List of Figures .............................................. xxxi
List of Tables .............................................. xxxix
Part 1: Introduction ............................................ 1
Definition of Permafrost ........................................ 1
History of Investigation ........................................ 5
Terminology .................................................... 13
Part 2: Permafrost Science ..................................... 23
Origin of Permafrost ........................................... 23
Geography of Permafrost ........................................ 27
Vertical Extent and Temperature of Permafrost .................. 32
Ground Ice ..................................................... 33
Permafrost Landscapes .......................................... 47
Vegetation ..................................................... 58
Physical Properties of Frozen Ground ........................... 66
Part 3: Permafrost And Engineering Problems .................... 81
Logistics ...................................................... 81
Investigation of Permafrost for Engineering Problems ........... 85
Excavation of Frozen Ground ................................... 101
Drilling Methods in Frozen Ground ............................. 108
Roads and Railroads ........................................... 114
Runways ....................................................... 137
Bridges ....................................................... 145
Dams and Reservoirs ........................................... 150
Mining ........................................................ 151
Buildings ..................................................... 157
Water Supply .................................................. 178
Utilities and Sanitation ...................................... 200
Materials ..................................................... 204
Miscellaneous Engineering Problems ............................ 207
References .................................................... 209
APPENDIX 1. Select Bibliography ............................... 217
APPENDIX 2. Glossary of Permafrost Terms ...................... 249
Appendix 3. Key to Glossary sources ........................... 269
Index ......................................................... 273
LIST ОF FIGURES
Figure 1. Diagram of profiles with permafrost.
Figure 2. Permafrost profile along a road through a swamp,
Amur Province, Siberia (after Nikiforoff 1928).
Figure 3. Temperature of the permafrost in the Shergin shaft,
Yakutskm Siberia (after Middendorf, 1862).
Figure 4. Flow of heat between air and ground in tundra country.
Figure 5. Effect of snowfall in different seasons on the flow of
heat between air and ground in tundra country.
Figure 6. Distribution of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere.
Figure 7. Cross section through the Gorodskaya Protoka (channel
of the Lena River) at Yakutsk showing extent of
permafrost (after Svetozarov 1934).
Figure 8. Permafrost map of Eurasia (from Sumgin 1940).
Figure 9. Diagrammatic section through Siberia, from the Arctic
Ocean to the Sea of Japan, showing relative thickness
of permafrost and the active zone.
Figure 10.Permafrost map of Eurasia (from Tumel' 1946).
Figure 11.Permafrost map of Eurasia (from Baranov 1959).
Figure 12.Ground ice occurrence: A. Lenses or intercalations,
and veinlets, of ground ice near Whitehorse, Canada
(courtesy of the U.S. Army Air Force). B. Lenses and
wedges of ground ice exposed by hydraulicking in the
placer mining operations near Fairbanks, Alaska
(courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey). C. Experimental
freezing of sand (left) and clay (right) in an open
system (approximately one half natural size): (A) Frozen
cylinder, half sand, half clay. Much segregated ice in
clay but not in sand. (B) Differential displacement of
cylinder due to segregation of ice in clay but not in
sand. Cavity caused by displacement of relatively dry
sand (from Taber 1930).
Figure 13.Diagrams showing nature of water migration in: (A)
sand with initial moisture of 13 percent; (B) sand
with initial moisture of 20 percent; (C) sandy clay
with initial moisture of 39 percent.
Figure 14.Diagram of ice-wedge exposures in an undercut bank of
polygonal tundra (modified from Leffingwell 1919).
Figure 15.(A) Diagram illustrating deformation of a cube of
ground. (B) Stresses in the upper layer of frozen
ground. (From Dostovalov, 1957).
Figure 16.The stages of pingo growth: (A) early stage; there
is the beginning of a bulge in poorly drained polygonal
ground (photo by S.W. Muller); (B) "mature" pingo; the
growth of the ice core ruptures the ground surface,
exposing the ice. Melt of the ice produces trickles
of mud along radiating cracks, giving the impression
of a "mud volcano" (photo by S.W. Muller); (C)
"mature" pingo (canoe in the foreground), Mackenzie
Delta region, Canada (photo courtesy of J. Pihlainen);
(D) pingo in the late stages of the cycle, near
complete disappearance (photo by S.W. Muller).
