M. Allard et al., CLIMATIC AND ECOLOGICAL CONTROLS ON ICE SEGREGATION AND THERMOKARST -THE CASE-HISTORY OF A PERMAFROST PLATEAU IN NORTHERN QUEBEC, Permafrost and periglacial processes, 7(3), 1996, pp. 207-227
A reconstruction of the historical evolution of a permafrost plateau t
ypical of the discontinuous permafrost zone was carried out at a site
selected along the shore of Hudson Bay. The attempt was made by using
data from four thermistor cables, cryostratigraphic data from 25 boreh
oles, repeated snow surveys, and dendrochronological analysis on 209 s
pruce trees over the flanks and the top of the plateau. Four cryostrat
igraphic layers make up the complete permafrost stratigraphy. Layer I
is the active layer. Layer II is an ice-enriched layer composed mainly
of aggradational ice near the top of the permafrost; annual thermal a
mplitude at that level is 8.5 degrees C. Layer III contains a low volu
me of reticulated ice; thermal amplitude is considerably damped in thi
s layer. And layer IV (350 cm to permafrost base) has a very high ice
content made of lenses that get thicker with depth. Historic interpret
ation is as follows. Starting about 1830, ice-poor layer III formed du
ring the first few years of frost penetration when thermal gradients w
ere too strong to allow ice lensing. Thereafter, layer IV progressivel
y formed with permafrost deepening as the thermal gradient decreased.
Meanwhile, layer II slowly formed, fed by downward migration of water
following repeated thermal gradient inversions near the surface. Since
the 1940s, thermokarst dominates around the edges of the plateau as f
orest expands on slopes and depressions. A degradation sequence takes
place: early colonization leads to thicker snow cover which warms up t
he ground; ice-rich layer II melts within a few years, initiating sett
lement. The shallow depressions so formed provide still better shelter
for continued vegetation growth, leading to increased ground warming
and slope wasting. However, final thermokarst subsidence is delayed by
the latent heat effect of the deeper layer IV. Actually (1990-94), so
me areas of the plateau are aggrading while others are degrading under
the contemporary climate.