The role of neotectonics and glaciation on terrace formation along the Nysa K odzka River in the Sudeten Mountains (southwestern Poland)

The Nysa K odzka river drainage basin in the Sudeten Mts., SW Poland, preserves a complex late Cainozoic succession that includes eight fluvial series or terraces and deposits from two glacial episodes as well as local volcanic rocks, slope deposits and loess. Fluvial sedimentation took place during the Late Pliocene and from the early Middle Pleistocene (Cromerian), with a long erosion phase (gap) during the Early Pleistocene. Fluvial series are dated to the Late Pliocene, Cromerian, Holsteinian, late Saalian/Eemian, Weichselian, and the Holocene. Glacial deposits represent the early Elsterian and early Saalian stages. Almost all these stratigraphic units have been observed in all geomorphic zones of the river: the mountainous K odzko Basin, the Bardo Mts. (Bardo gorge) and in the mountain foreland. The main phase of tectonic uplift and strong erosion was during the Early Pleistocene. Minor uplift is documented also during the post-early Saalian and probably the post-Elsterian. The post-early Saalian and post-Elstrian uplift phases are probably due to glacio-isostatic rebound. The Quaternary terrace sequence was formed due to base-level changes, epigenetic erosion after glaciations and neotectonic movements. The Cromerian fluvial deposits/terraces do not indicate tectonic influence at all. All other Quaternary terraces indicate clear divergence, and the post-early Saalian terraces also show fault scarps. The fluvial pattern remained stable, once formed during the Pliocene, with only minor changes along the uplifted block along the Bardo gorge, inferring an antecedent origin for the Bardo gorge. Only during the post-glacial times, have epigenetic incisions slightly modified the valley.     

RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS OF CONTEMPORARY PERMAFROST ENVIRONMENTS IN CENTRAL ICELAND USING GEOELECTRICAL METHODS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PERMAFROST DEGRADATION AND SEDIMENT FLUXES

Four different sites in the highlands of central Iceland have been investigated for permafrost occurrence using two‐dimensional resistivity imaging. The results of the surveys indicate the presence of shallow permafrost of low to medium resistivity. The distribution pattern is spatially heterogeneous which is consistent with permafrost at the fringe of seasonal frost. These sites are likely to react rapidly to changes of the environmental boundary conditions, therefore future research should include monitoring for detecting the early impact of climate change on permafrost degradation. The extent to which periglacial morphodynamics and sediment fluxes are influenced by permafrost and/or seasonal frost and potential permafrost degradation is hard to determine. Hence, long‐term monitoring approaches for both permafrost and sediment dynamics are essential.     

Possible controlling factors in the development of seasonal sand wedges on the Ordos Plateau,North China

Wedge-like structures filled with silty sand penetrate Quaternary fluvial and aeolian sediments and, in places, Tertiary bedrock on the Ordos Plateau, North China. The wedges reflect thermal contraction cracking of either permafrost or seasonal frost during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Wedges of about 1 m in depth form polygonal nets of 2-3 m in diameter(type B). They contrast with wedges of 3-4 m in depth that form polygons of 10-15 m in diameter(type A).This review focuses upon the highly variable size of the inferred polygon nets and discusses the problem of differentiating between seasonally and perennially frozen ground, or between seasonal frost and permafrost.     

Channel network morphology and sediment dynamics under alternating periglacial and temperate regimes: a numerical simulation study

The occurrence of permafrost in a highly permeable catchment has a profound effect on runoff generation. The presence of permafrost effectively makes the subsoil impermeable. Therefore, overland flow can be the dominant runoff-generating process during periglacial conditions. The absence of permafrost will promote subsurface drainage and, therefore, saturation excess overland flow can become the dominant runoff-generating process during temperate conditions. In this paper, we present a numerical modelling study in which the effect of alternating climate-related phases of permafrost and nonpermafrost on catchment hydrology and geomorphology is investigated. Special attention is given to the characteristics of the channel network being formed, and the sediment yield from these catchments. We find that channel networks expand under permafrost conditions and contract under nonpermafrost conditions. A change from permafrost to nonpermafrost conditions is characterised by a decrease in sediment yield, while a change towards permafrost conditions is marked by a peak in sediment yield. This peak is explained by the build-up of a reservoir of erodible sediment during the nonpermafrost phase. The driving force behind this reservoir build-up may be local base-level change due to tectonic uplift or eustacy. We present a number of experiments, which show the details of this process. The results are in line with existing reconstructions of climate and fluvial dynamics during the Pleistocene in Europe and offer a new explanation to these observations.     