Figure 17.Diagram illustrating formation of a frost blister.
The mound is ruptured by hydrostatic pressure (and
crystallization of ice?). Water freezes forming icing
and ground ice. Occasionally, a hollow space is left
in the core of a mound (after Nikiforoff 1928).
Figure 18.Moisture profile of frozen ground indicating approximate
level of permafrost table (After Guterman)
Figure 19.Diagram showing ice ratio as percent of total moisture
in different types of ground at various temperatures
(after Tsytovich 1958).
Figure 20.Examples of fluvial erosion in permafrost terrain:
(A) erosion of small gullies is effectively retarded
by snowbanks that remain until late spring or early
summer and the ground beneath the snow remains frozen,
resisting erosion (photo courtesy of F.C. Erickson);
(B) melting of ground ice (ice wedges) at the
intersection of polygons ultimately produces the
"beads" in a beaded stream; (C) "beaded" stream,
a typical landscape feature of permafrost terrain
(photo courtesy of F. С Erickson).
Figure 21.Profile of asymmetric valley: (A) northern part of
the Arctic; (B) southern part of the Arctic and
Subarctic (after Presnyakov 1955).
Figure 22.Examples of the types of patterned ground that
occur in permafrost terrain: (A) Air photo of
stone stripes, northern Alaska (photo courtesy of
U.S. Navy). (B) Ice-wedge polygons with raised
edges and with secondary smaller polygons within
the larger ones, Arctic Canada (photo courtesy of
J.A. Pihlainen). (C) Raised-center polygons develop
where water, which normally stands stagnant in the
trenches, finds an outlet through a more or less well
established drainage system. As more water is drained
off from thawing ice wedges, the raised edges of
the polygons gradually slough-off into the troughs
(photo by S.W. Muller). (D) Air photo of large-scale
ice-wedge polygons, Colville River delta, northern
Alaska (photo courtesy of U.S. Navy). (E) Oblique
air view of solifluction lobes or festoon terraces,
Brooks Range, Alaska (photo by S.W. Muller). (F)
The pattern of ice-wedge polygons is accentuated by
different kinds of vegetation and by standing water
in some of the depressed-center polygons (photo by
S.W. Muller) (G) Stone rings (photo courtesy of
T.L. Pewe).
Figure 23.Cave-in lakes, near Northway, Alaska: (A) in winter;
(B) in process of formation; (C) near end of the
thaw-lake cycle (photos by S.W. Muller).
Figure 24.Air photo showing beaded stream and oriented thaw
lakes along the Arctic Coastal Plain, northern
Alaska (photo courtesy of U.S. Navy).
Figure 25.Thermokarst features: (A) a sinkhole produced by
melt of ground ice; (B) residual mounds produced
by the melt of ice wedges. Both photos are from near
Fairbanks, Alaska (both photos courtesy of T.L. Pewe).
Figure 26.The combined effect of moss, peat, and snow on the
distribution of roots and summer ground temperatures
in I: forest, II: forest-tundra, and III: tundra, at
latitudes 65°N, 68°N, and 70° N. (after Govorukhin
1957).
Figure 27.Distribution of permafrost in relation to relief and
vegetation in southern Transbaykalia (after
Tolstikhin 1941).
Figure 28.Swelling of ground on freezing from the top (after
Vologdina 1936).
Figure 29.Supercooling of water in ground of different texture
(after Bozhenova 1955)
Figure 30.Diagram illustrating heat conductivity of clay, sand,
and water at different temperatures (after Evdokimov-
Rokotovsky 1932).
Figure 31.Diagram illustrating how annual ground temperature
isotherms are affected by the shadow of an east-west
fence.
Figure 32.Work feasibility chart and climatic constraints,
Point Barrow, Alaska (1) (modified after P.W. Roberts)
Figure 33.Work feasibility chart and logistical constraints,
Point Barrow, Alaska (2) (modified after P.W Roberts).
Figure 34.Diagram showing the compressive strength of frozen
ground at different temperatures (from Tsytovich
1945).
Figure 35.Sketches to illustrate measurement of ground
temperatures during excavation.
