ABSTRACT

It will be obvious that regions with permafrost have a number of special processes that produce the unique landforms found in these areas. Many of the same processes are also involved in producing characteristic features in regions with seasonal frost in the ground. This chapter examines these processes in detail, so as to provide the reader with an understanding of what is occurring. Frozen ground in sediments normally consists of at least five constituents, viz., organic matter, mineral grains, air, ice and water. The movement of hygroscopic water depends on several factors. Firstly, the shape of the water molecule explains its potential movement. Pure liquid water changes to solid ice at 0°C and 1 atmosphere pressure (101.325 kPa), provided suitable nuclei are available. There are several sources of pollution of soil water including crude oil, commercial waste water, drainage from barns and feedlots, cleaning fluids, chemicals used in desalting oil and the chemicals used in agriculture and in fracking.