Permafrost and groundwater conditions, Huola river basin, northeast China

• Published in: Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
• Main Author: Wang, Baolai
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1990
• Subjects: Ice; permafrost; Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ppp.3430010106; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fppp.3430010106; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppp.3430010106

Abstract Permafrost and geohydrological investigations in a small basin in northeast China indicate that permafrost affects both the depth at which groundwater occurs and its artesian pressure. Artesian flow in the basin is common, and artesian head may be as much as 10 m above ground surface. The thickness of permafrost bears a close relationship to groundwater discharge (i.e. artesian flow rate), since a number of boreholes indicate that the greater the discharge, the thinner the permafrost. Over time the average rate of artesian flow from the boreholes decreases. The duration of flow depends on the rate of artesian flow, and permafrost temperature and thickness. Long‐term observations in areas where the permafrost is 70 m thick and has a mean annual ground temperature of −2.5°C indicate that if flow rate is larger than 0.8 l/s, flow continues for an indefinite period of time, but that if flow is less than 0.6 l/s, flow stops shortly. The difference in permafrost thickness, caused by the differential development of fractures and associated artesian head, may be as great as 50 m. Massive ground ice, with a thickness of more than 20 m, occurs in some boreholes at depth and is probably intrusive in nature.