General mechanisms of the formation and development of permafrost

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General mechanisms of the formation and development of permafrost

Shvetsov, P. F.; National Research Council of Canada. Division of Building

Research

This t r a n s l a t i o n

i s t h e second arranged by t h e Permafrost

Subcommittee of t h e Associate Committee on S o i l and Snow Mechanics

of the National Research Council of t h e Russian pernlaf r o s

t

publica-

t i o n " P r i n c i p l e s of Geocryology".

The f i r s t

t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h i s

group was of Chapter

V I

e n t i t l e d "Heat and Moisture T r a n s f e r I n

Freezing and Thawing Soils1' by

G. A .

Martynov (TT-1065).

This t r a n s l a t i o n of Chapter

IV

by

P.F.

Shvetsov reviews t h e

various i d e a s of t h e o r i g i n and n a t u r e of permafrost which have been

developed s i n c e t h e n i n e t e e n t h century.

Following t h i s review, t h e

c u r r e n t concept of permafrost a s a c o n d i t i o n a r i s i n g from a n e g a t i v e

h e a t balance i n t h e ground

i s

discussed. The e x t e n t of permafrost

and

i t s temperature regime a r e , a r e f l e c t l o n of h e a t exchange between

i t

and t h e surrounding l i t h o s p h e r e and atmosphere. Because perma-

f r o s t

i s

very s e n s i t i v e t o thermal changes, even small f l u c t u a t i o n s

i n t h e h e a t exchange between

i t

and

i t s

environment can r e s u l t i n

n o t i c e a b l e changes i n

i t s

occurrence and c h a r a c t e r .

The Division of Building Research

i s

g r a t e f u l t o

M r . G.

Belkov

of t h e National Research C o u n c i l l s T r a n s l a t i o n s S e c t i o n f o r t r a n s -

l a t i n g t h i s c h a p t e r i n response t o t h e r e q u e s t of t h e Permafrost

Subcommittee

.

Ottawa

February 1964

R.F.

Legget

D i r e c t o r

NATIONAL

RESEARCH

COUNCIL OF

CANADA

Technical T r a n s l a t i o n

1117

T i t l e : General mechanisms of t h e formatior and development o f permafrost ( ~ b s h c h l e zakonomernostl vozniknoveniya I r a z v l t i y a mnogoletnei k r i o l i t o z o n y

)

Author: P.F. Shvetsov

Reference: P r i n c i p l e s of geocryology (permafrost s t u d i e s ) , P a r t I, General geocryology, Chapter

IV.

Academy of Sciences of t h e

USSR.

MOSCOW 1959. p.77-107

( ~ s n o v y g e o k r l o l o g i i (merzlotovedeniya), Chast' pervaya,

Obshchaya geokriologiya

,

Qlava

N

.

Akad emiya

Nauk SSSR

.

Moskva 1959.

77-

107 )

The most important problem I n t h e s t u d y of p e r ~ l l a f r o s t 1s t h e e l u c i d a t i o n and comprehension of t h e mcchanisms i i ~ v o l v e d I n the f r e e z i n g and thawing o f t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t , and t h e f o r m a t i o n of f r o z e n l a y e r s and s t r a t a of t h e l i t h o - s p h e r e . A t t h e b a s i s of p a r t i c u l a r laws a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e s t u d y of p e r n l a f r o s t i s t h e law o f t h e c o ~ ~ s c r v a t l o l ~ and t r a n s f o r c l a t l o n of m a t t e r and energy. Along with t h e g e n e r a l and p a r t i c u l a r laws ~ o v c r n l n g t h e develop~nent o f n a t u r e t h e r e a r e a l s o e n ~ p l r i c a l and t h c o r e t f ca l l y established mcchanisms of v a r l a t l o n s i n d c p t h of f r e e z i n ~ , th e c o n ~ p o s i t l o n , s t r u c t u r e , tenipcrature and t h i c k n e s s o f t h c f r o z e n s t r a t a of t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e .

The i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p and t r a n s f e r of h e a t and mechanical forms of motion becorrle e v i d e n t i n t h e p r o c e s s of f r e e z i n g , f o r examnple, a n a c t i v e l a y e r of c l a y s o i l u n d e r l a i n by

a

f r o z e n su'U3011: t h e s o i l cover is deformed

-

It

heaves and c r a c k s . T h e same i s observed i n Lhe f o r r , ~ a t i o n of i c e and p e a t mounds. The thawing of s o l l t h a t has

a

h i g h I c e c o n t e n t i s accompanied by s e t t l c n e n t of t h e s o i l s t r a t a and d e p r e s s i o n s i n t h e s u r f a c e of t h e ground.

Before s e t t i n g o u t p r e s e n t - d a y n o t i o n s of t h e c o n d l t l o n s and mechanisms of t h e growth and development o f permacrost it vrould be w e l l t o make a b r i e f re'sur.16 of t h e c o n c l u s i o n s d e r i v e d by o u r p r e d e c e s s o r s on t h i s s u b j e c t . A

v a l i d e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e r o l e played by t h e s e s c i e n t i s t s i n s o l v i n g t h i s ques- t i o n can o n l y be made i n a h i s t o r i c a l p c r s p e c t l v e .

he

c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f f r o z e n s o i l Is o b v i o u s l y i n s i d e t h e A r c t i c C l r c l e s i n c e t h e pcrnlafrost h e r e i s o n l y an expression of c o n s t a n c y and f o r c e w i t h which t'ne cold of t h e atmosphere, r e g a r d l e s s of t h e r e s i s t a n c e of t h e i n t e r n a l h e a t of t h e e a r t h , h a s p e n e t r a t e d t h e s o i l " ,

-

t h i s i s t h c way t h e o r l g l n and tlie c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h c e x i s t e n c e of peiSrnefrost was e x p l a i n e d by A.F. Middendorf (1852, page k 6 7 ) . There i s n o t h i n g s u r p r i s i n g i n this i f one talces i n t o

account t h e f a c t t h a t a t t h i s tirnc t h e p h l o ~ i s t o n t h e o r y was I n vocue by a ~ h i c h rrlany t h e r m a l phenornena wc1.e explained i n c o r r e c t l y b u t silri2ly and g r a p h i c a l l y , Molecular-thermal n o t i o n and t h e ther~nodynar.llc c h a r a c t e r i 3 t i c s of t h e s t a t e o f pl?:rsical systems i n g e n e r a l and t h e e a r t h l s c r u s t i n p a r t i c u l a r were n o t

g e n e r a l l y accepted, a l t h o u g h F1.V. Lo~~lonooov nol-e t h a n 100 y e a r s p r c v l o u s l y I n 17Ll4 r;lalntalned t h a t t h e h e a t o f b o d i e s c o n s i s t s i n i n t e r r l a l ~ n o t l o n .

Ln

1753 he v r o t c t h a t " t h e e a p t h l s s u r f a c e heated by t h c

3un

and t h e r a y s r e f l e c t e d from i t a c t Irlore on t h e lower s t r a t a of t h e atrj~oophcre th a n on t h e middle o r upper s t r a t a " ; " t h e e a r t l z l s s u r f a c e h e v i n g been h e a t e d by t h c h o t suxn!cr sun

warnis up t h e a i r l y i n g on i t which t h e n expands and d i s p l a c e s t h e cold middle s t r a t a of t h e atmosphere above t h e cl.oudsn (1952, Vol. 3 , pages

39

and 145).

The approach of G . V i l ' d t o determining t h e s o u t h e r n boundary of perma- f r o s t i n Russia was a l s o based on t h e concept of

a

r e l a t i o n s h i p between con- s t a n t (mean a n n u a l ) temperature of t h e a i r a l o n e . The extremely c o l d c l i m a t e and t h e below-freezing mean annual a i r t e m p e r a t u r e s were advanced a s t h e s o l e r e a s o n s f o r t h e o r i g i n and e x i s t e n c e of permafrost i n t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t . Not o n l y was t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t below t h e l a y e r of v a r i a b l e annual t e m p e r a t u r e s b u t even t h e upper l a y e r of s o i l i n i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e atmosphere remained a s i f i n e r t , p a s s i v e h e a t and cold r e c e i v e r s d u r i n g t h e development of p e r m a f r o s t and d u r i n g t h e ages of i t s e x i s t e n c e . This approach t o t h e s t u d y and d e t e r - mination of t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of p e r m a f r o s t o r f r o z e n s t r a t a of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t , i n t h e l i g h t of new d a t a and a s c i e n t i f i c approach, turned o u t t o be i n c o n s i s t e n t ; however, p a r t s o f t h i s approach can be found i n t h e work of permafrost s c i e n t i s t s even up t o t h e p r e s e n t time.

