Course Announcement:
Permafrost in the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel
University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
23 June - 2 July 2003
For more information on the permafrost tunnel see:
http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/permafrosttunnel
For course information contact: Dr. Yuri Shur (ffys [at] uaf.edu)
University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Class CE F 695P
Permafrost in the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel
(class limited to 15 students.)
Instructor: Dr. Yuri Shur; email: ffys [at] uaf.edu
CRREL Coordinator: MAJ Doug Anderson
The Army Corps of Engineers CRREL Permafrost Tunnel generates interest
in public, scientific, and teaching communities. It offers an excellent
field classroom for students interested in permafrost and ice science.
Preliminary tunnel information is available at the following CRREL
website: http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/permafrosttunnel
The course is concentrated on "syngenetic" permafrost forming during the
last Pleistocene glaciation. Syngenetic permafrost occurs widely
throughout the world's cold regions and is well represented in the
permafrost tunnel. Syngenetic permafrost is extremely ice-rich, it
contains ice-wedges and may cause significant construction hazards
during thawing. Historic thaw events caused drastic erosion that is
clearly evident in the tunnel's syngenetic permafrost. The course
investigates and maps subterranean massive ice, ice and soil structures
and other permafrost related features.
This intensive summer class (8 days, 5 to 6 hours a day) is designed for
professors, schoolteachers, and students with an interest in permafrost,
geology or ice science.
Preliminary topics and schedule
First three days instructions in the classroom:
Permafrost and cold region climates: how permafrost forms
Comparison of epigenetic and syngenetic permafrost formation and
properties
Syngenetic permafrost sequences from different regions
Main indicators of syngenetic permafrost
Syngenetic permafrost in frozen ground engineering
Construction hazards associated with syngenetic permafrost
On-site permafrost tunnel introduction; history of military ice science
Historical studies of permafrost in the tunnel
Investigation of permafrost development in the tunnel according to these
studies
Contemporary UAF and CRREL studies and preliminary results
Three days of the permafrost studies in the tunnel:
Map several sections of the tunnel in small groups
Descriptions of permafrost cryogenic structures and sampling
Massive ice structure
Laboratory analysis of soil physical properties
Two days in classroom
Discussion of the results of fieldwork and report preparation (MS
PowerPoint)
Final Exam: Powerpoint Presentation by groups