ABSTRACT
Thermal erosion or thermo-erosion refers to the erosion of ice-rich permafrost by the combined thermal and mechanical action of moving water. Thermokarst features occupy up to 40" of the landscape in Siberia, most of which was unglaciated. In Antarctica, thermokarst features are essentially confined to the relatively temperate maritime climate of the South Shetlands. Elsewhere in Antarctica, the climate is too cold and dry, and this also limits the development of thermokarst features in South America. The main natural causes of thermokarst development include changes in mean annual air temperature, mean annual precipitation, local hydrology, changes in vegetation, erosion, and lightning strikes resulting in fire. The stability of cavities depends on their size, shape, overburden thickness, and strength of the surrounding sediments. Thermokarst landforms can be subdivided into a series of different types, each produced by the thawing of the ice in different permafrost landforms.