S c i e n t i s t s came much l a t e r and g r a d u a l l y t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of an i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e t e m p e r a t u r e s of t h e a i r , s o i l and s u b s o i l and a l s o t o t h e important r o l e o f t h e s o i l i n forming t h e thermal regime of t h e atmosphere a d j a c e n t t o t h e s o i l and t h a t of t h e l i t h o s p h e r e i n e x p l a i n i n g t h e o r i g i n o f p e r m a f r o s t . The f i r s t s t e p s i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n were taken by A . I . Voeikov and L.A. Yachevskii.

The importance of t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e g r e a t Russian g e o p h y s i c i s t and geographer A . I . Voeikov, t h e founder of g e n e t i c climatology, i n t h e s t u d y o f permafrost zones i s n o t l i m i t e d o n l y t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of t h e r o l e of snow cover and w i n t e r i n v e r s i o n i n t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of a i r t e m p e r a t u r e o r h e a t exchange between t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t and t h e atmosphere and o u t e r s p a c e . One can s a y without e x a g g e r a t i o n t h a t A . I. Voeikov worked o u t t h e f i r s t p r i n c i p l e s of t h e concept of h e a t exchange i n t h e system lithosphere-soil-atn~osphere which corresponded f u l l y w i t h t h e l e v e l of t h e development of p h y s i c s a t t h e end of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y .

On f i n i s h i n g u n i v e r s i t y A . I . Voeikov i n 1865 defended a t h e s i s of t h e t i t l e :

he

d i r e c t i n s o l a t i o n i n v a r i o u s r e g i o n s of t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e " . Soon a f t e r he posed a very important geophysical problem " ~ e e p i n ~ an i n p u t - o u t p u t l o g of s o l a r h e a t r e c e i v e d by t h e e a r t h and i t s atmospheric and aqueous s h e l l s " ( ~ o e i k o v , 1884); t h i s was done a t a time when s c i e n t i f i c a c t i n o m e t r y d i d n o t y e t e x i s t ( ~ u d y k o , 1956).

I n 1886 A . I . Voeikov, b a s i n g h i s work on what was s t i l l a s m a l l q u a n t i t y of geothermal d a t a , formulated t h e p r i n c i p l e of e q u i l i b r i u m t h e r ~ n a l s t a t e o f

t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t ; i f t h e q u a n t i t y of h e a t received by t h e s o i l from t h e

sun

remains c o n s t a n t over a prolonged period of tlme o r changes very n e g l i g i b l y , t h e h e a t l o s s from the l a y e r of e a r t h wlth v a r i a b l e t e ~ n p e r a t u r e s throughout t h e y e a r reaches an e q u i l i b r i u n ~ w i t h t h e h e a t a r r i v i n g from t h e sun and from deeper l a y e r s of t h e l i t h o s p h e r e . The Index of e q u i l i b r i u m i n t h e thermo- dynamic i n t e r r a c t i o n of t h e s o i l with t h e l i t h o s p h e r e , atmosphere and o u t e r space Is t h e mean annual temperature of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t .

' ~ ~ ~ u l l l b r l u m " , wrote A . I . Voellcov, "should have been e s t a b l i s h e d every- where on t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e b u t of course because of t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e amount of s o l a r h e a t r e c e i v e d , and because of o t h e r c o n d i t i o n s when t h e mean temperature of t h e s u r f a c e

is

high i n t h e warmer c o u n t r i e s of t h e e a r t h ,

equilibrium s e t I n a t approximately +30°C whereas i n t h e c o l d e s t c o u n t r i e s

i t

was approxinlately -20°C

"

( ~ o e l k o v , 1952, page 3 7 8 ) .

Independent of M.V. Lomonosov who t a u g h t i n 1753 t h a t

h he

e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e covered by a deep l a y e r of snow t r a n s f e r s l e s s h e a t t o t h e a d j a c e n t atmosphere", A . I . Voeikov e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t :

" ( 1 ) Snow a s a poor conductor of h e a t p r o t e c t s t h e s o i l from c o o l i n g a l l t h e while t h e temperature of t h e a i r and s u r f a c e of t h e snow

i s

below o°C;

( 2 ) t h l s e f f e c t i s t h e g r e a t e r t h e l e s ~ t h e d e n s i t y of t h e snow; t h e e f f e c t

is

t h e l e a s t when t h e snow i s s a t u r a t e d v l t h water o r i s packed and has an i c y s t r u c t u r e ;

( 3 )

when t h e temperature i s above o O C t h e e f f e c t of snow on t h e

temperature of t h e s o i l i s Inverse; ( 4 ) snow d e c r e a s e s v a r i a t i o n i n t h e tem- p e r a t u r e o f t h e s o i l a b s o l u t e l y and r e l a t i v e l y ;

( 5 )

t h e snow cover h e l p s t o r e t a i n t h e h e a t i n t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e p r o t e c t i n g

i t

from r a d i a t i o n . Without anow t h e temperature of t h e land would be much lower t h a n

i t

i s now"

(Voeikov, 1889, page 1 8 6 ) .

Thus both A . I . Voeikov and M.V. Lomonosov considered t h e e a r t h i n t h e ther~nodynainic s e n s e a s b e l n g a s e l f -developing syn tern which a c t i v e l y p a r t i c i - p a t e s i n t h e h e a t exchange with t h e atmosphere. According t o P . I . Koloskov,

A.I. Voeikov not o n l y discoverled and showed t h e e x t e n s i v e e f f e c t of snow c o v e r on t h e temperature of t h e e a r t h b u t a l s o l n d l c a t e s t h a t t h e snow cover h e l p s t o r e t a l n h e a t i n t h e s o l l and t h u s f a c i l i t a t e s c o o l i n g o f t h e atmosphere l y i n g above t h e snow ( ~ o l o s k o v , 1952).

In

c r l t l c l z i n g t h e o p i n i o n of V i l t d who considered t h a t t h e s o u t h e r n boundary of permafrost coincided with t h e mean annual isotherm o f t h e a i r a t -2OC, A.I. Voeikov suggested t h a t i n some regions of S i b e r i a where t h e r e Is deep snow I n t h e w i n t e r t h e s u b s o i l would n o t be f r o z e n even i f t h e mean annual temperature of t h e a i r were -5OC.

L.A. Yachevskli, a contemporary of Voeikov, a l s o e l u c i d a t e d t h e r o l e of snow cover i n t h e h e a t exchange between t h e s o l l and t h e atmosphere. Using t h e r e g i o n of Turukhansk a s an example he showed t h a t

i t

was inlpossible t o

have deep p e n e t r a t i o n of f r o s t i n t o t h e ground when t h e r e i s deep l o o s e snow on t h e ground even when t h e mean annual temperature of t h e a i r i s

- T o

(Yachevskii, 1889).

I n t h e o p i n i o n of Yachevskii t h e o r i g i n , d u r a t i o n and t h e p a r t i c u l a r f e a t u r e s of p e r r r ~ a f r o s t zones

-

i t s temperature, d e p t h and e x t e n t o f d i s c o n t l n - u i t y

-

a r e determined n o t o n l y by c1':nlatic b u t a l s o g e o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s . The g e o l o g i c a l , geomorphological and h y d r o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e h e a t

exchange between t h e s o i l and t h e atmosphere and l i t h o s p h e r e were c a l l e d l o c a l c o n d i t i o n s by Yachevskii a s c o n t r a s t t o c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s .

A paper published by Voeikov i n 190Ll

h he

thermal c y c l e i n t h e o u t e r s h e l l of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t " was and c o n t i n u e s t o be o f g r e a t Importance i n e x p l a i n i n g t h e rnechanism o f t h e formation and development o f p e r m a f r o s t . It can be considered a c l a s s i c a l s c i e n t i f i c work on t h e q u e s t i o n of h e a t exchange between t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t and t h e atmosphere and o u t e r s p a c e .