Figure 36.Testing of different materials and the design of
apparatus to measure ground temperatures at the
Fairbanks Permafrost Research Site (photo by
S.W. Muller).
Figure 37.Benchmark of standard design dislodged by frost
heave (photo courtesy of T.L. Pewe).
Figure 38.Diagram illustrating the setting of a benchmark.
A metal pipe perforated near the base is embedded
in pre-thawed or augered ground to a depth three times
(3h) the thickness of the active zone (h) (from Bykov
and Kapterev 1940).
Figure 39.Testing of different designs of benchmarks at the
Fairbanks Permafrost Research Site (photo by
S.W. Muller).
Figure 40.Design of a "swellometer" (after Bykov and Kapterev
1940).
Figure 41.Hydrological problems: (A) a caisson constructed for
a cesspool is flooded with water and mud from thawed
permafrost and groundwater from taliks (photo by S.W.
Muller); (B) small craters were formed by "siphoned"
seepage of water into a borrow pit during the spring
flood of the Yukon River (photo courtesy of T.L. Pewe).
Figure 42.Use of ripping passes by caterpillar tractor. In the
ripping process, the tractor first makes a pass with
very slight penetration to loosen the surface. With
resulting better traction, it then makes a series
of passes, lowering the tooth deeper each time,
until maximum penetration is reached (diagram
courtesy of Caterpillaer Tractor Co.)
Figure 43.At one of the Mesabi mines, there was a saving of 88.8
percent on overburden loosening costs by ripping
of 4-ft. centers. Several passes were made in the
direction of the upper right corner of the diagram.
A final pass was made at right angles to the first
to take advantage of weak points in the material.
Cross-ripping produced the most effectively loosened
material of all (diagram courtesy of Caterpillar
Tractor Co.).
Figure 44.Excavating frozen ground using ripper techniques:
(A) photo showing the 8-ft. ripper teeth reaching
maximum penetration of about 4 ft. during ripping
of frozen clay at Mesabi mine. Used as a substitute
for drilling and blasting, the ripper was able to
loosen frozen ground for shovel loading for between
10 percent to 40 percent of comparable shooting costs.
(B) When subject to ripping, the frozen overburden
breaks off in large unwieldy slabs as power shovels
attempt to loosen untouched material. Such large
pieces are extremely difficult for power shovels to
handle and result in additional maintenance for
shovels used to break overburden (both photos courtesy
of Caterpillar Tractor Co.).
Figure 45.Road maintenance: (A) sanding of icy roads on a grade.
Note the high banks of snow along the shoulders; (B)
snow scraped off the road onto the shoulders retards
thaw of the shoulders in spring, obstructing normal
subdrainage beneath the roadbed and producing
impassable quagmires (both photos courtesy of the
Bureau of Public Roads).
Figure 46.Road construction (1): (A) Wrong construction method;
(B) right construction method.
Figure 47.Road constmction (2): (A) Shallow rooted trees are
easily felled by bulldozer in clearing ground for
road construction. The turf and top soil are also
scraped, thereby exposing and allowing underlying
permafrost to thaw. (B) Denuded of the insulating
vegetative blanket, the melt of ground ice turns
the road into an impassable quagmire (both photos
courtesy of Bureau of Public Roads).
Figure 48.Road construction (3): (A) Vegetation on the path
of a road is cut (not bulldozed) and spread over
the ground to insulate and thus prevent the thaw
of underlying permafrost. (B) Vehicular traffic at
this stage of construction should be kept to a
minimum (both photos courtesy of Bureau of Public
Roads).
Figure 49.Road construction (4): (A) Non-frost-active
basecourse aggregate (gravel) is dumped on the
vegetative blanket; (B) Additional fill on shoulders
insures better stability of the road. More fill should
be placed on the shoulder than is shown in the picture
and the material (berm) should be graded to facilitate
proper functioning of snow-removing equipment (both
photos courtesy of Bureau of Public Roads).
Figure 50.Thermal effects of roads: (A) The effect of road fill
on permafrost table; (B) Diagram of ground isotherms
in road fill in September shows deeper thaw on the
south side than on the north side (from Sumgin 1940).
