The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada
Rifle-like sounds produced by ice-wedge cracking, although seldom heard, have been reported in the permafrost literature for a century. The sounds, similar to those produced by the rapid cracking of lake ice, indicate a high speed of crack propagation. The speed of ice-wedge crack propagation has be...
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Canadian Science Publishing
1993
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/e93-040 2024-10-13T14:05:01+00:00 The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada Mackay, J. Ross 1993 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e93-040 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e93-040 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 30, issue 3, page 509-518 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 journal-article 1993 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/e93-040 2024-09-27T04:07:25Z Rifle-like sounds produced by ice-wedge cracking, although seldom heard, have been reported in the permafrost literature for a century. The sounds, similar to those produced by the rapid cracking of lake ice, indicate a high speed of crack propagation. The speed of ice-wedge crack propagation has been measured at two field sites for the 1966-1989 period. No evidence of rapid crack propagation has been detected at these sites. The fracture patterns of ribs, as seen on vertical crack faces, and the numerous short interacting cracks, as seen in plan view, suggest slow rates of cracking. Enquiries made of many northern residents indicate that rifle-like sounds are uncommon along the mainland coast from the Alaska–Yukon boundary eastward to Coppermine, N.W.T. but are heard more frequently in the Arctic islands. High speeds of crack propagation appear associated with sharp drops in temperature, windblown sites, and long, straight ice wedges. As a preliminary estimate, crack propagation rates exceeding about 200 m/s are necessary to produce rifle-like sounds and accompanying ground tremors. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice permafrost wedge* Alaska Yukon Canadian Science Publishing Arctic Canada Yukon Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 30 3 509 518 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Rifle-like sounds produced by ice-wedge cracking, although seldom heard, have been reported in the permafrost literature for a century. The sounds, similar to those produced by the rapid cracking of lake ice, indicate a high speed of crack propagation. The speed of ice-wedge crack propagation has been measured at two field sites for the 1966-1989 period. No evidence of rapid crack propagation has been detected at these sites. The fracture patterns of ribs, as seen on vertical crack faces, and the numerous short interacting cracks, as seen in plan view, suggest slow rates of cracking. Enquiries made of many northern residents indicate that rifle-like sounds are uncommon along the mainland coast from the Alaska–Yukon boundary eastward to Coppermine, N.W.T. but are heard more frequently in the Arctic islands. High speeds of crack propagation appear associated with sharp drops in temperature, windblown sites, and long, straight ice wedges. As a preliminary estimate, crack propagation rates exceeding about 200 m/s are necessary to produce rifle-like sounds and accompanying ground tremors. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mackay, J. Ross |
spellingShingle |
Mackay, J. Ross The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada |
author_facet |
Mackay, J. Ross |
author_sort |
Mackay, J. Ross |
title |
The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada |
title_short |
The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada |
title_full |
The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada |
title_fullStr |
The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
The sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, Arctic Canada |
title_sort |
sound and speed of ice-wedge cracking, arctic canada |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1993 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e93-040 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e93-040 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Yukon |
genre |
Arctic Ice permafrost wedge* Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice permafrost wedge* Alaska Yukon |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 30, issue 3, page 509-518 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/e93-040 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
container_volume |
30 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
509 |
op_container_end_page |
518 |
_version_ |
1812810884508024832 |