Submarine Permafrost in the Laptev Sea

摘要

There are currently many research studies on the Laptev Sea shelf permafrost distribution and permafrost thickness models. This article presents the results of field research of submarine permafrost in the Khatanga Bay area of the Laptev Sea shelf. The field work was performed in the area of the fast land ice in the Nordvik Bay by a team of experts from Moscow State University, Far Eastern Federal University, and the Arctic Research Centre, and incorporated geocryological drilling, geophysical surveying, and laboratory testing of thawed and frozen monolith rocks. The research was achieved through a combination of activities, such as the drilling of 13 core wells up to a depth of 50 m from the fast land ice of the Nordvik Bay, defining the thermal characteristics of over 300 monoliths from the Khatanga Bay shelf and the electromagnetic sounding of over 1000 holes from the ice of the Nordvik Bay. Our laboratory testing allowed identification of the permafrost roof in the Nordvik Bay and traced the permafrost foundering to a depth of 200 m, as well as an assessment of the distribution of permafrost to a depth of 500 m and modeling of the permafrost thickness dynamics for the next 50 years.