Figure 51.Diagrams to illustrate varying hydrologic regime of
terrain when traversed by a newly constructed road:
(A) Sloping terrain prior to construction; (B) Thawing
of permafrost under shoulders causes sloughing of road
bed; permafrost bulge beneath road bed blocks subsurface
drainage and causes icing in late winter; (C)
Permafrost rises under berm; road bed remains stable;
subsurface drainage intercepted and carried away in
ditch.
Figure 52.Two views (A, B) showing an extended spillway from
a culvert on the Alaska Highway that was constructed
in order to prevent road shoulders from accelerated
erosion and damage (both photos by S. W. Muller).
Figure 53.Diagrams showing: (A) lag of minimum and maximum
ground temperatures at the base of the active zone
at Skovorodino, Siberia; (B) lag of ground
temperatures behind air temperatures (after
Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Figure 54.Icings: (A) an icing on the Alaska Highway; В the
"frost belt" in action. The icing is induced across
the water course uphill from highway (3) (Both photos
courtesy of Bureau of Public Roads).
Figure 55.Diagram illustrating the elimination of icings by
the "frost-belt" method: In cross-section "X" the
freezing of ground down to the permafrost prevents
water from percolating through the partly frozen
active zone (down to level "b") causing icing at
"A". In cross-section "Y", while undisturbed ground
freezes down to level "c", the ground in the "belt"
freezes down to permafrost while inducing an icing
at "A", some distance uphill from the road (after
Petrov 1930).
Figure 56.Diagram showing the extent of the icing that occurs
on the Amur-Yakutsk Highway at the Onon River
crossing, Siberia. The plan also shows the projected
frost belt. In the upper left, the flooded area with
ice blocks (indicated by the wavy lines) is the
result of the explosion of an icing mound.
Figure 57.Diagram illustrating a variant of the frost-belt
method proposed by Bykov and Kaspterev (from Bykov
and Kapterev 1940).
Figure 58.Winter maintenance of roads (1): (A) A culvert
plugged with ice is being thawed by an oil-burning
flame thrower (photo courtesy of Bureau of Public
Roads); (B) A steam jet is used to open an ice-
plugged culvert (photo courtesy of the Signals
Corps, U.S. Army).
Figure 59.Winter maintenance of roads (2): Drums with burning
oil facilitate drainage through the culvert
(courtesy of the Signals Corps, U.S. Army).
Figure 60.Photograph showing "mud jacking" on a runway that
settled because of the melt of ground ice in
underlying permafrost (photo courtesy of U.S. Air
Force).
Figure 61.Diagrams to show the effects of snow piled on the
shoulders of a runway: (A) early winter, (B) late
winter.
Figure 62.Photo showing how surface drainage from a runway
can be affected by an extended gutter that prevents
erosion of the shoulders (photo courtesy of T.L. Pewe).
Figure 63.Diagram to show the relationship between the flying
weight of an aircraft and the required thickness of
freshwater ice that forms the airstrip.
Figure 64.Typical profile of the permafrost table near a large
river in Siberia (after Datsky 1937).
Figure 65.Bridge construction in permafrost terrain (1): (A)
Bridge damaged by frost heaving of the piles, Central
Alaska; (B) close-up of the damaged bridge (both
photos courtesy of T. L. Pewe).
Figure 66.Piles driven during the construction of the Nisutlin
Bridge, Alaska, have the butt end pointing upwards
instead of the recommended practice of driving piles
butt end downwards to ensure better "anchoring" and
resistance to frost heaving (photo courtesy of Bureau
of Public Roads).
Figure 67.Bridge construction in permafrost terrain (3): (A)
Railroad trestle over a small gully shows the effect
of frost heaving; (B) Side view of the same trestle
showing the abandoned piles that were shortened during
the winter frost heaving to maintain the grade of the
track. The piles settle when the ground thaws during
summer (both photos courtesy of T.L. Pewe).
Figure 68.Bridge construction in permafrost terrain (4): (A)
A trestle bridge with short horizontal spans is more
likely to be damaged by slabs of ice and other floating
debris than a bridge constructed with long horizontal
spans; (B) Damage to the Ток River Bridge, Alaska,
washed out at one approach, because improper design
obstructed flow of water laden with debris beneath
the bridge. The backed-up water forced its way through
the soft approach fill (both photos courtesy of Bureau
of Public Roads).
