Continuous permafrost

Alternative definitions (4), class: vernacular (0)
Term: Continuous permafrost
Definition: Permafrost occurring everywhere beneath the exposed land surface throughout a geographic region with the exception of widely scattered sites, such as newly deposited sediments, where the climate is just beginning to influence the ground thermal regime, causing the development of Continuous Permafrost. For practical purposes, the existence of small Taliks within Continuous Permafrost has to be recognized. The term, therefore, generally refers to areas where more than 90% of the ground surface is underlain by Permafrost. The term 'continuous' Permafrost is mostly used for Arctic/Antarctic Permafrost zones. For the mountainous zones the terms 'likely, possible and unlikely' are preferred.
Created 2022.03.08
Last Modified 2023.03.27
Contributed by GCW Glossary
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