I n t h i s paper* A . I . Voeikov develope t h e p r i n c i p l e , advanced by him i n 1886, o f t h e e q u i l i b r i u m of t h e thermal s t a t e of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t which was c a l l e d t h e law of e q u i l i b r i u m i n temperature d i s t r i b u t i o n i n t h e s o i l and l i t h o s p h e r e . I n s p i t e of t h e d i f f e r e n c e s between temperature d i s t r i b u t i o n I n t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t and i n f r e s h w a t e r bodies, t h e y both conform t o t h e law o f e q u i l i b r i u m of t h e thermal s t a t e s of v a r i o u s s t r a t a c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e

minimuin energy t r a n s f e r between them a s w e l l a s t h e atniosphere and o u t e r s p a c e . Here t h e a u t h o r r e f e r s t o t h e r a d i a t i o n law o f S t e f a n . For land a r e a s t h e thermal e q u i l i b r i u m law f o r t h e s o i l and l i t h o o p h e r e i s e x p r e s s e d , i n t h e

o p i n i o n of Voeikov, by t h e p r i n c i p l e t h a t t h e c o l d e r t h e s u r f a c e of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t t h e l e s s h e a t i t r a d i a t e n o r t r a n s f e r s by convection t o t h e atmosphere. The constancy of t h e tenlperature i n t h e f o r m a t i o n s underneath t h e P a r i s

Observatory throughout a p e r i o d of 120 y e a r s demonstrates t h e uniformity i n s o l a r r a d i a t i o n and p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f t h e atmosphere throughout t h i s p e r i o d o f time.

I f s u b s e q u e n t l y t h e sun t r a n s n ~ i t s more o r l e s s h e a t t h a n a t t h e p r e s e n t time, t h e temperature of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t w i l l begin t o i n c r e a s e o r d e c r e a s e u n t i l a new e q u i l i b r l u r n i s e s t a b l i s h e d a t a h i g h e r o r lower mean a n n u a l tem- p e r a t u r e of t h e s o i l and l i t h o s p h e r e .

*

This paper was p u b l i s h e d i n a book c o n ~ p r i s i n g a c o l l e c t i o n o f p a p e r s on p h y s i c s and i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t f o r t h i s r e a s o n i t i s n o t w e l l known t o g e r m a f r o s t s c i e n t i s t s . I n b o t h e d i t i o n s of t h e monograph by M . I . Sumgin

Permafrost w i t h i n t h e boundaries of t h e USSR" (1927 and 1937), I n " ~ e n e r a l perrrlaf r o s t s t u d i e s " ( 1940) and i n t h e monograph by N .V. T o l s t i k h i n "Ground waters i n perrnafrost zones" (1941), no mention i s made of t h i s p a p e r by A . I. Voeikov.

In f r e s h water l a k e s of medium and h i g h l a t i t u d e s t h e e q u i l i b r i u m law i s expressed by t h e p r i n c i p l e t h a t temperature changes of t h e e n t i r e w a t e r body proceeds more r a p i d l y i n t h e d i r e c t i o n approaching 4OC. A s a r e s u l t o f t h i s t h e h e a t l o s s from f r e s h w a t e r l a k e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y a f t e r a n i c e cover h a s formed, which i s p o s s i b l e o n l y a f t e r a t e m p e r a t u r e I n v e r s i o n ( 1 . e . a r e d u c t i o n i n temperature going from t h e bottom upwards), i s v e r y s m a l l throughout t h e f a l l and w i n t e r .

The upper s t r a t u m of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t , which r e c e i v e s h e a t from t h e sun and a i r and t r a n s m i t s i t t o t h e a i r by r a d i a t i o n i n t o s p a c e o r t o c l o u d s , was c a l l e d " t h e o u t e r a c t i v e l a y e r " by Voeikov. "The t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e o u t e r s u r f a c e o f t h e e a r t h h a s

a

g r e a t e f f e c t on t h e t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e lower

s t r a t u m of a i r ; t h e l a t t e r depends mainly on t h e t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e ground o r w a t e r s u r f a c e

...

Because of t h i s t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e o u t e r a c t i v e s u r f a c e i s o f g r e a t importance" ( ~ o e l k o v , 1952, page 187

)

.

I n h i s time A . I. Voeikov noted t h a t t h e c a l c u l a t i o n o f t h e t e m p e r a t u r e o f v a r i o u s s t r a t a of t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e w i t h t h e u s e o f F o u r i e r ' s h e a t t r a n s f e r e q u a t i o n s can g i v e p r e c i s e r e s u l t s o n l y f o r t h o s e p l a c e s where t h e s o i l and u n d e r l y i n g s t r a t a a r e uniform, nionolithic and w i t h o u t macropores, f o r example a rock mass. Water p l a y s a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n h e a t t r a n s f e r . It i s a n

Important component pal% o f s o i l and i s unevenly d i s t r i b u t e d throughout t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t and a t t h e same time h a s a h i g h h e a t c a p a c i t y . E v a p o r a t i o n o f w a t e r and i c e i n t h e s o i l , c o n d e n s a t i o n of w a t e r vapour i n t h e s o i l , m e l t i n g and f r e e z i n g , and f i n a l l y t h e movement of w a t e r i n t h e s o i l where t h e w a t e r t r a n s f e r s h e a t d i r e c t l y , a l l have a n i m p o r t a n t i n f l u e n c e on t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t e m p e r a t u r e i n t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t .

The I n i t i a l p o i n t f o r c a l c u l a t i n g t h e t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t should be t a k e n n o t a t t h e s u r f a c e where v a r i a t i o n i n t e m p e r a t u r e i s r a p i d and uneven b u t a t some depth, f o r example 1 m, where t h e r e a r e no r a p i d changes i n t e m p e r a t u r e .

It Is a l s o i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t A . I . Voeikov, t h e f o u n d e r of g e n e t i c c l i m a t o l o g y , d i d n o t once mention t h a t t h e t e m p e r a t u r e regime of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t i s a " p r o d u c t o f c l i m a t e t t .

From t h e pronouncements o f A . I . Voeikov I n 1886, 1889, 1904 and t h o s e of

L.A. Yachevskii I n 1889 and 1905 i t f o l l o w s t h a t i t i s j u s t a s normal f o r t h e temperature a t a d e p t h of

25

m i n Yakutsk t o be

-3

t o -6OC a s i t i s f o r t h e t e m p e r a t u r e under Moscow t o be

5

t o 6OC o r t h a t under T b i l i s i t o be 14.5OC a t t h e same d e p t h .

In 1910 B.B. Polynov e s t a b l i s h e d from h i s r e s e a r c h d a t a t h a t I n some r e g i o n s of t h e Amur o b l a s t under t h e same c l i r n a t l c c o n d i t i o n s o n l y p e a t -

covered a r e a s contained p e r m a f r o s t , whereas i n o t h e r more n o r t h e r n r e g i o n s peal;, c l a y , c l a y loam and sand loan1 were p e r e n n i a l l y f r o z e n . Thus t h e r e a s o n f o r t h e deep p e n e t r a t i o n of f r o s t i n t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t s of t h e o b l a s t was t h e presence of bogs w i t h t h e growth i n d e p t h o f t h e moss cover, whereas on neigh- b o w i n g a r e a s t o t h e n o r t h t h e same c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l e d a s w e l l a s a n a d d i - t i o r l a 1 p u r e l y g e o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n , t h a t of a c l a y d e p o s i t on t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e e a r t h . Subsequently i n 1913 N . I . Prokhorov wrote of t h e r a t h e r e x t e n s i v e f r e e z i n g of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t i n swamp a r e a s and t h e absence o f p e r m a f r o s t i n neighbouring coniparatively d r y a r e a s . Up t o t h e p r e s e n t time a f t e r t h e perma- f r o s t i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n Bureya and i n t h e middle c r o s s - s e c t i o n o f t h e Selemdzha Rlver v a l l e y t h e o p i n i o n o f B.B. Polynov t h a t t h e " p e t r o g r a p h i c c o n d i t i o n s " a r e of prime Importance i n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f "suruner f r o s t " on t h e s o u t h e r n boundary of t h e p e r m a f r o s t zones t u r n e d o u t t o be i n d i s p u t a b l e .

