Segregation ice cream

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Segregation ice is a form of ground ice that is created by the freezing of shifting pore water . It forms clearly delimited, layer-like structures; it is often in the form of ice lenses , which can usually be seen with the naked eye. The thickness of the layers can be only a few millimeters or more than 10 meters. It can be found in different types of soils, mineral or organic, preferentially it forms in fine-granular, moist subsoil.

Segregation ice is to be distinguished from injection ice . The latter is relatively pure and clear compared to the segregation ice. In contrast to that of the injection ice, the layering of the segregation ice is parallel to the freezing front, which can also be seen from the embedded soil particles or air bubbles. In practice, however, it is often difficult to differentiate between them.

Most of the segregation ice is formed by frost lift . Through a thermodynamic process, in which capillary effects also play a role, pore water moves towards the freezing front - i.e. usually upwards - and collects in the form of ice lenses. Another type of segregation ice is retinculated ice-veins , which are formed when pore water freezes when it penetrates drying or shrinkage cracks.

literature

  • Hugh M. French: The Periglacial Environment. 3rd edition, Wiley-Verlag, Chichester 2007, ISBN 0-470-86588-1
  • Ronald P. Daanen, Debasmita Misra, Anita M. Thompson: Frozen Soil Hydrology. In: Vijay P. Singh, Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Springer, Dordrecht 2011, pp. 306-311, ISBN 978-90-481-2641-5

Web links