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Title: The Fate of Permafrost
Permafrost is ground that remains frozen year-round due to a cold climate; the active layer is the ground above the permafrost that thaws and re-freezes each year. Nearly 40 million acres of National Park Service (NPS) land in Alaska, similar to the size of Florida, lie within the zone of continuous or discontinuous permafrost. Permafrost can be classified as continuous (>90% of land area underlain by permafrost), discontinuous (90%-50%), sporadic (50%-10%), or isolated (<10%; Ferrians 1965). Permafrost is most vulnerable to climatic warming when its temperature is within a few degrees of thawing. Large-scale permafrost thawing would lead to a major reconfiguration of the landscape through the development of thermokarst (irregular topography resulting from ground ice melting).  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1636476
PAR ID:
10050056
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Alaska park science
Volume:
16
Issue:
1
ISSN:
1545-4967
Page Range / eLocation ID:
37-44
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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