The engineering, g e o l o g i c a l and h y d r o g e o l o g i c a l s u r v e y a l o n g t h e t r a c k of t h e Amur r a i l r o a d and i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f t h e Tunka d e p r e s s i o n i n t h e b a s i n o f t h e I r k u t R i v e r (1907

-

1916) was d i s t i n g u i s h e d by t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e h y p o t h e s i s concerning t h e fornlation of s t r a t a of p e r m a f r o s t d u r i n g sedimenta- t i o n i n d e p r e s s i o n s owing t o f r e e z i n g from below r a t h e r t h a n from above, 1 . e . f r o z e n s t r a t a were s u b s e q u e n t l y covered by sediment which i n t u r n f r o z e . The a u t h o r s o f t h e new h y p o t h e s i s o f a s t r a t u m o f p e r m a f r o s t growing o f i t s own accord were A. A r s e n t e v (1908) a n e n g i n e e r , V. Nekipelov ( 1 9 0 8 ) ~ A.V. L f v o v and 0. Kropachev (1909) and A.V. Ltvov (1916), g e o l o g i s t s .

Sometime l a t e r S . G . Parkllomenko (1937) i s o l a t e d f r e e z i n g from below

a s

one of t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f a c t o r s i n t h e s u b a r c t i c t y p e o f growth o f permafroet s t r a t a .

The s u b s o i l a l o n g t h e t r a c k o f t h e Amur r a i l w a y a c c o r d i n g t o t h e d a t a o f

V. Nekipelov was p e r e n n i a l l y f r o z e n o n l y i n r i v e r v a l l e y s and on t h e p l a i n s , From t h i s he concluded t h a t t h e f r o z e n s t r a t u m i n such p l a c e s developed g r a d u a l l y upwards by a p r o c e s s of s y s t e m a t i c a c c u n u l a t i o n o f sediment. How- e v e r , on r e g i o n s s u b j e c t t o e r o s i o n a s f o r example s t e e p s l o p e s " p e r m a f r o s t could n o t form" ( ~ l v o v , 1 9 1 6 ) . The Tunka d e p r e s s i o n i n t h e o p i n i o n of

A.V. L1vov and G. Kropachev i s s l o w l y b u t c o n t i n u o u s l y s e t t l i n g and t h e l a y e r s t h a t f r e e z e through t h e w i n t e r do n o t have time t o thaw d u r i n g t h e surnmer and each y e a r a t h i n unthawed l a y e r remains which accumulates and forms t h e e n t i r e s t r a t w n of p e r m a f r o s t . A t t h e f o o t of mountains, i n ahaded a r e a s and i n

narrow v a l l e y s t h e r e Is no p e r m a f r o s t (L1vov, Kropachev, 1 9 0 9 ) . I f A.V. Lfvov had been a b l e t o t i e i n t h e h y p o t h e s i s of A. Arsentev and V. Nekipelov and h i s "Tunka h y p o t h e s i s " w i t h t h e f r e e z i n g of t h e a c t i v e l a y e r fro171 below ( t h e

f r e e z i n g s t a r t i n g fror!l below b e f o r e i t s t a r t s f r e e z i n g from above d u r i n g t h e w i n t e r ) a s e s t a b l i s h e d i n l g l O by D.V. Domrachev, t h e n t h c t h e o r y of t h e

formation of s y n g e n e t i c s t r a t a of permafrost i n low-lying r e g i o n s and

d e p r e s s i o n s of n o r t h and e a s t Russia and a l s o Alaska would have been formu- l a t e d 40 y e a r s ago.

In a d d i t i o n t o t h e above-mentioned r e a s o n t h i s h y p o t h e s i s was under- estimated f o r a long time because i t pretended t o be u n i v e r s a l and because o f t h e s h a r p c r i t i c i s m d i r e c t e d by

M.I.

Swngin. The a u t h o r s of t h e h y p o t h e s i s suggested a p p l y i n g i t t o e x p l a i n i n g t h e o r i g i n of permafrost n o t o n l y in t h e B a i k a l r e g i o n and i n t h e A m u r o b l a s t , b u t a l s o f o r a l l o t h e r p a r t s of t h e world.

A l l t h e new concepts introduced i n t o t h e s t u d y of p e r m a f r o s t by A . I .

Voeikov, L.A. Yachevskii, B.B. Polynov, A.V. L'vov and o t h e r s c o n t r a d i c t e d t h e conclusions d e r i v e d by A.F. Middendorf and 0 . V i l l d on t h e o r i g i n of perma- f r o s t . These new concepts made i t p o s s i b l e t o formulate t h e h y p o t h e s i s con- c e r n i n g t h e unavoidable g e n e r a t i o n and prolonged e x i s t e n c e of permafrost on e x t e n s i v e a r e a s and i n d i v i d u a l l o c a l i t i e s on t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e because of changes I n t h e p h y s i c a l - g e o g r a p h i c a l and g e o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s of h e a t exchange between t h e s o i l and l i t h o s p h e r e on t h e one hand, and atmosphere and o u t e r space on t h e o t h e r . However many of t h e achievements of t h e s e a u t h o r s were n o t s u b s e q u e n t l y analyzed thoroughly and e v a l u a t e d and some of them d i d n o t withstand s t r i c t c r i t i c i s m and were long f o r g o t t e n by perniafrost s c i e n t i s t s .

In t h e first e d i t i o n (1927) of t h e monograph by M.I.Sumgin t h e q u e s t i o n of t h e o r i g i n of permafrost was reduced t o t h e time of t h e o r i g i n of perma- f r o s t . In a p e e i n g with E.V. T o l l 1 and K.A. Vollosovich t h a t t h e t h i c k e s t and most e x t e n s i v e d e p o s i t s of ground i c e i n Northern S i b e r i a a r e t h e remains of t h e i c e age, M . I . Sumgin considered p e r m a f r o s t a s a s u r v i v a l from a d i s t a n t cold epoch which brought about t h e i c e age*.

The a t t e m p t s by V.B. Shostakovich, A.V. L'vov and o t h e r s t o e x p l a i n t h e presence of permafrost by p r e s e n t - d a y c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s and g e o l o g i c a l p r o c e s s e s were met w i t h s h a r p c r i t i c i s m . Even t h e f a c t t h a t t h e upper l a y e r t h a t thaws s e a s o n a l l y could f r e e z e from below a s e s t a b l i s h e d by D.V. Domrachev who p o i n t e d o u t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of p e r m a f r o s t forming of i t s own accord i n t h e p r e s e n t epoch, was l a r g e l y d i s r e g a r d e d by Swngin a l t h o u g h he discovered t h i s

e f f e c t hlmself a s a r e s u l t of h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s i n Bomnak (Sumgin, 1927, page 173-175). The f r e e z i n g of s o i l from below seemed t o him o n l y t h e o r e t i - c a l l y p o s s i b l e .

M.I.

Sumgin f i g u r e d t h a t p e r m a f r o s t was a t t h e p r e s e n t time

in a s t a g e of d e g r a d a t i o n .

*

A s i m i l a r p o i n t of view f o r t h e o r i g i n of p e r m a f r o s t was advance i n 1881 by

I n t h e second e d i t i o n of h i s monograph p u b l i s h e d i n 1937 Sungin a d m i t s t h a t a t t h e p r e s e n t time i t i s p o s s i b l e t o have tile f o ~ ~ r n a t i o n of perrnafrost i n t h o s e r e g i o n s of n o r t h e r n E u r a s i a where

i t

d i d n o t e x i s t b c f o r e . H i s

a t t e n t i o n was d r a m t o t h i s by t h e ncli d a t a of deep f r o s t p e n e t r a t i o n of a r e c e n t l y formed i s l a n d i n t h e d e l t a of t h e Pechora R i v e r and on t h e n o t a t i o n by G r i g o r ' e v on t h e i n a d m i s s i b i l i t y of mixing t h e q u e s t i o n of t h e o r i g i n of p c r n ~ a f r o s t w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n of t h e c o n d i t i o n s under which i t can be formed and e x i s t to-day. It might be mentioned h e r e t h a t t h e polemic of Sumgin w i t h Shostakovich vrho consldcred p e r m a f r o s t t o be t h e p r o d u c t o f p r e s e n t - d a y

c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s a r o s e because t h e y mixed t h e s e two q u e s t i o n s .