青藏公路纳赤台地区融冻褶皱及其古气候意义

昆仑河及其主要支流的Ⅳ—Ⅰ级阶地发育着融冻褶皱,其形成时代为两期:晚更新世末期(距今20725—14041年),全新世中期(距今约3000年)。它际志着本区在晚更新世末期为连续多年冻土区,年平均气候较今低5—6℃;在全新世新冰期时为岛状多年冻土区,年平均气温较今低2.5—3.0℃。     

Historical Overview of Permafrost Studies in China

Although soil freeze/thaw phenomena were reported centuries ago in the historical Chinese literature, systematic study of permafrost in China started in the 1950s. Permafrost research in China has been related to the exploration for and economic development of natural resources. Intensive investigations for several decades culminated in 2000 in the publication of a detailed map of geocryological regionalization and classification. From this map, it is estimated that permafrost covers approximately 23% of the country. About 80% of China's permafrost is mountain permafrost. China contains about 74.5% of the mountain permafrost area of the northern hemisphere. Since the early 1960s, researchers in China have conducted numerous field campaigns to determine permafrost and ground-ice distribution. A comprehensive ground-based and long-term monitoring network has been established on the Tibetan Plateau and in northeastern China. The State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering (SKLFSE) was established in 1991 and is open to national and international engineers and scientists to conduct related studies and experiments. Numerous field and laboratory experiments, as well as numerical modeling, have been conducted to meet the requirements for industrial design, construction, and operation in permafrost regions. Rescuing, archiving, and distributing historical permafrost data would greatly aid the ability of scientists to assess long-term changes in permafrost and its potential influence on the natural and engineered environment. Chinese geocryologists and engineers are facing new challenges with the construction and future operation of the Qinghai-Xizang railroad that will cross 550 km of permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau.     

Periglacial landscape evolution and environmental changes of Arctic lowland areas for the last 60 000 years (western Laptev Sea coast, Cape Mamontov Klyk)

Non-glaciated Arctic lowlands in north-east Siberia were subjected to extensive landscape and environmental changes during the Late Quaternary. Coastal cliffs along the Arctic shelf seas expose terrestrial archives containing numerous palaeoenvironmental indicators (e.g., pollen, plant macro-fossils and mammal fossils) preserved in the permafrost. The presented sedimentological (grain size, magnetic susceptibility and biogeochemical parameters), cryolithological, geochronological (radiocarbon, accelerator mass spectrometry and infrared-stimulated luminescence), heavy mineral and palaeoecological records from Cape Mamontov Klyk record the environmental dynamics of an Arctic shelf lowland east of the Taymyr Peninsula, and thus, near the eastern edge of the Eurasian ice sheet, over the last 60 Ky. This region is also considered to be the westernmost part of Beringia, the non-glaciated landmass that lay between the Eurasian and the Laurentian ice caps during the Late Pleistocene. Several units and subunits of sand deposits, peat–sand alternations, ice-rich palaeocryosol sequences (Ice Complex) and peaty fillings of thermokarst depressions and valleys were presented. The recorded proxy data sets reflect cold stadial climate conditions between 60 and 50 Kya, moderate inderstadial conditions between 50 and 25 Kya and cold stadial conditions from 25 to 15 Kya. The Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition, including the Allerød warm period, the early to middle Holocene thermal optimum and the late Holocene cooling, are also recorded. Three phases of landscape dynamic (fluvial/alluvial, irregular slope run-off and thermokarst) were presented in a schematic model, and were subsequently correlated with the supraregional environmental history between the Early Weichselian and the Holocene.     

