Hazards of Activation of Cryogenic Processes in the Arctic Community: A Geopenetrating Radar Study in Lorino, Chukotka, Russia

Geosciences

Aleksey Maslakov¹  Gleb Kraev²  Oleg Tregubov³ 

[1] Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia;Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino 142290, Russia;North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, Far-East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Anadyr 686710, Russia;

关键词: geohazards;    georadar;    near-surface;    frost heaving;    thermokarst;    permafrost degradation;    environmental change;    gpr survey;    geological and geophysical etalons;    active layer;    arctic community;   

DOI  :  10.3390/geosciences10020057

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The subsurface structure of permafrost is of high significance to forecast landscape dynamics and the engineering stability of infrastructure under human impacts and climate warming, which is a modern challenge for Arctic communities. Application of the non-destructive method of geo-penetrating radar (GPR) survey is a promising way to study it. The study program, which could be used for planning and monitoring of measures of adaptation of Arctic communities to environmental changes is provided in this paper. The main principle was to use etalons of coupled radargrams and archive geological data to interpret changes in the permafrost structure from a grid of 5−10 m deep GPR transects. Here, we show the application of GPR to reconstruct and predict hazards of activation of cryogenic processes from the spatial variability in the structure of permafrost. The cumulative effects of the village and climate change on permafrost were manifested in changes in the active layer thickness from 0.5−1.0 m to up to 3.5 m. Despite that the permafrost degradation has declined due to the improved maintenance of infrastructure and the effects of ground filling application, the hazards of heaving and thermokarst remain for the built-up area in Lorino.

【 授权许可】

Unknown