In a n a l y z i n g t h e h y p o t h e s i s of Arsenev, Nekipelov, L'vov and Kropachev, Sumgin no l o n g e r c r i t i c i z e s them a s s e v e r e l y a s he d i d i n 1927. He w r i t e s " F i r s t of a l l l t should be remembered t h a t t h e fundamental r e a s o n f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n of f r o z e n s t r a t a i n t h e ground Is a d e f i c i e n c y i n t h e h e a t b a l a n c e t h a t keeps t h e t e m p e r a t u r e b e 1 0 ~ ~ f r e e z i n g i n t h e g i v e n s t r a t a of ground; t h i s a p p l i e s e q u a l l y t o s e a s o n a l f r o s t a s w e l l

a s

t o p e r m a f r o s t , t h e d i f f e r e n c e i s o n l y i n t i m e . And f o r a g i v e n d e f i c i e n c y i n t h e h e e t b a l a n c e t h e r e w i l l be

a

g i v e n d e f i c i e n c y i n t h e h e a t b a l a n c e t h e r e w i l l be

a

g i v e n t h i c k n e s s i n t h e s t r a t u m of f r o z e n s o i l .

In

t h e h e a t b a l a n c e of a given stratuuz o f s o i l t h e I n t e r n a l h e a t o f t h e c a r t h p a r t i c i p a t e s a s

a

p o s i t i v e component" (Sumgin, 1937, p a r e 243 )

.

The t e m p e r a t u r e regime of p e r m a f r o s t , t h e mechanism of t h e change i n t e m p e r a t u r e a l o n g t h e v e r t i c a l c r o s s - s e c t i o n o f t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t and p a r t i c u - l a r l y d e g r a d a t i o n of p e r m a f r o s t , b i . 1 . Sumgin a s b c f o r e c o n s i d e r e d t o be i n d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h v a r i a t i o n s i n c l i l n a t i c c o n d i t i o n s , t o t h e moderation of t h e c l i m a t c d u r i n g t h e l a t t e r epoch of t h e a n t h r o p o g e n i c p e r i o d . H e con- s l d e r e d t h a t i n r e e i o n s where t h e r e i s d e g r a d a t i o n of p e r n a f r o s t p r e s e n t - d a y c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s " a r e i n dishariilony w i t h t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of temperatures

i n t h e s o i l w i t h depth" (Sungin, 1937, page 251). The zone of f r o z e n s u b s o i l was considered a s b c f o r e t h e p r o d u c t of a c o l d c l i m a t e i n t h e d i s t a n t i c e age and t h e c h i e f i n d i c a t i o n of changes i n i t s reglrrle 1s t h e d e g r a d a t i o n of perma- f r o s t under t h e eff'cct of

a

warx!cr c l i m a t e .

The thorough i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f V.A. Kudryavtscv of t h e higlhly d i s c o n t i n u - ous p e r n a f r o s t zone i n t h e middle r e a c h e s of t h e Sc1cn:dzha R i v e r i n which g e o l o ~ ; i c a l , geonior;3holo~ical, h y d r o g e o l o g i c a l , h y d r o l o ~ i c a l and g e o b o t a n i c a l c o n d i t i o n s were talcen i n t o a c c o u n t i n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e e x i s t e n c e and mechanism of t h e propagation of s t r a t a and n a s s c s of f r o z c n s u b s o i l s , l e d %o t h e conclu- s i o n of undoubted s i g n s of " i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of p c r n a f r o s t l ' a l o n g w i t h i t s

d e g r a d a t i o n i n t h e same g e n e r a l l o c a l i t y . T h i s l o c a l i t y i s i n t h e s o u t h e r n boundary of t h e perrnafrost zone where t h e c l i a ~ a t i c covlditions a r e uniform;

even tempcrature i n v e r s i o n s i n t h e s t r a t a of a i r a d j a c e n t t o t h e e a r t h i n shallow d e p r e s s i o n s w i t h g e n t l e s l o p e s cannot be a t t r i b u t e d t o any p a r t i c u l a r s i g n l f l c a n c e I n t h e f o m i a t i o n of t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n temperature regime o f t h e s u b s o i l of n e g a t i v e and p o s i t i v e folms of r e l i e f (Kudryavtsev, 1 9 3 9 ) .

Having r e p e a t e d much of what was s a l d e a r l i e r by Voeikov (1886,

1859,

1904), Yachevskii (1899), Obruchcv (1891), Kozlmin ( 1 8 9 2 ) , Polynov (1910) and o t h e r s concerning t h e r o l e o f l o c a l physico-geographical and ~ l ; e o l o g i c a l condi- t i o n s i n t h e f o r n ~ a t i o n of t h e temperature regime of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t and, i n p a r t i c u l a r , i n t h e develop~nent of p e r m a f r o s t , Kudryavtsev concluded t h a t t h e r e was "dynamics i n p e r m a f r o s t " i n c o n n e c t i o n with changes i n geobotanlc, hydro- l o g i c a l , g e o l o g i c a l and h y d r o g e o l o ~ i c a l c o n d i t i o n s . The c o n s i s t e n t and

simultaneous m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f . . . I 'two complctcly c o n t r a d i c t o r y p r o c e s s e s

( f o r m a t i o n and d e g r a d a t i o n of p e r n ~ a f r o s t .

-

P . Shunl3lcii) do n o t i n any way c o n t r a d i c t each o t h e r b u t a r e c o m p l e t e l y c o n s i s t e n t and a r e e x p l a i n e d by hydro- g e o l o g i c a l and hydromorphological c o n d i t i o n s of t h e r e g i o n r e s u l t i n g I n s h a r p d e v l a t l o n s from g e n e r a l d e g r a d a t i o n of p e r m a f r o s t " (Kudryavtscv, 1939,

page 1 1 6 ) .

Although t h e concepts of "conteinporary p r o c e s s " and "contemporary

dynamicst' a r e i n c o n s i s t e n t with t h e concept o f "permafrost" a s an I n h e r i t a n c e from t h e I c e age, many p e r m a f r o s t s c i e n t i s t s d i d n o t seem t o n o t l c e i t

a t

t h a t t l m e . In g e n e r a l such a phenomenon h a s been observed many t i m e s i n t h e

h i s t o r y of s c i e n c e . C . Lyle f o r many y e a r s d i d n o t n o t i c e t h e I n c o n s i s t e n c y of h i s t h e o r y with t h e assumption of constancy of o r g a n i c s p e c i e s . According t o h i s o r l g i n a l h y p o t h e s i s t h e e a r t h d i d n o t develop g r a d u a l l y i n a s p e c i f i c d l r e c t l o n , It d i d n o t c o o l b u t simply changed i n a random rnaiiner.

A y e a r a f t e r Kudryavtsev p u b l i s h e d h i s p a p e r , V. G. Turnel', i n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e r e l a t l o n s h l p between p e r m a f r o s t and t h e c o l d c l i m a t e o f t h e i c e age and p r e s e n t - d a y c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s , formulated a v e r y i m p o r t a n t h y p o t h e s i s . It

can be reduced t o t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t " t h e problem of p e r m a f r o s t cannot be solved o n l y from c o n s i d e r a t i o n s of p a l a e o c l i m a t l c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s " (sumgin and o t h e r s , 1940, page 2 2 4 ) . I n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e mechanisms of t h e change i n

tcrnperature reglme of t h e s o i l "one should s t u d y f i r s t o f a l l t h e s o i l I t s e l f .

One can f o r example m a l n t a i n t h a t d e p o s i t s from p o s t - g l a c i a l l a k e s o r s e a t ~ a n s p y e s s i o n , i f t h e y a r c f r o z e n , f r o z e a f t e r t h e i c e age and even a f t e r w a t e r had d e p a r t e d from t h e z i v e n a r e a .

.

."

( l b i d

.

) .

In subsequent s e c t i o n s of t h i s c h a p t e r vie w i l l a t t e m p t t o a d h e r e t o t h i s h y p o t h c a l s o f V.F. Turnelf b u t V J ~ w i l l b e g i n w i t h t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e

temperature regime of t h e s o i l , I. e

.

t h e outerrnost l a y e r of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t which c o v e r s e v e r y t h i n g e l s e , " f o r It Is a l s o p a r t o f t h e lower s t r a t a and by b e i n g a d j a c e n t t o then1 r e c e l v e s from t h e n and g i v e s u? t o them r e c i p r o c a l l y . .

