What is retrogressive thaw slump?
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are spectacular lateral thermokarst features occurring in ice-rich permafrost regions. They develop along streams or coastlines and expand inland to form landslide-like U-shaped scars exceeding a kilometer size in selected locations.
What is a thaw slump?
Description. Thaw slumps occur in areas of ice-rich permafrost. Slumps develop on hillslopes and usually occur along the shorelines of lakes, rivers and coastlines. Thaw slumps are common permafrost mass-wasting features, and consist of a headwall made predominantly of ice and a muddy slump floor.
What are thermokarst thaw slumps?
Retrogressive thaw slumps constitute the most important type of thermokarst landform on sloping terrain. A retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) is a horseshoe-shaped landslide, with a steep headscarp (erosional face of the landslide), composed of unfrozen soil overlying ice-rich permafrost (See Figures 1 and 2).
What triggers retrogressive thaw slumps in the arctic coastal zone?
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) – landslides caused by the melt of ground ice in permafrost – have become more common in the Arctic, but the timing of this recent increase and its links to climate have not been fully established.
What are thaw lakes?
A thermokarst lake, also called a thaw lake, tundra lake, thaw depression, or tundra pond, refers to a body of freshwater, usually shallow, that is formed in a depression formed by thawing ice-rich permafrost.
What is a thermokarst depression?
A thermokarst lake, also called a thaw lake, tundra lake, thaw depression, or tundra pond, refers to a body of freshwater, usually shallow, that is formed in a depression formed by thawing ice-rich permafrost. The presence of thaw lakes in a region results in a thermal disturbance as the water warms the ground.
How does thermokarst happen?
thermokarst, land-surface configuration that results from the melting of ground ice in a region underlain by permafrost. In areas that have appreciable amounts of ice, small pits, valleys, and hummocks are formed when the ice melts and the ground settles unevenly.
What is a thaw relationship?
When you have an unpleasant relationship with someone, that can thaw too. A warm, friendly gesture from one person to another can be a sign that their cold relationship is thawing. When you think of thawing, think “Warming up.”
What does this mean thaw?
1a : to go from a frozen to a liquid state : melt. b : to become free of the effect (such as stiffness, numbness, or hardness) of cold as a result of exposure to warmth. 2 : to be warm enough to melt ice and snow —used with it in reference to the weather.
What does it mean when ice thaws?
verb. When ice, snow, or something else that is frozen thaws, it melts. It’s so cold the snow doesn’t get a chance to thaw. [ VERB]