Permafrost distribution and temperature in the Elkon Horst, Russia

• 作者: Mikhail Zhelezniak QingBai Wu Anatolii Kirillin Zhi Wen Aleksandr Zhirkov Vladimir Zhizhin
• 来源期刊: 寒旱区科学（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（2）
• 所属期刊栏目: Articles
• 页码范围: 107-122
• 页数: 16页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

The Elkon Horst is a geological structure that consists of heterogeneous strata with highly variable geocryological and temperature conditions. Gaining accurate knowledge of permafrost distribution patterns within this structure is of both sci-entific and practical importance. In mountainous terrain, the ground thermal regime is controlled by both surface and sub-surface conditions. Surface conditions include snow cover characteristics, the presence or absence of vegetation, vegeta-tion density, etc.. In contrast, subsurface conditions involve rock lithology or petrography, density, quantity and depth of fissures, groundwater, etc.. This article examines ground thermal regimes in various geomorphological settings based on temperature measurement data from geotechnical boreholes. The occurrence and extent of permafrost were evaluated for the entire horst area using direct and indirect methods. The maximum permafrost thickness measured in the Elkon Horst is 330 m, and the estimated maximum is 450 m at higher elevations. Thermophysical properties were determined for the ma-jor rock types, and the geothermal heat flux was estimated for the study area. The thermal conductivities were found to vary from 1.47 to 4.20 W/(m·K), and the dry bulk densities to range between 2,236 kg/m3 and 3,235 kg/m3. The average geothermal heat flux was estimated to be 44 mW/m2.