.

"

The O r i g i n of Perniafrost i n t h e Process of Heat Exchanze Between t h e S o i l , Atmosphere and Lithosphere*

I n t h e o p i n i o n of P r o f . L.A. Yachcvskii t h e e x i s t e n c e of "permafrost" is

d e c i s i v e proof of t h e predominance of r a d i a t i o n o v e r i n s o l a t i o n , t h e predomi- nance of t h e l o s s of h e a t o v e r t h e h e a t r e c e i v e d . "Permafrost w i l l c o n t i n u e t o e x i s t i n t h e l a t i t u d e s where i t i s now found a t t h e p r e s e n t time a s l o n g a s t h e c o n d i t i o n s of r o t a t i o n of t h e e a r t h , i t s p o s i t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e sun and a s long a s t h e sun cor'ltinues t o l i v e t h e l i f e i t i s l i v i n g a t t h e p r e s e n t time a r e r e t a i n e d " , i s t h e way Yachevskii (1905, page 226) d e f i n e d t h e g e n e r a l ob jec t l v e mechanisms of t h e e x i s t e n c e of p e r ~ ~ a f r o s t

.

A l t h o u a i n i t s e l f t h i s i d e a of Yachevskii i s n o t p r e c i s e s i n c e t h e r e i s no well-defined connection between t h e e x i s t e n c e of f r o z e n s u b s o i l and t h e predominance o f r a d i a t i o n , n e v e r t h e l e s s t h e e x t e n s i v e a s tr o - g e o p h y s i c a l

approach o f t h i s i n v e s t i g a t o r t o t h e e l u c i d a t i o n of ob j e c t i v e l a v ~ s governing t h e o r i g i n and e x i s t e n c e of perniafrost d e s e r v e s c l o s e a t t e n t i o n .

In

f a c t i t would be Impossible t o understand c o r r e c t l y t h e h e a t exchange i n t h e system l i t h o s p h e r e - s o i l - a t m o s p h e r e w i t h o u t l o o k i n g upon t h e e a r t h a s a cosmic body. Looking upon t h e e a r t h I n t h i s manner we s e e t h a t t h e s u r f a c e i s i r r a d i a t e d by

t h e sun and o t h e r s t a r s . Because of t h e s p h e r i c a l shape o f o u r p l a n e t , I t s

continuous r o t a t i o n and I t s motion about t h e sun a s w e l l a s t h e i n c l i n a t i o n of i t s a x i s o f r o t a t i o n t o t h e p l a n e of t h e e c l i p t i c ( a t t h e p r e s e n t time i t i s

a t t h e a n g l e of 66O331), t h e a n g l e of i n c i d e n c e of s o l a r r a y s on t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e v a r i e s c o n t i n u o u s l y i n space and time. On land t h i s a n g l e depends a l s o on t h e a n g l e and o r i e n t a t i o n o f t h e s l o p e of t h e s u r f a c e .

A given p o r t i o n of t h e s u r f a c e of t h e land o r ocean 13 i r r a d i a t e d by t h e

sun f o r o n l y a s p e c i f i c p e r i o d o f time, d i v i d e d by p e r i o d s of v a r i o u s d u r a t i o n d u r i n g which t h e r e Is no advent of s o l a r r a d i a t i o n . R a d i a t i o n from t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t i n t o t h e a t n o s p h e r e and t o o u t e r space t a k e s p l a c e a t a l l times b u t t h e d e n s i t y of t h e r a d i a t i o n f l u x from t h e e a r t h , a s w e l l a s t h e I n t e n s i t y o f i n s o l a t i u n of t h e s o i l , v a r i e s p e r i o d i c a l l y . Outer space i n r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t i s a h e a t r e c e i v e r of i n f i n i t e c a p a c i t y .

The d e n s i t y of t h e r a d i a t i o n f l u x and t h e t o t a l amount of r a d i a t i o n energy from t h e sun t o a u n i t of s u r f a c e a r e a i n v a r i o u s p a r t s of t h e land and ocean

i s a f u n c t i o n of t h e geographic l a t i t u d e , c o n p o s i t i o n and p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of t h e atmosphere. T h i s i s what produces d i f f e r e n c e s i n c l i m a t e by

*

Heat exchange i n t h e system l i t h o s p h e r e - s o i l - a t m o s p h e r e i s t h e name we g i v e t o t h e sum t o t a l of a l l p h y s i c a l p r o c e s s e s of t h e c o n v e r s i o n of one form of energy t o a n o t h e r and energy exchange between t h e l i t h o s p h e r e , s o i l ,

l a t i t u d e * , s o i l , v e g e t a t i o n and a l s o t h e c o n d i t i o n s of h e a t exchange i n t h e system l i t h o s p h e r e - s o i l - a tn~osphere

.

The p e r i o d i c n a t u r e of i n s o l a t i o n and t h e n a t u r a l r a d i a t i o n of t h e s o i l r e s u l t s i n p e r i o d i c

-

d a i l y and y e a r l y

-

v a r i a t i o t l s o r , a s i t i s s a i d ,

o s c i l l a t i o n s i n t h e temperature of t h e s o i l * * . These temperature v a r i a t i o n s of t h e s u r f a c e s t r a t a of s o i l a r e t r a n s m i t t e d t o deeper s o i l s t r a t a and t o t h e s u b s o i l . For a q u a n t i t a t i v e n ~ a t h e ~ n a t l c a l d e s c r i p t i o n of t h i s p r o c e s s Russian g e o p h y s i c i s t s even i n t h e l a s t q u a r t e r of t h e 19th c e n t u r y used t h e method of harmonic a n a l y s i s of " t h e temperature wave" I n t h e s o i l and s u b s o i l .

The temperature of t h e s u r f a c e of t h e s o i l d u r i n g i t s p e r i o d i c v a r i a t i o n

is a harmonic f u n c t i o n of time, 1 . e .

t =

"

s i n (UT

+

v),

(4.1)"""

where A. i s t h e o s c i l l a t i o n amplitude of temperature on t h e s u r f a c e ; W = - 27, i s t h e a n g u l a r frequency of o s c i l l a t i o n ;

1;

z i s time f o r which t h e temperature i s determined;

p i s t h e i n i t i a l phase of t h e o s c i l l a t i o n .

Assuming t h a t t h e c o e f f i c i e n t of thermal c o n d u c t i v i t y of t h e so11 and s u b s o i l a i s c o n s t a n t with depth, t h e amplitude of temperature o s c i l l a t i o n A a t a given depth z i s

where T i s t h e period of t h e temperature wave.

This r e l a t i o n s h i p i s obtained from t h e previous fornlula ( 4 . 1 ) by s o l v i n g t h e thermoconductivity equation

Prom equation ( 4 . 2 ) i t f o l l o w s t h a t :

*

Climate i s defined a s t h e weather regime talten o v e r many y e a r s and char- a c t e r i s t i c of a given l o c a l i t y by v i r t u e of i t s geographic l o c a t i o n . By regime i s meant t h e t o t a l and s u c c e s s i v e v a r i a t i o n of weather c o n d i t i o n s

( S . P . Khromov and

L.I.

Marnontov. Meteorologicheskii s l o v a r l . Gldrome t e o i z d a t

.

Leningrad, 1955).

**

Dally v a r i a i t i o n s i n t h e temperature of t h e s o i l a r e s c a r c e l y n o t i c e a b l e i n t h e p o l a r r e g i o n s i n w i n t e r and I n summer when f o r a period of s e v e r a l months t h e r e i s continuous n i g h t o r continuous day.

***

In numbering t h e formulae t h e f i r s t c i p h e r denotes t h e number of t h e c h a p t e r and t h e second t h e number of t h e formula.

( 1 ) t h e time l a g f o r t h e maximurn o r minin~um temperature a t t h e depth z by comparison with t h e time of t h e i r occurrence on t h e s u r f a c e of t h e s o i l , T = i . e . t h e l a g i n c r e a s e s with depth;

27c

( 2 ) t h e o s c i l l a t i o n period of s o i l temperature T = -;j- does n o t change with depth;

( 3 )

t h e arnplitudc of temperature o a c i l l a t i o n d e c r e a s e s with depth accord- i n g t o t h e e x p o n e n t i a l law: i f t h e depth i n c r e a s e s I n a r i t h m e t i c p r o p e s s l o n , t h e decrease i n arcplitude Is i n geometric p r o g r e s s i o n ;

( 4 )

d e p t h a t vrhich v i b r a t i o n s of v a r i o u s p e r i o d i c i t y d e c r e a s e by t h e same f a c t o r a r e r e l a t e d a s square r o o t s of t h e p e r i o d s , i . e .

