PERMAFROST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00039R000200010014-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: April 15, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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PERMAFROST
(Bollshaya sovetskaya entsiklopediya, 2nd edition,
Vol. 7, pp, 601-606, )
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STAT
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RMAIRoST
Permafrost i a natural phenomenon characterized by the
cooling of soil to 'below zero degrees Centigrade on the surface
of the earth, This condition lasts uninterruptedly for from
several years to several thousands of years, and changes along
with changes in the physical-geographical surroundings, Water
in solidified soils is found primarily in the solid state, but
certain quantities of the liquid phase and of vapors exist in
addition to the ice. The term "vechnaya merzlota" for "perma-
frost" is doriiestic, and was introduced into the literature in the
middle of the 19th century.
The permafrost layer is covered over with a layer which
thaws each summer, and freezes again each winter to a depth which
varies in different geographic regions. This layer is called the
active layer, since in it the freezing and thawing of soils is
accomr)anied by a number of physical-mechanical processes, and in
addition the life activity of animal and plant organisms also
proceeds in this layer. Outside the permafrost region this
surface layer is called the layer of seasonal or of winter
freezing, or seasonal frost (sezonnaya merzlota, q.v.). Uver a
large part of the area of permafrost distribution the active layer
comes together each winter with the permafrost soil layer. In
regions where the upper extent of the permafrost layer is very
deep these two frozen layers do not join, and a thawed layer req-
mains between them, called a "talik",
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The earliest information on permafrost in the literature
dates frora~he end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th cones
turi.es. In l6LO-L.3 the governors of Yakutsk wrote to Moscow that
"the ea:.-'th does not thaw completely, even in the mi.ddie of
summer" in that region. The first scientific investigations of
permafrost were carried out in the first half of the 3.6th century
on the Yeni.sey Raver, at the mouth of the Lena Raver, and in other
loca1i ties in Siberia, in ca nection with the discovery of fossil
mammoths. Of great significance was the expedition of the Russian
Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Academician Middendorf,
18 3-L.6. The expedition collected factual material on freezing
in various places in Siberia, and the first data were obtained on
the temper':.ture of the perritafros t layer down to a great depth
(1i6 meters). This made it possible to calculate the full thick-
ness of the permafrost layer for thealcutsk area. At the end of
the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries investigations
were carried on primarily in the southern p,ptaon of the region
of permafrost distribution in regions which were beginning to be
taken over for industrial and agricuitural activity, in addition
to the northern coast of Siberia and the islands of the Arctic
Ocean, an connection with the recent discoveries of fossil animals.
In other regions few large investigations of permafrost.
were conducted. An exception was the work of Leffangwell in in-
vestigating the northern coast of Alaska.
There was a sharpbreak in the study of permafrost after the
Great October Socialist Revolution. Planned, systematic studies of
permafrost were begun for the first time in the USSR. An important
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role; was played by the investigations of M. T. Sumgi.n, which were
published in his book VecYna~ mer.o~Gh vcle~~
(Soil Permafrost wi.thi.n the USSR), in 192x( ?
Pern tfrost i.s widely distributed throughout the world. The
area which It covers totals about 20 to 2 percent of all dry land.
In the northern hemisphere permafrost is d.istri.buted uninterrup?-
tedly within the arctic Circle, and extends far to the south from
the Circle toward the areas of the continents o? Asia North
America (see map). In the southern hemisphere perx>kifrost com?
pletely dominates the continent of Antarctica and the islands near
the southern tip of South America. Separate regions of permafrost
are located in mountainous regions of the medium latitudes of the
northern and southern hemispheres, with the exception of Australia.
Knowledge of permafrost is not sufficient. The limits of its
distribution must be established more precisely. The regions of
the distribution and the temperature zones of permafrost in the
territory of the USSR are shown on M.I. Sumgin~s map (see map).
The thickness of the permafrost layer differs in various
regions. Proceeding from the southern edge of its distribution
toward the north one observes a regular increase of permafrost.
In a number of places in the northern regions he permafrost layer
isseveral hundred meters thick; procec'.c1ing toward the south the
layer of frozen earth grows steadily smaller, and finally dissap~
pears.
The temperature conditions of the permafrost layer is to a
3
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great extent dependent in each region on the climatic conditions
of the present day as well as of the past. A close relationship
is observed betwi en the temperature conditions of the active layer
and those of the upper part of the permafrost layr which lies
underneath: through the active layer the heat energy of the sun
penetrates to the permafrost soil layer, and through it also heat
energy escapes into the atmosphere. In addition to the climate,
other factors such as topography, vegetation, snow cover, and human
activity have a great influence on temperature conditions. The
differences in the thermal conditions of the various zones in the
layer of frozen earth correspond to the diversity of local geo?'
graphic conditions.
Hydrological conditions are very peculiar in the region of
the distribution of permafrost The distinguishing feature of this
area is the presence of underground fossil ice, which is sometimes
very thick. When it melts this underground ice adds to the supply
of ground water, and fills up lakes, w.ich are often formed in
places where ice has melted. Ground water associated with perma-
frost is ususally divided into three classesa super-permafrost
(nadnir,l~y ), inter-permafrost ( mezhmerzlotnyye), and
sub-permafrost (poclmerzlotnyye) (qv.).
A peculiar phenomenon associated with seasonal freezing of
the surface of the earth is the formation of ice-fields (naledi, q.
v.)1 There are three types of these ice fields. surface (see cut),
river, and underground.
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Gigantic Ice Fa.eld in the Valley of the Tas'-Khayakhtakh Mountain
Range
Characteristic also are hilly formations whose interior consists of
ice and icy earth, and which have been named hyd.rolacco L Lths
( dro1oakkoiit , q.v.),"bulgunnyakha.", etc. Another widespread
Thenomenon in permafrost regions is solifluction, i.e., the
flowing of over-moist porous earth; the flowing is complicated by
the processes of freezing. A specific formation in this region is
the thermokarst (termokarst, q.v.), the appearance of which is
the surface of the earth.
associated with sagging in the surface of the topography, the
basic cause of which, in the absence of the usual karst (q.v.), is
a thermic factor, specifically the thawing of the ice from the layer
of frozen earth., resulting in the falling of certain sections of
rfhe problem of the causes, conditions, and time of formation of permafrost is of great interest. The process of cooling
of the earth's crust proceeds when in the course of a year it loses
more heat than it receives, and when winter freezing is greater
than stammer thawing. '1he details of this process are still un?
clear in many respects. It is possible to assume that permafrost
in some cases is of ancient origin, and that in others it is of
contemporary or recent origin. The assertion that permafrost is
of ancient origin conforms to a number of facts, such as the pre-
servation of the undecontposed bodies of mammoths and other ex-
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tirlct animals, the thick strata of fossil ice deposited in the
earth's crust along th the formation of ancient glaciers, etc.
Arguments for the contemporary origin of permafrost are such facts
as the recent formation of frozen earth in newly formed islands
and river deposits, the discovery in. permafrost earth of objects
resulting from human habitation, and the preservation of un
decomposed bodies of hiunans and horses, such as were found in
Scythian graves in Altay, and whose interment dates from about
2,000 years ago. Depending on changes in the heat balance on the
surface of the earth, changes are also produced in the heat con-
ditions of the layers of permafrost earth, with variations some-
ts.rnes toward colder conditions, and sometimes toward warmer.
The influence of human ac t?vity on conditions in the perma-
frost layers is said to be great. Deforestation, removing the
undergrowth and moss cover from a region, and burning and fires
disturb the temperature conditions of permafrost. Inhabitation
of a locality also has its influence. This influence may be quite
varied depending on the density of construction, changes ir> the
conditions of snow cover, etc. The conditions of the permafrost
may be distr3l3bed by various types of constructions which give off
considerable quantities of heat. The disturbance of these cc n~
ditions is especially great if the proper measures are not taken to
remove the heat from the surface of the frozen earth. On the other
hand the employment of existing cold and the adoption of a number
of measures for improvement can make . por; sihle local control of perma-
frost, so that, if necessary, a 'hickeriing or, on the other hand,
a local reduction of the permafrost layer is possible, permafrost
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o?'teri creates great difficulties for the constaruction and use of
ertga.neering installations, for agriculture, and other objects of
socialist construction, (See Merz1ot1ovedene^, Frost Control).
Map on page 601: Distribution of Permafrost in the Northerri
HemisphereI
Map on page 60~ : Permafrost Regions in the USSR,
Legend. Regions and Ground Temperature, Generally at
10 - 15 Meters depth.
Below minus degrees Centigrade (uninterrupted perma-
From Minus to minus 1?5 degrees Centigrade (perma-
frost with Tali.ks).
Above minus L degrees Centigrade (with a preponderance
of taliks )
Around 0 degrees Centigrade (permafrost in patches).
Borders of permafrost regions and patches.
State frontiers of the USSR.
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Obshcheye mew tovedenn (General Frost, Control),
Sumgin, M. I., and Demchinskiy, B., Oblast! vechnoy mere
2:9i (The Permafrost Region), .ieningrad-Moscow, 19)40,
Sumgi.n, M. I, Vechavaya merzlo to pochv v aredelakh SSSR
(Soil Permafrost within the USSR), Second edition, Moscow_Ueniriu-
Tsytovich, N. A., and. Sumgin, N. I,, Osnovani ya rrtekhaniki
merzl. ykh runtov (Principles of the Mechanics of Frozen Earth),
I'olstikhin, N. I. , P'odzemnyye vody rner zlovzon 1itosfe~
(Underground AIater of the Frozen Portion of the Lithosphere),
Obruchev, V A,, ttUspekhi merzlotovedeniya v SSSRU (Successes
.
of Frost Control in the uSSR), in the book Yubileyn; sbornij
posvyashchennyy 3O-1etiyu Vela oy Oktyabr t sko l V_otsialistichesko~r
r .w ~ al ~utsi . (Jubilee Sympcsii r Dedicated. to the Thirtieth Anni-
versary of the Great October Socialist Revolution), part 2,
Moscow-Leningrad, 19L.7, (Academy of Sciences, USSR).
Ibid, "K 1OO-1e yu pervoy akademicheskoy ekspeda.tsii po
izu.cheniyu vecnnoy mei u oty1' (On the Hundredth. Anniversary of the
First Academic Expedition to Study Permafrost-. , zvestiya Vseso-
vsnraf, ob-va, Bulletin of the A11-Union Geographical
Society), 19Lj.6, Vol 78, nos 5 - 8.
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Yanovskaya V. K., "Vechnaya merz1ota" (Permafrost), in the
book Set' skokhoz a.' stvennaaentsa o aed a,, (Agra.culturai Fncyc'-
~---_~
loped.ia ), Vol 1, Moscow_beningrad, 1937
1Uiddendorf', A. F?, sh stvi e na sever a. vo!tok: Sabaz;a
in the North and Fast of Siberia), Part 1, SF13, 1860.
(bra vel s
L f fin 'well, E ? , ~he Cannin l~a.ver l~e~lion Northern A1,
e
)as United States Geological Survey, Professional
b~~an~~ton , 1c ~19 (
Paper No 109).
Taber, St., "Perennially Frozen Ground. in Alaska: Its
Origin and Historyt', Bulletin oft oiogica1 Society off' Amer ,
New York, 1913, Vol No 10.
E N D
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