Relationship of White Spruce to Lenses of Perennially Frozen Ground, Mount McKinley National Park, Alaska

Reports investigations of perennially frozen mounds beneath individual trees growing in silty clay on a terrace of the McKinley River. Climate, vegetation and parent material of the spruce stand are described. The mounds, 2-4 m in diam, contain a frozen lens-shaped core. The permafrost results from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ARCTIC
Main Author: Viereck, Leslie A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1965
Subjects:
Sarqaq culture
McKinley River
Arctic
permafrost
Sarqaq
Alaska
Online Access:https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/66527
Description
Summary:Reports investigations of perennially frozen mounds beneath individual trees growing in silty clay on a terrace of the McKinley River. Climate, vegetation and parent material of the spruce stand are described. The mounds, 2-4 m in diam, contain a frozen lens-shaped core. The permafrost results from lower temperatures under the trees due to less snow cover and a thicker moss layer. A proposed cycle of development and collapse of the tree mounds is outlined.

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