I f

T,

i s e q u a l t o a y e a r and T , i s e q u a l t o a day t h e n

F i e l d o b s e r v a t i o n s show t h a t t h e d a i l y v a r i a t i o n i n temperature of t h e s o i l i s a l n o s t a t t e n u a t e d a t a depth t h a t r a r e l y exceeds

1.5

m

whereas t h e annual depth i s 3 0 m.

The d a l l y and annual temperature v a r i a t i o n s of t h e l a y e r of atmosphere a d j a c e n t t o t h e e a r t h r e f l e c t temperature v a r i a t i o n s of t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e f o r t h e corresponding p e r i o d o f time. The v a r i a t i o n s i n a i r temperature throughout t h e y e a r a r e f i x e d throughout t h e t r o p o s p h e r e .

The f i r s t thorough o b s e r v a t i o n s of Sumgin on v a r i a t i o n s i n temperature o f t h e s o i l and s u b s o i l i n t h e s o u t h e r n boundary of t h e permafrost i n Bomnak (1916

-

1919)

showed t h a t annual v a r i a t i o n s a r e almost completely a t t e n u a t e d a t a depth of

6

-

8

m. The r a t h e r small t h l c l m e s s of t h i s s t r a t u m o f annual temperature v a r i a t l o n was e x ~ l a i n e d by t h e e f f e c t of a " z e r o c u r t a i n "

-

of t h e isothcrlnal p r o c e s s e s of thawing d u r i n g t h e surmer of t h e s o i l s and s u b s o i l s c o n t a i n i n g i c e and f r e e z i n g of t h e s u p e r s a t u r a t e d s t r a t u m ( t h a t thaws

s e a s o n a l l y ) d u r i n g t h e f a l l and e a r l y w i n t e r . Prom t h i s he showed how f a r rer.loved from r e a l i t y were t h e p r e d i c t i o n s o f t h e tcnlperature regime of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t made by G. V l l f d on t h e b a s i s of c a l c u l a t i n g t h e dependence of t h e temperature regime on a i r temperature and by analogy with the geothermal d a t a obtained from t h e s h o r e s of t h e BaltLc Sea.

Tne method of a n a l y z i n g t h e temperature wave although

i t

h a s g r e a t t h e o r e t i c a l and p r a c t i c a l irxportance, does n o t n e v e r t h e l e s s of i t s e l f e l u c i - d a t e t h e mechanism of changes I n t h e temperature reglme o f t h e s o i l and

I n o r d e r t o e l u c i d a t e such mechanisms one should r e c a l l a n assu-a2tion made i n d c r i v i n z t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p ( 4 . 1 ) and one p r a c t i c a l r e s u l t f o l l o w i n g from

e q u a t i o n ( 1 1 . 2 ) . The p o l n t

i s

t h a t t h e v a r i a t i o i i s i n temperature of t h e s o i l and t h e s u b s o i l a r e r a r e l y c o ~ , ~ l e ' ~ e l y harmonic o r p u r e l y s i n u s o i d a l a s noted

by Voei!cov

(1891.)

and a s s t a t e d by

A.P.

Cl~udnovslcii (1948). During prolonged s e c t i o n s of an annual period t h e p o s i t i v e and n e g a t i v e d e v i a t i o n s of tcmpera- t u r e Tram t h o s e f lxed i r ; t h e preceding day o f i t s e q u i l i b r i u m value, I. e . " t h e p h y s i c a l ariiplitudes" of t h e teniperature o s c i l l a t i o n s a r e n o t equal, o r i n o t h e r :rol-ds t h e y a r e n o t e q u a l t o h a l f t h e l n e t e o r o l o g i c ~ l amplitude ($). As t h e r e s u l t o f t n i s t h e r e is a d i s p l a c e n e n t , with solne d e v i a t i o n but g e n e r a l l y i n one d i r e c t i o n , of t;he " a x i s of d a i l y o s c i l l a t i o n s i n temperature" o r a varia'iion i n t h c rtean d a i l y t e x p c r a t u r e of t h e s o i l t l ~ r o u g h o u t th e annual h a l f p e r i o d s .

It i s custonmry t o s a g t h a t t h e d a i l y and annual v a r i a t i o n s i n tempera- t u r e o f t h e e a r t l i ' s c r u s t " a r e p r a c t i c a l l y a t t e n u a t e d " a t a p p r o p r i a t e depths, f o r example 1 . 5 and 28.5 In.

In

f a c t t h e d a i l y v a r i a t i o n s i n t e ~ p e r a t u r e

t h e ~ r e ~ l c a l l y and practically a r e n o t a t t e n u a t e d a t t h e depth o f

1.5

m. One of t h e curves of extreme v a l u e s of t h e teniperature of t h e s o i l , depending on t h e time of t h e y e a r and v a r i a t i o n I n weather c o n d i t i o n s , on approaching

a s y m p t o t i c a l l y t h e o s c i l l a t i o n a x i s f o r t h e p r c v i o u s day a t t h e d e p t h of 1.2 m u s u a l l y does n o t coincide with

it

not o n l y a t t h e depth of 1 . 5 m b u t even a t a xuch g r e a t e r depth on t h e s u r f a c e . Ho~lever, t h e curve of o p p o s i t e v a l u e s does i n t e r s e c t

i t s

a x i s . Thus d u r i n g t h e course of t h e y e a r t h e a x i s of d a i l y

variations i n teniperature of t h e s o i l s h i f t s , s t o p p i n z o n l y f o r p c r i o d s of t i n e , which r e s u l t s I n a v a r i a t i o n i n temperature a t a d e p t h of

1.5

m

through- o u t t h e y e a r by

5

-

lo°C and i n p l a c e s even Inore. Engineers know hou important t h i s phenomenon i s .

The sane can be s a i d concerning t h e annual v a r i a t i o n i n t e n p e r a t u r e of t h e e a ? t h l s c r u s t deeper t h a n 25

-

30

m

f o r t h e temperature r e c i n e of t h e l i t h o s p h e r e over a long period o f time. The absence o f n e c e s s a r y d e v i c e s f o r d e t e r ! n i n i n ~ tile year-to-year changes i n teri~pera'iure of t h e s ~ b s o i l a t d e p t h s of 25

-

3 0 ::i and i n so1:ie l o c a l i t i e s a t 1 0

-

15

m

malces

i t

d i f f i c u l t b u t does r . o t exclude t a k i n g I n t o account t h e continuous s h i f t i n t h e a x i s of t h e annual varia'iLon i n temperature. This p r o c e s s i s connected w i t h v a r i a t i o n s i n t h e ex'icmal c o n d l t i o l ? ~ of' h e a t exchange be tween t h e lithosphere and t h e s o i l

which f u ? d a n e n t a l l y changcs t h e geothenzal c o n d i t i o n s f o r a h i s t o r i c - g e o l o g i c a l p o r t i o n of tir::c. In a n a l y z l n ~ t h e d a t a of geothermal o'oservations i n d r i l l

h o l e s L . ~ L . Yachevslcii i n 1305 c a m t o t h e c o r r e c t conclusion t h a t such a s'cratmi o f t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t i n which v a r i a t i o n s i n s u r f a c e teniperature a r e n o t r e f l e c t e d has no^

yet

been found.

