Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada
The distribution and origin of offshore permafrost is discussed for the southern Beaufort Sea. Two types of permafrost are identified: permafrost which is in thermal equilibrium with negative sea bottom temperatures, and disequilibrium permafrost, which is not in equilibrium with either positive or...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
1972
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e72-137 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e72-137 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/e72-137 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/e72-137 2024-09-15T17:58:22+00:00 Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada Mackay, J. Ross 1972 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e72-137 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e72-137 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 9, issue 11, page 1550-1561 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 journal-article 1972 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/e72-137 2024-07-25T04:10:03Z The distribution and origin of offshore permafrost is discussed for the southern Beaufort Sea. Two types of permafrost are identified: permafrost which is in thermal equilibrium with negative sea bottom temperatures, and disequilibrium permafrost, which is not in equilibrium with either positive or negative sea bottom temperatures. The origin of permafrost is considered in terms of the Quaternary period when coastal areas were exposed to cold air temperatures and then submerged. The effect of warm river waters, primarily from the Mackenzie River, is shown to ameliorate coastal water temperatures and may be responsible for a thin active layer at some sites. Water quality and oxygen isotope ratios are given for some samples. The evidence suggests that some relic land permafrost, with ground ice, is present beneath the southern Beaufort Sea. Perforated permafrost should be present, but not extensive thermokarst depressions. By inference, permafrost probably underlies much of the Canadian Arctic waters, although ground ice is likely restricted to a relatively few shallow coastal zones. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beaufort Sea Ice Mackenzie river permafrost Thermokarst Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 9 11 1550 1561 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
The distribution and origin of offshore permafrost is discussed for the southern Beaufort Sea. Two types of permafrost are identified: permafrost which is in thermal equilibrium with negative sea bottom temperatures, and disequilibrium permafrost, which is not in equilibrium with either positive or negative sea bottom temperatures. The origin of permafrost is considered in terms of the Quaternary period when coastal areas were exposed to cold air temperatures and then submerged. The effect of warm river waters, primarily from the Mackenzie River, is shown to ameliorate coastal water temperatures and may be responsible for a thin active layer at some sites. Water quality and oxygen isotope ratios are given for some samples. The evidence suggests that some relic land permafrost, with ground ice, is present beneath the southern Beaufort Sea. Perforated permafrost should be present, but not extensive thermokarst depressions. By inference, permafrost probably underlies much of the Canadian Arctic waters, although ground ice is likely restricted to a relatively few shallow coastal zones. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mackay, J. Ross |
spellingShingle |
Mackay, J. Ross Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada |
author_facet |
Mackay, J. Ross |
author_sort |
Mackay, J. Ross |
title |
Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada |
title_short |
Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada |
title_full |
Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Offshore Permafrost and Ground Ice, Southern Beaufort Sea, Canada |
title_sort |
offshore permafrost and ground ice, southern beaufort sea, canada |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1972 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e72-137 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e72-137 |
genre |
Beaufort Sea Ice Mackenzie river permafrost Thermokarst |
genre_facet |
Beaufort Sea Ice Mackenzie river permafrost Thermokarst |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 9, issue 11, page 1550-1561 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/e72-137 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
1550 |
op_container_end_page |
1561 |
_version_ |
1810434752362053632 |