| Abstract: | Permafrost studies first developed as part of the science of geocryology in Russia in the early part of the 20th century. Periglacial geomorphology emerged in the 1950s as a branch of a European-dominated climatic geomorphology. Since then, periglacial geomorphology in North America has become increasingly concerned with permafrost-related process studies and is now viewed by some as a branch of geocryology. The recent development of North American cryostratigraphy allows inferences to be made regarding paleoenvironmental conditions while traditional Pleistocene-oriented periglacial geomorphology has been largely replaced by Quaternary science. The danger exists that North American periglacial geomorphology will cease to be a recognizable sub-branch of geomorphology. |
