• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.71-74
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• 2003

Permafrost study in Mongolia officially began in the end of 1950 years. At the first time our senior researchers concentrated on the regional characteristics of permafrost distribution and on the engineering geocryological problems. At present time we concentrate on permafrost mapping using the GIS, on permafrost monitoring based on the temperature measurement in boreholes, on permafrost phenomena monitoring in same permafrost regions and on engineering geocryological problems.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.589-600
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• 2018

For foundations in permafrost regions, the displacement characteristics are uncertain because of the randomness of temperature characteristics and mechanical parameters, which make the structural system have an unexpected deviation and unpredictability. It will affect the safety of design and construction. In this paper, we consider the randomness of temperature characteristics and mechanical parameters. A stochastic analysis model for the uncertain displacement characteristic of foundations is presented, and the stochastic coupling program is compiled by Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) software. The stochastic displacement fields of an embankment in a permafrost region are obtained and analyzed by Neumann stochastic finite element method (NSFEM). The results provide a new way to predict the deformation characteristics of foundations in permafrost regions, and it shows that the stochastic temperature has a different influence on the stochastic lateral displacement and vertical displacement. Construction disturbance and climate warming lead to three different stages for the mean settlement of characteristic points. For the stochastic settlement characteristic, the standard deviation increases with time, which imply that the results of conventional deterministic analysis may be far from the true value. These results can improve our understanding of the stochastic deformation fields of embankments and provide a theoretical basis for engineering reliability analysis and design in permafrost regions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.225-245
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• 2016

Settlement of foundations in permafrost regions primarily results from three physical and mechanical processes such as thaw consolidation of permafrost layer, creep of warm frozen soils and the additional deformation of seasonal active layer induced by freeze-thaw cycling. This paper firstly establishes theoretical models for the three sources of settlement including a statistical damage model for soils which experience cyclic freeze-thaw, a large strain thaw consolidation theory incorporating a modified Richards' equation and a Drucker-Prager yield criterion, as well as a simple rheological element based creep model for frozen soils. A novel numerical method was proposed for live computation of thaw consolidation, creep and freeze-thaw cycling in corresponding domains which vary with heat budget in frozen ground. It was then numerically implemented in the FISH language on the FLAC platform and verified by freeze-thaw tests on sandy clay. Results indicate that the calculated results agree well with the measured data. Finally a model test carried out on a half embankment in laboratory was modeled.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.609-614
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• 2005

Gas hydrates are ice-l ike sol id compounds that are composed of water and natural gas. All common gas hydrates belong to the three crystal structures that are composed of five polyhedral cavities formed by hydrogen bonded water molecules and stable in specific high pressure and low temperature conditions. Gas hydrates contain large amounts of organic carbon and widely occur in deep oceans and permafrost regions, and they may therefore represent a potential energy resource in the future. United States and Japan perform the national R&D programs for the commercial production of gas hydrates in 2010's. The study on gas hydrates are also important for exploration and development of natural gas in the regions where gas hydrates are accumulated and could be formed. Although their global abundance is debated, they play an important role in global climate change since methane is a 50 times more effect ive greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Natural gas hydrates also form a possible natural hazard if rapidly dissociated and can cause slides and slumps and in the marine environment associated tsunamis.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.275-291
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• 2023

Global warming has made the polar regions more accessible, leading to increased demand for the construction of new resource-development plants in oil-rich permafrost regions. The selection of locations of resource-development plants in permafrost regions should consider the surface displacement resulting from thawing and freezing of the active layer of permafrost. However, few studies have considered surface displacement in the selection of optimal locations of resource-development plants in permafrost region. In this study, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis using a range of geospatial information variables was performed to select optimal locations for the construction of oil-sands development plants in the permafrost region of southern Athabasca, Alberta, Canada, including consideration of surface displacement. The surface displacement velocity was estimated by applying the Small BAseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar technique to time-series Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar images acquired from February 2007 to March 2011. ERA5 reanalysis data were used to generate geospatial data for air temperature, surface temperature, and soil temperature averaged for the period 2000~2010. Geospatial data for roads and railways provided by Statistics Canada and land cover maps distributed by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation were also used in the AHP analysis. The suitability of sites analyzed using land cover, surface displacement, and road accessibility as the three most important geospatial factors was validated using the locations of oil-sand plants built since 2010. The sensitivity of surface displacement to the determination of location suitability was found to be very high. We confirm that surface displacement should be considered in the selection of optimal locations for the construction of new resource-development plants in permafrost regions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2020

The spatial variability of geotechnical properties can lead to the uncertainty of settlement for frozen soil foundation around the oil pipeline, and it can affect the stability of permafrost foundation. In this paper, the elastic modulus, cohesion, angle of internal friction and poisson ratio are taken as four independent random fields. A stochastic analysis model for the uncertain settlement characteristic of frozen soil foundation around an oil pipeline is presented. The accuracy of the stochastic analysis model is verified by measured data. Considering the different combinations for the coefficient of variation and scale of fluctuation, the influences of spatial variability of geotechnical properties on uncertain settlement are estimated. The results show that the stochastic effects between elastic modulus, cohesion, angle of internal friction and poisson ratio are obviously different. The deformation parameters have a greater influence on stochastic settlement than the strength parameters. The overall variability of settlement reduces with the increase of horizontal scale of fluctuation and vertical scale of fluctuation. These results can improve our understanding of the influences of spatial variability of geotechnical properties on uncertain settlement and provide a theoretical basis for the reliability analysis of pipeline engineering in permafrost regions.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.399-404
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• 2023