Figure 69.Diagram showing how frozen ground thaws with different
steam and water conditions (after Janin 1922).
Figure 70.Diagram showing thaw of frozen gravel using the Miles
Method, in which the water is at natural temperatures.
The less permeable layer thaws more slowly.
Figure 71.Sketch of a thaw point.
Figure 72.The thaw of frozen gold-bearing gravels: (A) using
cold ditch water; (B) after the thaw points have been
driven to the desired depth (both photos courtesy of
U.S. Army Air Force).
Figure 73.Diagram to show the effect of (A) an uninhabited
(that is, non-heated) and (B) an inhabited (that is,
heated) house on the permafrost table (from Tsytovich
and Sumgin 1937)
Figure 74.Ground isotherms under an experimental house in
Transbaykaliya, Siberia (from Tsytovich and Sumgin
1937).
Figure 75.Effects of a heated building upon permafrost at
Northway, Alaska: (A) Insufficient insulation beneath
the concrete floor slab caused melt of ground ice
in underlying permafrost and settling of the floor.
Placement of steam pipes at floor level accelerated
the thaw of underlying permafrost, (photo by S.W.
Muller); (B) Hot water in the shower room caused
rapid melt of ground ice and the settling and breakage
of the concrete floor slab (photo courtesy of U.S.
Army Air Force).
Figure 76.Diagram illustrating thaw of permafrost beneath
a building: (A) shows the maximum permissible
lowering of the permafrost table beneath the
foundation; (B) illustrates how insufficient
insulation or excessive heat transfer causes
ground thawing. If the thawed ground has low
bearing strength the building settles and suffers
damage (after Bykov and Kapterev 1937).
Figure 77."Mud jacking" of a floor inside a building at Northway,
Alaska. Holes are drilled in the concrete floor slab
and a mud-cement mixture is driven beneath the floor
under high pressure to lift the floor to its original
position (photo by S.W. Muller).
Figure 78.The suggested design of ceilings and floors for living
quarters in permafrost areas.
Figure 79.The suggested design of a foundation for a steel
tower in permafrost areas.
Figure 80.This building, near Fairbanks, Alaska, is almost
completely engulfed in an icing that originated
upslope from the shack (photo courtesy of U.S.
Army Air Force).
Figure 81.Icings can be caused by buildings: (A) diagram to
illustrate how the escape of water from the unfrozen
active zone occurs through the interior of an
inhabited house; (B) an icing that originated beneath
this heated, now abandoned, building has completely
filled the building interior and spilled into the
yard through a window (photo from Tyrrell 1904).
Figure 82.An overturned barrel left standing in the yard started
an icing which filled the lower half of the barrel
and spilled through the plug-hole in the middle.
This icing spread over the greater part of the yard
and flooded some building (from A. V. L'vov 1916).
Figure 83.Piles in permafrost (1): This photograph illustrates
faulty driving of piles for a building. The water-
filled crater around the left pile indicates that
the ground was pre-thawed by the steam jet in excess
of need; the ground around this pile may not freeze
back in time to anchor it in the permafrost and the
pile may heave during the coming winter. The ground
around the right pile was not sufficiently pre-thawed
and, as a result, the pile was not driven to its proper
depth; the mashed top of the pile is evidence of the
resistance to penetration (photo by S.W. Muller).
Figure 84.Piles in permafrost (2): (A) Piles pointed at the
butt end are greased and wrapped in tar paper to
reduce adfreezing and frost heaving during freezing
of the active zone; (B) After this pile was anchored
in permafrost, frost heaving in the active zone lifted
the tar paper wrapping the pile (both photos by S.W.
Muller).
Figure 85.Buildings at the Fairbanks Permafrost Research Site,
Alaska: (A) Adequate subfloor ventilation protects
the underlying permafrost from thawing and damaging
this experimental house; (B) An experimental garage
is built on a fill of gravel with adequate subfloor
ventilation; (C) An experimental garage that failed
(settled) because of inadequate subfloor ventilation
that allowed heat from the building to melt the ground
ice in the underlying permafrost (photos: A and В by
S.W. Muller; photo С courtesy of T.L. Pewe).
