Pingos

Question 1

Pingos Appearance

Answer 1

Ice core mounds either conical or elongated

30-70m height and 100-500m in diameter

Question 2

Pingos Formation Open System

Answer 2

Freezing water on active layers of soil, where permafrost is discontinuous, leads to expansion of ice within soil

Causes overlying sediments to heave upwards into dome-shaped features which is less than 500m across

Question 3

Pingos Formation Closed System

Answer 3

Typically on low-lying areas with continuous permafrost.

On site of small lakes, groundwater can be trapped by freezing from above and by permafrost below as it move inwards from lakeside

Subsequent freezing and expansion of trapped water pushes overlying sediments upwards, forming a pingo

Question 4

Frost Heave

Answer 4

upwards swelling of soil during freezing conditions caused by an increasing presence of ice as it grows towards the surface, penetrating into the soil