In a d d i t i o n t o t h e cosmic and g e n e r a l p l a n e t a r y g e o p h y s i c a l p r o c e s s e s i n t h e atmosphere and hydrosphere and a l s o physico-geographical c o n d i t i o n s one must a l s o c o n s i d e r t h e continuous s u p p l y of h e a t coming from t h e e a r t h ' s i n t e r i o r and i t s e f f e c t on t h e h e a t exchange between t h e s o i l , atmosphere and t h e l i t h o s p h e r e . *

The c o n t i n u i t y i n h e a t exchange between t h e s o i l and atmosphere and t h e l i t h o s p h e r e i n d i c a t e s a continuous d i f f e r e n c e i n t e m p e r a t u r e between t h e s u r - f a c e of t h e e a r t h and t h e a d J a c e n t s t r a t u m of a i r on t h e one hand** and on t h e o t h e r hand a t c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s t a n c e s a l o n g t h e v e r t i c a l I n t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t . In t h e l i t h o s p h e r e below t h e upper s t r a t u m w i t h i t s v a r i a b l e annual temperature t h e r e i s a r e l a t i v e l y c o n s t a n t geothermal g r a d i e n t brought' about by t h e flow of h e a t from t h e c e n t r e of t h e e a r t h a l o n g t h e v e r t i c a l a x i s t o t h e s u r f a c e . The t e m p e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t ( v e c t o r ) d i r e c t e d downwards towards t h e c e n t r e o f t h e e a r t h and i n d l c a t f n g a n upward thermal f l u x we w i l l c a l l , by convention,

n e g a t i v e , and t h e t e m p e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t i n t h e o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n i n d i c a t i n g a downward f l u x we w i l l c a l l a p o s i t i v e temperature g r a d i e n t .

A t a d e p t h of 6000 m a s i n d i c a t e d by geothermal o b s e r v a t i o n s i n a h o l e d r i l l e d 40 km from t h e town o f Farson i n t h e S t a t e of Wyoming ( I n t h e Rocky Mountains a t a l a t i t u d e of 42O06'N and a l o n g i t u d e of 10g025'W w i t h a n a b s o l u t e a l t i t u d e of a b o u t 2000 m), t h e t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e r o c k i s 14g°C.

However t h e temperature g r a d i e n t i s n e g a t i v e n o t o n l y w i t h i n t h e range of t h e l i t h o s p h e r e ; i t i s a l s o n e g a t i v e i n t h e lower s t r a t u m of t h e atmosphere from

7

-

12 km i n h e i g h t i n moderate l a t i t u d e s .

In

t h e t r o p o s p h e r e , a s i s known, t h e mean annual t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e a i r d e c r e a s e s w i t h a l t i t u d e .

Knowing t h e t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e a i r i n t h e tropopause ( ~ o n d r a t ' e v , 1952), t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e e a r t h (mean annual t e m p e r a t u r e ) and t h a t o f r o c k a t a d e p t h of 6000

m,

we can c o n s t r u c t a curve d e t e r m i n i n g t h e d i r e c t i o n and magnitude o f t h e v e r t i c a l temperature g r a d i e n t ( s e e F i g . 2, where t h e t e m p e r a t u r e a x i s corresponds w i t h t h e s u r f a c e of t h e s o i l ) . A s t h i s c u r v e shows, t h e tempera- t u r e g r a d i e n t i n a l l s t r a t a of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t and i n t h e t r o p o s p h e r e i s n e g a t i v e and t h e a b s o l u t e v a l u e i n t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t i s g r e a t e r t h a n i n t h e t r o p o s p h e r e .

*

Here and below o n l y t h e land s u r f a c e i s c o n s i d e r e d which i s connected w i t h t h e ocean i n h e a t exchange by a d v e c t i v e t r a n s f e r o f h e a t and m o i s t u r e .

**

In t h e o p i n i o n of A . I . Voeikov (1904) t h e mean annual t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e s o i l i s h i g h e r t h a n t h e mean annual, t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e a i r o v e r t h e c o n t i - n e n t s i n t h e medium and h i g h l a t i t u d e s by Q O , i n t r o p i c a l mountain r e g i o n s

by 2 O and a l o n g Llle c o a s t s i n medlum and h i g h l a t i t u d e s by l e s s t h a n l o .

In

genera 1 t h i s o r d e r i s confirmed

.

S i m i l a r curves a r e obtained a l s o f o r o t h e r r e g i o n s of t h e land mass. Thus t h e upper s t r a t a of t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t a c t a s t h e h e a t donors i n t h e pro- c e s s of h e a t exchange with t h e t r o p o s p h e r e .

In a d d i t i o n t o t h e v e r t i c a l o r geothermal temperature g r a d i e n t s t h e r e a r e i n t h e e a r t h ' s c r u s t h o r i z o n t a l temperature g r a d i e n t s and not o n l y a l o n g

meridians. The e x i s t e n c e o f h o r i z o n t a l temperature g r a d i e n t s a l o n g t h e merid- i a n a r e caused by t h e v a r i a t i o n i n t h e amount o f s o l a r r a d i a t i o n reaching t h e s o i l with l a t i t u d e and a l s o non-zonal d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e physico-geographical c o n d i t i o n s of h e a t exchange between t h e s o i l and t h e atmosphere. P a r t i c u l a r l y l a r g e h o r i z o n t a l temperature g r a d i e n t s occur i n t h e s u b s o i l between one type of r e l i e f and a n o t h e r which has a d i f f e r e n t o r i e n t a t i o n and a g r e a t e r o r l e s s e r s l o p e o r moisture c o n t e n t . The same t h i n g occurs when one goes from land t o t h e s e a o r l a k e s and a l s o towards l a r g e r i v e r s .

The presence of l a r g e h o r i z o n t a l and i n c l i n e d temperature g r a d i e n t s i n t h e s u b s o i l where t h e r e i s a runoff of s u r f a c e and ground w a t e r and t h e

a d j a c e n t s l o p e s of t h e r a v i n e s of t h e Selemdzha r i v e r b a s i n was e s t a b l i s h e d by

V.A. Kudryavtsev (1939). Here t h e h o r i z o n t a l and i n c l i n e d flows of h e a t a r e d i r e c t e d from t h e s l o p e s towards t h e runoff zone. L a t e r D.V. Redozubov e s t a b -

l i s h e d t h e e x i s t e n c e of even g r e a t e r h o r i z o n t a l and i n c l i n e d temperature g r a d i e n t s i n t h e s u b s o i l i n t h e r e g i o n of Vorkuta where t h e thermal f l u x i s

d i r e c t e d i n a d i f f e r e n t manner, from t h e runoff zone t o t h e e l e v a t e d r e g i o n s ( ~ e d o z u b o v , 1946). In t h e s e s m a l l r e g i o n s of t h e land mass t h e temperature curves i n t h e s u b s o i l measured i n v e r t i c a l e x c a v a t i o n s a r e very d i f f e r e n t ;

some o f them a r e " i n harmony with present-day c l i m a t e R , o t h e r s have no g r a d i e n t whereas s t i l l o t h e r s r e p r e s e n t d e g r a d a t i o n of "permafrost".

P a r t i c u l a r l y l a r g e h o r i z o n t a l and i n c l i n e d temperature g r a d i e n t s and

corresponding h e a t f l u x i n t h e s u b s o i l a r e observed n e a r deep l a k e s and r i v e r s of t h e n o r t h . T h i s i s shown by t h e diagram of t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f temperatures i n t h e s u b s o i l n e a r Lake Glubokoe I n t h e Ustl-Yana r a i o n ( F i g .

3 )

which was c o n s t r u c t e d by t h e a u t h o r s of t h e r e p o r t d e s c r i b i n g t h e Yano-Indigirka expedi- t i o n of t h e V.A. Obruchev Permafrost I n s t i t u t e ( N . F . G r i g o r t e v and o t h e r s , 1956). The e f f e c t of t h i s l a k e on t h e thermal s t a t e of t h e s h o r e s i s f e l t a t a d i s t a n c e of more than 100 m from t h e l a k e . Such

i s

t h e e f f e c t of deep l a k e s

o r r i v e r s on t h e temperature regime of t h e s h o r e s . This e x p l a i n s t h e consid- e r a b l e decrease i n t h e t h i c k n e s s o f t h e permafrost s t r a t u m a s one approaches t h e bed o f t h e Mackenzie River a t Norman Wells : from

81

m a t 106 m from t h e s h o r e t o 4 1 m a t 60 m and

18

m a t 30 m from it ( ~ e n n e s s , 1949).

In t h e s m a l l a l l u v i a l d e p o s i t s between l a k e s i n t h e n o r t h e r n p l a i n s , t h e h o r i z o n t a l and i n c l i n e d h e a t f l u x from l a k e s and t h e unfrozen d e p o s i t s under t h e l a k e s p l a y an important r o l e i n forming t h e thermal f i e l d and h e a t exchange