Permafrost is a cryospheric topic referring to ground (soil, sediment, or rock, with included ice and organic material) that remains at or below 0 °C for at least two consecutive years. Its thermal and hydrological regimes are governed by surface energy balance, snow cover, vegetation, and ground ice content, leading to stratified active layers that thaw seasonally above a perennially frozen substrate. Permafrost dynamics influence geomorphological processes such as thermokarst formation, ground subsidence, and slope instability, and critically regulate carbon and methane fluxes from frozen organic matter. Research on permafrost integrates climatology, biogeochemistry, geotechnical engineering, and remote sensing to quantify its stability and feedbacks within the Earth system.
The glacier located near Sunlight Peak, Wyo., has been its icy self since the Yellowstone region's last major glaciation occurred some 20,000 years ago. The bulk of Sunlight's ice has remained ensconced in its northern Rocky ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 2, 2026
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Dalhousie researchers have revealed how Arctic aquifers—permeable layers of the ground that store and transmit water to rivers, lakes and terrestrial ecosystems—behave today and how these vital resources will change with ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 2, 2026
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A new study finds that Canada could remove at least five times its annual carbon emissions with strategic planting of more than six million trees along the northern edge of the boreal forest. The paper, "Substantial carbon ...
Environment
Feb 1, 2026
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Microbes across Earth's coldest regions are becoming more active as glaciers, permafrost and sea ice thaw, accelerating carbon release and potentially amplifying climate change, according to a new international review from ...
Ecology
Jan 26, 2026
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Today, as Greenland once again becomes a strategic prize, history seems poised to repeat itself. Staying with the Polar Inuit means refusing to speak of territory while erasing those who inhabit it.
Environment
Jan 20, 2026
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Mountain permafrost is warming and thawing worldwide due to climate change, with ground temperature being a key control of its mechanical stability. Heat conduction is the dominant mode of heat transfer in frozen ground, ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 18, 2025
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On a winter day in Northern Canada, the cold feels absolute. Snow squeaks underfoot and rivers lie silent beneath thick ice. Yet beneath that familiar surface, the ground is quietly accumulating heat.
Environment
Dec 17, 2025
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Climate change and the associated rising temperatures are melting more and more frozen ground in the Arctic. This dissolved matter contains large amounts of organic carbon which is flowing into the central Arctic Ocean.
Earth Sciences
Nov 12, 2025
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When water penetrates rock crevices in permafrost, it transports heat deep underground, where it causes the frozen rock to thaw. Researchers at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) have explored which processes ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 12, 2025
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Warming temperatures and increased precipitation in the Canadian High Arctic are mobilizing new pathways for subsurface contaminants to spread from more than 2,500 contaminated sites associated with industrial and military ...
Environment
Nov 6, 2025
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