Agricultural activities and the number of farms in the subarctic regions have been increasing annually after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic to achieve food self-sufficiency. Potatoes are vulnerable to soft rot bacteria at all stages of production, storage, and transportation. A novel bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. N3-W, isolated from Alaska tundra soil, grows at 5-25℃ and produces extracellular protease(s). N3-W caused necrotic spots (hypersensitivity) in hot pepper leaves and soft rot disease (pathogenicity) in potato tubers. The psychrotolerant N3-W caused significant soft rot symptoms on potatoes at a broad temperature range (5℃, 15℃, and 25℃). In contrast, mesophilic Pectobacterium carotovorum KACC 16999 induced severe rotting symptoms in potatoes at their optimal growth temperature of 15℃ and 25℃. However, it barely produced symptoms at 5℃, which is the appropriate storage and transportation temperature for potatoes. The results of pathogenicity testing imply that psychrotolerant soft rot pathogens from polar regions may cause severe soft rot not only during the crop growing season but also during storage and transportation. Our study indicates the possibility of new plant pathogen emergence and transmission due to the expansion of crop cultivation areas caused by permafrost thawing in response to recent polar warming.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.289-298
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• 2010

A number of characteristics of the Lake H$\ddot{o}$vsg$\ddot{o}$l watershed, such as the lake's location at the edge of the Central Asian continuous permafrost zone, provide a unique opportunity to evaluate possible anthropogenic impacts in this remote area in northern Mongolia. In this study, we compared stream solute concentrations in six sub-watersheds in the Lake H$\ddot{o}$vsg$\ddot{o}$l watershed. Water samples were collected during the summer months between 2003 and 2005. Concentrations of $Cl^-$ ranged from 9.8 to $51.3\;{\mu}mol/L$; average nitrate concentrations were very low and ranged from undetectable to $1.1\;{\mu}mol/L$ and average ${SO_4}^{2-}$ concentration at sampling stations with minimal animal grazing ranged from 66 to $294\;{\mu}mol/L$. Average dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations ranged from 642 to $1,180\;{\mu}mol$ C/L. We did not find statistically significant differences in DOC concentrations among the six streams, although DOC concentrations tended to be higher in the two northernmost streams, possibly related to differences in the active layer above the permafrost. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations were correlated with DOC concentration, and followed the same spatial pattern as those for DOC. In streams in this remote watershed, total dissolved nitrogen was made up of mostly organic N, as has been found for other regions distant from anthropogenic N sources. Overall, these results suggest that future research on the dynamics of DOC and DON in this watershed will be especially insightful in helping to understand how changes in climate and land use patterns will affect transformations, retention, and export of dissolved organic matter within these sub-watersheds in the Lake H$\ddot{o}$vsg$\ddot{o}$l region.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.104-111
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• 2015

The technology development of pipeline transportation of natural gas at artic and northern ice environments should be considered with unique characteristics of permafrost territory as a very interesting and challenging area. This work is to investigate bottleneck techniques and major impact factors through a literature search to figure out the core technology of the transport pipeline. Especially, theoretical approach themes could be determined to develop the technology flow assurance for permafrost regions through documentary survey on the considerations of thermo-fluid. Also, basic results through theoretical approaches could be achieved.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.282-291
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• 2022

Background: The Arctic permafrost stores enormous amount of carbon (C), about one third of global C stocks. However, drastically increasing temperature in the Arctic makes the stable frozen C stock vulnerable to microbial decomposition. The released carbon dioxide from permafrost can cause accelerating C feedback to the atmosphere. Soil organic matter (SOM) composition would be the basic information to project the trajectory of C under rapidly changing climate. However, not many studies on SOM characterization have been done compared to quantification of SOM stocks. Thus, the purpose of our study is to determine soil properties and molecular compositions of SOM in four different Arctic regions. We collected soils in different soil layers from 1) Cambridge Bay, Canada, 2) Council, Alaska, USA, 3) Svalbard, Norway, and 4) Zackenberg, Greenland. The basic soil properties were measured, and the molecular composition of SOM was analyzed through pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS). Results: The Oi layer of soil in Council, Alaska showed the lowest soil pH and the highest electrical conductivity (EC) and SOM content. All soils in each site showed increasing pH and decreasing SOC and EC values with soil depth. Since the Council site was moist acidic tundra compared to other three dry tundra sites, soil properties were distinct from the others: high SOM and EC, and low pH. Through the py-GC/MS analysis, a total of 117 pyrolysis products were detected from 32 soil samples of four different Arctic soils. The first two-axis of the PCA explained 38% of sample variation. While short- and mid-hydrocarbons were associated with mineral layers, lignins and polysaccharides were linked to organic layers of Alaska and Cambridge Bay soil. Conclusions: We conclude that the py-GC/MS results separated soil samples mainly based on the origin of SOM (plants- or microbially-derived). This molecular characteristics of SOM can play a role of controlling SOM degradation to warming. Thus, it should be further investigated how the SOM molecular characteristics have impacts on SOM dynamics through additional laboratory incubation studies and microbial decomposition measurements in the field.