伶仃洋ZK19孔晚第四纪沉积地球化学特征 及其古环境意义

依据对珠江口伶仃洋海域ZK19孔岩芯材料的沉积学、年代学和沉积地球化学研究,探讨了该海域古环境演变特征。该孔以末次盛冰期风化层为界,存在2个沉积旋回和2次海侵事件。微量元素质量分数、主量元素（Al2O3/Na2O值、MgO/Al2O3值、Sr/Ba值及V/Cr值等）,化学蚀变指数（CIA）和化学风化指数（CIW）的变化特征,反映了MIS4晚期至MIS3初期,该地由陆相向滨海相过渡,气候从偏冷逐渐升温,海平面逐渐上升,但速度较慢;MIS3该地为河口湾相,气候进一步转暖,海平面以较大幅度上升;MIS2阶段（末次盛冰期）海平面大幅下降,气候变冷;MIS1的8―12 cal. ka B.P.气候逐渐转暖,海平面快速上升,为河流相―滨海潮滩相―河口湾浅滩相―河口湾相;中全新世大暖期,受水下滩槽地貌侧向迁移影响,该孔地层遭剥蚀;晚全新世3 cal. ka B.P.以来,气候整体相对稳定,较早全新世温暖,沉积环境依次为河口湾相―三角洲前缘斜坡相―三角洲前缘浅滩相。     

Pliocene to Holocene geomorphic evolution and paleogeography of the El’gygytgyn Lake region,NE Russia

Geomorphic, lithologhic, and stratigraphic field studies as well as pollen data and mineralogical study have been used to propose Pliocene and Pleistocene paleogeographic reconstructions of the El’gygytgyn meteorite crater area. The moment of impact is recorded above the early Pliocene hill denudation plain as a “chaotic horizon” consisting of fragments of impactite rocks. This chaotic horizon lies between layers of late Pliocene alluvial sediments. During the second half of the late Pliocene, the region was tectonically active, when the Anadyr lowland was uplifted causing alluvial sediments to accumulate in the basins to the south of the crater. Regional climatic cooling, which supported the spread of tundra and the formation of permafrost is characteristically to late Pliocene. The 35–40 m high terrace that roughly follows the 530 m contour interval along the Enmyvaam River formed during the middle Pleistocene. This terrace represents the maximum lake level. Erosion and incision of the upper Enmyvaam River increased due to another wave of uplift. Additionally, El’gygytgyn Lake discharge increased causing lake level to begin to drop in the Middle Pleistocene. Cooling continued, which led to the development of herb-dominated arctic tundra. middle and late Pleistocene glaciations did not reach the El’gygytgyn lake region. The 9–11 m high lacustrine terrace was formed around the lake during the late Pleistocene and the 2–3 m high lacustrine terrace formed later during the Holocene. During the last 5000 years, the lake level has continued to drop as the modern coastline developed. This is the third in a series of eleven papers published in this special issue dedicated to initial studies of El’gygytgyn Crater Lake and its catchment in NE Russia. Julie Brigham-Grette, Martin Melles, Pavel Minyuk were guest editors of this special issue.     

基于MODIS温度的青藏高原多年冻土活动层厚度变化研究

基于MODIS温度数据,采用TTOP模型和Stefan公式模拟了青藏高原地区的冻土分布并计算了活动层厚度,并与地面观测结果进行了对比。结果表明：2003—2019年青藏高原多年冻土面积为1.01×10⁶ km²;多年冻土活动层厚度区域平均值为1.79 m, 活动层厚度区域平均的变化率为3.67 cm/10a,且草甸地区的变化率明显大于草原地区,5100~5300 m高程带的活动层厚度变化速率最大。     

Characteristics of earth hummocks (pounus) with and without permafrost in Finnish Lapland

