CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Dyke, L.D.
Date : 2000.
Title : Stability of permafrost slope in the Mackenzie valley.
Publication : The Physical Environment of the Mackenzie Valley: a Baseline for the Assessment of Environmental Change, Edited by: L.D. Dyke and G.R. Brooks. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin
Issue : 547:
Page(s) : 177-186.
Abstract
Slope stability is conventionally analyzed in terms of a 'factor of safety', that is, the ratio between the shearing strength of a material forming a slope and the forces tending to cause sliding or failure of that material. In permafrost regions, many failures are triggered by a decrease in strength of frozen ground due to excessive thawing and deepening of the active layer. This results in an active-layer detachment. This type of slide is often triggered by excessive thaw following the destruction of surface vegetation by fire. The most likely impact of climate warming may be an increase in active-layer detachments if there are more fires. Although most of the deeper rotational failures occur along river banks where erosion at the foot of the slope is an important factor, long-term decreases in permafrost thickness could also contribute to instability.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology