Conference PaperIce-wedge thermokarst: Past, present, and futureKanevskiy, M.; Shur, Y.; Jorgenson, T.Ice-wedge thermokarst has played an important role in permafrost evolution, and numerous cycles of ice-wedge formation/degradation have occurred through the Quaternary history. Studies of ice-wedge degradation help to explain processes of past ice-wedge thermokarst and predict its future consequences. We developed a conceptual model of ice-wedge degradation/stabilization, which is based on the dynamics of the intermediate layer of the upper permafrost. This model explains high resilience of ice-wedge systems and low probability of formation of large thaw lakes in the continuous permafrost zone. Absence of the intermediate layer at the time of yedoma accumulation and increased precipitation caused very high activity of thaw-lake formation during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition.2018-06-01101104305th European Conference On Permafrost – Book of Abstracts, 23 June – 1 July 2018, Chamonix, France647-649https://doi.org/1023623National Science Foundation