Finnish Lapland north of 68°30'N latitude is located in the zone of discontinuous permafrost. Two main types of permafrost have previously been found in northern Finland: palsas in the mires and frost in the bedrock on the barren fell summits. The aim of this study was (1) to investigate permafrost occurrence in the peaty earth hummocks (pounus) in several mires, and (2) model characteristics of pounus with and without permafrost.
This study showed that permafrost in Finnish Lapland occurs much more widely and commonly than was previously known. A total of 59% of the studied pounus were found to contain permafrost. Over 90% of the permafrost occurrence in the pounus was correctly classified in logistic regression modelling. The probability of permafrost in a pounu decreased with the height of vegetation, and increased with the pounu height and distance from the running stream. There were clear vegetation differences between pounus with and without permafrost. Unfrozen pounus are characterized by forest and mire species, whereas on the permanently frozen pounus the vegetation is patchier with species indicating drier conditions. Pounus provide an excellent object to study short–term and local variations in permafrost formation due to their small size. They react quickly to variation in temperature, snow depth and precipitation. We conclude that pounus can be classified as sporadic permafrost features in northernmost Europe under modern climatic conditions.     

Assessment of geomorphic hazards in connection with permafrost occurrence in the Zugspitze area (Bavarian Alps, Germany)

In the Zugspitze area (Bavarian Alps, Germany), permafrost conditions are present in limestone bedrock and in regolith. Distribution is strongly dependent on topography in the east–west oriented mountain crest with steep north- and south-facing slopes. Numerous structures mainly for tourist purposes (cable car and recreation buildings, ski-lift masts, rack-railway tunnel, tunnel with supply facilities) are situated in the area, and several of them are placed on ground with permafrost. Results from a temperature measurement programme and distribution modelling show that for some of these constructions, the effects of permafrost degradation have to be considered in terms of stability of the foundations.The permafrost limit is close to the summit crest, and therefore, stability evaluations for the constructions in this area have to bear in mind the possible warming or even melting of ice within the bedrock crevasses caused by climate warming. Stability of the foundations as well as stability of rock walls in this area will probably be affected by a shifting of the permafrost limit. Constructions in the Zugspitzplatt area are already affected by the melting ground ice, and stabilizing measures have to be evaluated for several foundations where subsidence is likely to occur.Besides the local results, the study provides for the first time data on permafrost distribution in the northern Alpine margin based on standard methods of BTS measurements and numerical modelling.     

Long-term fluvial archives in NW France: response of the Seine and Somme rivers to tectonic movements, climatic variations and sea-level changes

The Seine and the Somme are the two main rivers flowing from northwestern France into the Channel. During the Pleistocene cold stages both rivers were tributaries of the River Manche which was exporting sediments into the central deeps of the Channel. The River Seine has a very well developed terrace system recording incision that began at around 1 Ma. The same age is proposed for the beginning of the main incision in the Somme Valley on the basis of morphostratigraphy, pedostratigraphy, palaeontology, palaeomagnetism and ESR datings. The uplift rate deduced from analysis of the Seine and Somme terrace systems is of 55 to 60 m/Ma since the end of the Lower Pleistocene. The response of the two rivers to climatic variations, uplift and sea-level changes is complex and variable in the different parts of the river courses. For example, the evolution of the lower Seine system is influenced by uplift and climate changes but dominated by sea-level changes. In the middle Seine the system is beyond the impact of sea-level variations and shows a very detailed response to climatic variations during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene in a context of uplift. The Somme Valley response appears to be more homogeneous, especially in the middle valley, where the terrace system shows a regular pattern in which incision occurs at the beginning of each glacial period against a general background of uplift. Nevertheless, the lower Somme Valley and the Palaeo-Somme in the Channel area indicate some strong differences compared with the middle valley: influence of sea-level variations and probably differences in rates of tectonic uplift between the Channel and the present continent. The differences in the responses of the two river valleys during the Pleistocene are related to differences in the size of the fluvial basins, to the local tectonic characteristics, to the geometry of the platform connected to the lower parts of the valleys and to the hydrodynamic characteristics of each river. Finally, it is shown from these examples that the multidisciplinary study of Pleistocene rivers is a very efficient tool for the investigation of neotectonic activity.     

