Cryosphere glossary
an artificial mixture of frozen soil materials cemented by pore ice, which forms a concrete-like construction material used in cold regions.
layer of soil or rock, at some depth beneath the surface, in which the temperature has been continuously below 0°C for at least several years; it exists where summer heating fails to reach the base of the layer of frozen ground.
a naturally or artificially caused increase in the thickness and/or areal extent of permafrost.
the lower boundary surface of permafrost, above which temperatures are perennially below 0 degrees Celsius (cryotic) and below which temperatures are perennially above 0 degrees Celsius (noncryotic).
(1) the geographical boundary between the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones (2) the margin of a discrete body of permafrost.
a naturally or artificially caused decrease in the thickness and/or areal extent of permafrost.
the total geographic area containing some amount of permafrost; typically reported in square kilometers.
outermost (latitudinal) or lowest (altitudinal) limit of the occurrence of permafrost.
a region in which the temperature of some or all of the ground below the seasonally freezing and thawing layer remains continuously at or below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years.
a region that is covered with sea ice year-round; most of the sea ice in the permanent ice zone is multiyear ice, but younger ice and open water may still be present; the permanent ice zone is what remains in summer after all melting has occurred (often called the summer minimum extent).
power of hydrogen; a measure of the activity of hydrogen ions in solution, and therefore, its acidity or alkalinity.
large ice lobe spread out over surrounding terrain, associated with the terminus of a large mountain valley glacier.
Image
SPACE.com and NASA
an Inuvialuktun term for a perennial frost mound consisting of a core of massive ice with soil and vegetation cover; the size can range from a few meters to tens of meters, in both diameter and height; can be found in continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones.