Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Environmental Sciences: A Students Companion

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Progress in Physical Geography
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gurney, S. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Aspects of the genesis, geomorphology and terminology of palsas: perennial cryogenic mounds

S. D. Gurney

Department of Geography, The University of Reading, PO Box 227, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK

Palsas are true perennial permafrost mounds. It is generally accepted that there are at least three mechanisms which might contribute to the initiation of their formation, although these are not necessarily mutually exclusive. These mechanisms can be termed: the ‘snow cover’ hypothesis; the ‘vegetation succession’ hypothesis; and the ‘buoyancy’ hypothesis. Furthermore, there are at least three types of palsas recognized, although the terminology relating to these different varieties is varied and disputed. It is clear that palsas are potentially extremely useful features for monitoring permafrost growth and decay in certain areas, and that a unified understanding of their growth and decay processes would aid this.

Key Words: geomorphology • palsas • periglacial • permafrost

Progress in Physical Geography, Vol. 25, No. 2, 249-260 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/030913330102500205
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Progress in Physical GeographyHome page
S. Grab
Aspects of the geomorphology, genesis and environmental significance of earth hummocks (thufur, pounus): miniature cryogenic mounds
Progress in Physical Geography, June 1, 2005; 29(2): 139 - 155.
[Abstract] [PDF]