昆仑山北坡晚新生代含植物化石石灰华的孢粉组合及其古环境

本文根据孢粉分析,推测古石灰华沉积时期的植被,是以蒿、藜为主的山地草原,散布有柳、栎、榆、桦等组成的落叶阔叶林块;古气候比现今温暖湿润,年平均气温约10—13℃,属暖温带半干旱气候,当时的海拔高度约1500—2000m。     

Freshwater Ostracodes in Quaternary Permafrost Deposits in the Siberian Arctic

Ostracode analysis was carried out on samples from ice-rich permafrost deposits obtained on the Bykovsky Peninsula (Laptev Sea). A composite profile was investigated that covers most of a 38-m thick permafrost sequence and corresponds to the last ca. 60 kyr of the Late Quaternary. The ostracode assemblages are similar to those known from European Quaternary lake deposits during cold stages. The ostracode habitats were small, shallow, cold, oligotrophic pools located in low centred ice wedge polygons or in small thermokarst depressions. In total, 15 taxa, representing 7 genera, were identified from 65 samples. The studied section is subdivided into six ostracode zones that correspond to Late Quaternary climatic and environmental stadial-interstadial variations established by other paleoenvironmental proxies: (1) cold and dry Zyrianian stadial (58–53 kyr BP); (2) warm and dry Karginian interstadial (48–34 kyr BP); (3) transition from the Karginian interstadial to the cold and dry Sartanian stadial (34–21 kyr BP); (4) transition from the Sartanian stadial to the warm and dry Late Pleistocene period, the Allerød (21–14 kyr BP); (5) transition from the Allerød to the warm and wet Middle Holocene (14–7 kyr BP); and (6) cool and wet Late Holocene (ca. 3 kyr BP). The abundance and diversity of the ostracodes will be used as an additional bioindicator for paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the Siberian Arctic.     

Spatial coupling relationships of gas hydrate formation in the Tibetan Plateau

At present, gas hydrates are known to occur in continental high latitude permafrost regions and deep sea sediments. For middle latitude permafrost regions of the Tibetan Plateau, further research is required to ascertain its potential development of gas hydrates. This paper reviewed pertinent literature on gas hydrates in the Tibetan Plateau. Both geological and ge- ographical data are synthesized to reveal the relationship between gas hydrate formation and petroleum geological evo- lution, Plateau uplift, formation of permafrost, and glacial processes. Previous studies indicate that numerous residual basins in the Plateau have been formed by original sedimentary basins accompanied by rapid uplift of the Plateau. Ex- tensive marine Mesozoic hydrocarbon source rocks in these basins could provide rich sources of materials forming gas hydrates in permafrost. Primary hydrocarbon-generating period in the Plateau is from late Jurassic to early Cretaceous, while secondary hydrocarbon generation, regionally or locally, occurs mainly in the Paleogene. Before rapid uplift of the Plateau, oil-gas reservoirs were continuously destroyed and assembled to form new reservoirs due to structural and thermal dynamics, forcing hydrocarbon migration. Since 3.4 Ma B.P., the Plateau has undergone strong uplift and extensive gla- ciation, periglacier processes prevailed, hydrocarbon gas again migrated, and free gas beneath ice sheets within sedi- mentary materials interacted with water, generating gas hydrates which were finally preserved under a cap formed by frozen layers through rapid cooling in the Plateau. Taken as a whole, it can be safely concluded that there is great temporal and spatial coupling relationships between evolution of the Tibetan Plateau and generation of gas hydrates.     

Characteristics and changes of permafrost along the engineering corridor of National Highway 214 in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Due to a series of linear projects built along National Highway 214, the second "Permafrost Engineering Corridor" on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has formed. In this paper, by overcoming the problems of data decentralization and standard inconsistency, permafrost characteristics and changes along the engineering corridor are systematically summarized based on the survey and monitoring data. The results show that: 1) Being controlled by elevation, the permafrost is distributed in flake discontinuity with mountains as the center along the line. The total length of the road section in permafrost regions is 365 km, of which the total length of the permafrost section of National Highway 214 is 216.7 km, and the total length of the permafrost section of Gong-Yu Expressway is 197.3 km. The mean annual ground temperature (MAGT) is higher than -1.5 °C, and permafrost with MAGT lower than -1.5 °C is only distributed in the sections at Bayan Har Mountain and E'la Mountain. There are obvious differences in the distribution of ground ice in the different sections along the engineering corridor. The sections with high ice content are mainly located in Zuimatan, Duogerong Plain and the top of north and south slope of Bayan Har Mountain. The permafrost thickness is controlled by the ground temperature, and permafrost thickness increases with the decrease of the ground temperature, with the change rate of about 37 m/°C. 2) Local factors (topography, landform, vegetation and lithology) affect the degradation process of permafrost, and then affect the distribution, ground temperature, thickness and ice content of permafrost. Asphalt pavement has greatly changed the heat exchange balance of the original ground, resulting in serious degradation of the permafrost. Due to the influence of roadbed direction trend, the phenomenon of shady-sunny slope is very significant in most sections along the line. The warming range of permafrost under the roadbed is gradually smaller with the increase of depth, so the thawing settlement of the shallow section with high ice-content permafrost is more significant.     

