.Waller).

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Lecture Programme Lectures 1-2 An Introduction to Permafrost Environments What is permafrost? Where does it occur? What sort of environmental conditions do these places experience? What terminology is employed in the study of permafrost environments? Ice-rich permafrost in the western Canadian Arctic (R I Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Surface energy balances (diurnal and seasonal patterns) Factors influencing the surface energy balance Ground thermal regimes The freezing process Lecture Programme Lecture 3 Ground Thermal Regimes and Permafrost Development (...or how is permafrost created and maintained?) Figure from: Williams, P.J. & Smith, M.W The Frozen Earth. Studies in Polar Research. CUP, Cambridge. Fig 1.6 p Reproduced with the permission of Cambridge University Press

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Different types of ground ice. Processes associated with ground ice formation. Distinctive landforms associated with ground ice (e.g. palsas and pingos). “Massive ice”: enigmatic origin? Lecture Programme Lecture 4 The World of Underground Ice Massive ice and a large sand wedge in a coastal exposure in the Mackenzie Delta region, Canadian NWT (R.I. Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Processes and products of permafrost degradation. –Active layers (seasonal thaw) –Thermokarst (longer-term thaw) Thaw settlement and frost heave. Patterned ground. Lecture Programme Lecture 5 Permafrost Degradation: Active layers and thermokarst (…what happens when permafrost melts) Patterned ground in a dry river bed in northern Finland (R I Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Anthropogenic disturbance of ground thermal regimes. Engineering problems: frost heave and thaw consolidation. Engineering solutions. Water supply and waste management. Lecture Programme Lecture 6 Development Problems and Engineering Solutions Thermosyphons (R.I. Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Historical trends and predicted patterns of climate change in the High Latitudes. Climate change, ground thermal regimes and permafrost degradation. Human implications of thawing permafrost: building stability, coastal recession, positive feedbacks. Lecture Programme Lecture 7 Permafrost and Future Climate Change Degrading permafrost, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (R I Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Permafrost: the basics…

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments What is Permafrost? Dependent solely upon temperature and time. Not dependent upon the presence of water. Originally an abbreviation of permanently frozen ground. But... Permafrost  frozen ground Thermal condition in soil and rock where temperatures below 0°C persist over at least two consecutive winters.

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Massive ice at the Nicholson Peninsula… …bedrock at Yellowknife… …ice within a Finnish peat bog… ALL PERMAFROST! R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Permafrost vs. Periglacial? Permafrost is the easier concept to define… Term periglacial originally used to describe conditions occurring in areas peripheral to Pleistocene ice-sheets. Now refers to wide range of cold, non- glacial conditions that occur irrespective of proximity to a glacier. Two key sets of processes: –Frost action. –Permafrost-related processes (focus of this course).

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Permafrost vs. Glacial? Permafrost environments are in general too arid to support glacial conditions. Characterised by: Lack of precipitation Extremely low temperatures PRECIPITATION TEMP. High Low HighLow GLACIERS PERMAFROST

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments What are permafrost environments like? Arctic Coastal Plain (R I Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Where does it occur? Geographically extensive. Occurs mostly at high latitudes and high altitudes. Permafrost underlies: –>20% of Earth’s land surface –c. 49% of Former Soviet Union (11,000,000 km 2 ) –c. 50% of Canada (5,700,000 km 2 ) –c. 22% of China (2,100,000 km 2 ) –Also occurs in Alaska, Scandinavia, Greenland, Antarctica, high mountain regions (e.g. Tibet) For comparison, UK = 230,000 km 2

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Climatic Conditions Permafrost environments are generally cold and dry. A basic boundary condition is: Mean annual ground temperature < 0°C Permafrost climates show large variations as they occur in a range of climatic and altitudinal zones. Three main types of permafrost climate: –High Arctic climates –Continental climates –Alpine climates

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments e.g. Inuvik, Canadian NWT (68°N) In July (c. 25°C)… …in April (c. –25°C) (can drop below –50°C in January) R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Permafrost Vegetation Subarctic forests (Boreal zone or taiga) Only occur in the northern hemisphere; generally characterised by open woodland occurring south of the tundra zone; dominated by coniferous species. Tundra Occurs polewards of the subarctic forests; characterised by low-lying scrub with dwarf willows, sedges, alpine perennials, lichens and mosses being common. Tundra vegetation in the western Canadian Arctic (R I Waller) Boreal forest in northern Finland (R I Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Boreal forest around Pallas, Northern Finland R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Tundra vegetation in the Mackenzie Delta region, western Canadian Arctic R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Distinctive Fauna Arctic foxes Ubiquitous mosquitoes! Grizzly (and polar) bears R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Human Influence Permafrost areas originally populated by small indigenous groups of hunter- gatherers. Settled more recently by larger numbers of people seeking to exploit natural resources: –19th Century - Fur trapping. –Early 20th Century - Gold. –Late 20th Century - Oil –21st Century – Diamonds (+oil)? Development of these areas has presented huge logistical problems, associated with both extreme weather conditions and presence of permafrost. Required adaptation and huge expenditure. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline (R I Waller) Barrow, Alaska (R I Waller)

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments The Alaskan Gold Rush Early 20 th Century Images of the Klondike Gold Rush

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska Coastal Plain Late 20 th Century R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Diamond Mining 21 st Century Diavik Diamond Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada Construction began in 2001, currently produces 1600 kg per year Mirny Diamond Mine, Eastern Siberia The second largest excavated hole in the world. During winter months workers used jet engines to defreeze and dig out the permafrost or blasted it with dynamite.

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Small coastal settlement Aerial view of Tuktoyaktuk, western Canadian Arctic R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Yellowknife, capital of the Canadian Northwest Territories R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Example of Costly Adaptation to the Environment: a “utilidor” in Inuvik, western Canadian Arctic (lecture 6) R.I. Waller

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments Lecture Summary Permafrost is a thermal condition where soil or rock has remained below 0°C for at least two consecutive winters. Permafrost is widespread, covering over 20% of the Earth’s land surface. Permafrost environments are characterised by a range of climatic regimes, but are generally cold and arid. Permafrost regions are also characterised by distinctive flora and fauna, and pose a unique challenge to those who decide to live there.

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments References Williams, P.J. and Smith, M.W. (1989) The Frozen Earth. Studies in Polar Research. CUP, Cambridge.

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments This resource was created by the University of Keele and released as an open educational resource through the 'C-change in GEES' project exploring the open licensing of climate change and sustainability resources in the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. The C-change in GEES project was funded by HEFCE as part of the JISC/HE Academy UKOER programme and coordinated by the GEES Subject Centre. This resource is licensed under the terms of the Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales license ( However the resource, where specified below, contains other 3rd party materials under their own licenses. The licenses and attributions are outlined below: 1.The name of the Keele University and its logos are unregistered trade marks of the University. The University reserves all rights to these items beyond their inclusion in these CC resources. 2.The JISC logo, the C-change logo and the logo of the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution -non-commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK England & Wales license. All reproductions must comply with the terms of that license

Dr Richard Waller, Keele University, C-Change in GEES: Changing Permafrost Environments – Intro to Permafrost Environments AuthorDr Richard Waller Stephen Whitfield Institute – OwnerKeele University, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences TitleIntroduction to Permafrost Environments PowerPoint Presentation Date CreatedMarch 2010 DescriptionPart One of Changing Permafrost Environments Educational Level3 Keywords (Primary keywords – UKOER & GEESOER) UKOER, GEESOER, geography, climate, vegetation, fauna, flora, human influence Creative Commons LicenseAttribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales Item Metadata