ABSTRACT
Periglacial environments are those characterised by non-glacial processes and features of cold climates on land affected by frost action, regardless of their proximity to glaciers (Washburn 1979; Pewe 1983). Most periglacial regions are underlain by perennially frozen ground or permafrost (Pewe 1983). Permafrost regions are usually defined as those areas of the ground in which a temperature below freezing has existed continually for a long time (from two years to tens of thousands of years) (Muller 1947). The growth of permafrost is dependent upon the radiative heat loss from the ground during winter being greater than the supply of heat to the ground surface during the summer months. Conversely, permafrost decay may occur when summer heating is greater than winter heat loss. At present, periglacial environments occur over 20 per cent of the Earth's land surface although during the last glacial maximum an additional 20 per cent may have been affected (French 1976).