The natural-climatic events on the coast of Middle Baikal in the Early Holocene

Presented are the results from pedolithological investigations and reconstructions of the naturalclimatic events in the Early Holocene (radiocarbon age 10.3?8 ka; calendar age 11.7?8.8 ka) on the coast of Middle Baikal, based on data obtained by studying the structure, composition and properties of subaerial deposits and soils in terrestrial sections. A study was made of the numerous soil profiles and sections of geoarchaeological sites. The investigation revealed common features in the layered structure of the Early-Holocene portion of the terrestrial sections and evidence of climate warming represented by buried soils, signals of a cooling in the form of cryogenic fissures, and signals of drying in the form of aeolian drifts and evidence of deflation. It is shown that the Early Holocene was the time of cardinal changes in the nature of subaerial sedimentation (calcareous deposits were replaced by noncalcareous deposits) and the pedogenesis. Considerable cold storage from inherited permafrost and humidification of soils and earth materials with moisture from the thawing of permafrost were responsible for the specific character of soil formation, and for the spread of forest vegetation under a rather low atmospheric humidity. The phases of climate warming were accompanied by an intensification of soil formation with the production of soils of two types: early boreal, and boreal. Deluvial, colluvial and sometimes (in Priol’khonie) aeolian deposits accumulated during the cooling phases (Late Preboreal and Late Boreal). Small cryogenic fissures were generated. The issues of man’s adaptation to the cardinally changed natural conditions at the turn of the Pleistocene and Holocene and over the course of the Early Holocene are associated with the problem of Baikal’s water level and human settlement on its shores. The Lake Baikal stage at the end of the Late Neopleistocene was lower than at present; during the Early Holocene it was rising to reach at the late-boreal period the present-day level (or even exceeded it). The rises of Baikal’s stage at the Mid- and Late-Holocene period were causing scouring and destruction of the Early-Holocene sites that were located at lower elevations.     

Permafrost in Svalbard: a review of research history, climatic background and engineering challenges

This paper reviews permafrost in High Arctic Svalbard, including past and current research, climatic background, how permafrost is affected by climatic change, typical permafrost landforms and how changes in Svalbard permafrost may impact natural and human systems. Information on active layer dynamics, permafrost and ground ice characteristics and selected periglacial features is summarized from the recent literature and from unpublished data by the authors. Permafrost thickness ranges from less than 100 m near the coasts to more than 500 m in the highlands. Ground ice is present as rock glaciers, as ice-cored moraines, buried glacial ice, and in pingos and ice wedges in major valleys. Engineering problems of thaw-settlement and frost-heave are described, and the implications for road design and construction in Svalbard permafrost areas are discussed.     

近30年来青藏高原西大滩多年冻土变化

结合1975年已有勘探资料,对青藏高原多年冻土北界西大滩进行了雷达勘探。勘探发现,近30年来青藏高原多年冻土北界发生较大规模的多年冻土退化,多年冻土面积从1975年的160.5 km²退化成现在的141.0 km²,缩小约12%;开始出现多年冻土的最低高程为4 385 m,比1975年升高了25 m。近30年来研究区的气候变化是造成北界多年冻土退化的主要原因。相同气候背景下,多年冻土腹部地温有升高,但在30年尺度上不会发生明显的退化。本次冻土区域调查的结果可为检验冻土－气候关系模型的可靠与否提供依据。