Permafrost age and thickness near Adventfjorden, Spitsbergen1

Abstract

Abstract Two Japanese researchers explore the relationship between permafrost thickness and age in coastal areas of Spitsbergen on the basis of the temporal coincidence between time of uplift of terraces caused by isostatic rebound and the onset of permafrost development. In the process, they shed further light on the emergence history of Spitsbergen, to date largely based on data of radiocarbon dating, through the use of a different but complementary dating technique. Measurements of soil electrical resistivity were used to derive estimates of permafrost thickness, which then were combined with information on permafrost and ground‐surface temperatures to yield calculations of the time needed to produce permafrost layers of the requisite thickness.