Figure 86.A sequence of photographs (A-D) showing the manual
operation required to procure a water supply from a
lake near Point Barrow, Alaska.
Figure 87.The mechanized procurement of water supply from a
lake is achieved by a water tank on sleds installed
inside a heated enclosure (wanigan) and pulled by
a D-8 tractor (photo courtesy of D. Knudsen, Barrow,
Alaska).
Figure 88.Diagram showing the occurrence of ground water in
permafrost regions.
Figure 89.Diagrams showing the laying of water pipes in
permafrost areas (From Tsytovich 1959).
Figure 90.A pump house, Alaska: (A) External view; diagonal
wrinkles on the roofing paper indicate torsion during
uneven settling of the building; (B) In the interior,
the water-well casing on the left has separated from
the concrete pedestal and the floor slab, placed
directly upon permafrost without adequate insulation,
has settled several inches. This damage was due to
excessive heat in the building causing underlying
ground ice in the permafrost to melt (both photos by
S.W. Muller).
Figure 91.Water storage tank at Norway, Alaska: (A) General
view; (B) Close-up of the support design of the
water tank (photos by S.W. Muller).
Figure 92.Utility lines, enclosed in utilidors to prevent
freezing of steam and hot-water pipes (photo by S.W.
Muller).
Figure 93.Diagram showing ground isotherms (Celsius) near to
a water pipe before the flow of water (left hand
side) and during the flow of water (right hand side).
Figure 94.Nomogram for determining temperature in water
pipelines.
Figure 95.Photo showing wiring pulled from a switch by the
settling of the floor slab (photo by S.W. Muller).
Figure 96.Utility poles in permafrost: (A) the destructive
effect of frost heaving on utility poles may be
delayed but not entirely eliminated by bolting
a cross-beam at the base of the pole. This photo
shows the effect of one winter's heave; (B) The
problem of "uprooting" of utility poles is solved
through the use of tripods (both photos by
S.W. Muller).
Figure 97.Photo shows gas pipeline lying on the ground surface.
This makes maintenance and repair easy (photo
courtesy of the Signals Corps, U.S. Army).
Figure 98.Graph showing curing time of concrete under
cold-weather conditions (supplied by O.W. Walvoord).
Editors' Note: There were 144 figures in the
original manuscript. Some of these figures have been
amalgamated. One figure in the manuscript (Figure 27,
entitled 'Moisture profile of frozen ground') was not
cited but is now in the text as Figure 18.
LIST ОF TАВLES
Table 1. Liquid and sold phases of water in frozen quartz sand
of different textures (after Nersesova and Tyutnov 1957).
Table 2. Effect of pressure on the amount of water in liquid
phase in frozen ground (from Tsytovich 1957).
Table 3. Supercooling of water in relation to intensity of
cooling (from Bozhenova 1957).
Table 4. Effect of moisture content and pressure on the
temperature of the beginning of freezing of ground
(from Bozhenova 1957).
Table 5. Compressive strength of frozen ground at temperatures
from -0.3°C to -2.0°C (from Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Table 6. Elastic arid plastic deformation of frozen ground
under compression (from Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Table 7. Shearing strength of ice-saturated frozen ground
(from Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Table 8. Effect of temperature on the shearing strength of
frozen ground (from Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Table 9. Scope and plan of field investigation of permafrost.
Table 10.Effect of temperature on tangential adfreezing
strength of different materials (from Tsytovich and
Sumgin 1937).
Table 11.Effect of temperature and moisture content on the
tangential adfreezing strength between different
ground and water-saturated wood and concrete
(from Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Table 12.Tangential adfreezing strength between different
frozen ground and water-saturated wood (from Tsytovich
and Sumgin 1937).
Table 13.Values of permissible stresses on ice-saturated
ground (from Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Table 14.Calculated values of tangential adfreezing
strength in kg/cm2 (from Tsytovich and Sumgin 1937).
Table 15.Classification of groundwaters in the permafrost
province.
Table 16.Values of coefficient Kl and K2 cal/m2 per hour
per °C during the normal operation of the
distribution system.
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