Cryogenic landslides in the arctic plains of Russia: Classification, mechanisms, and landforms

Abstract

The paper is discussing the theory of cryogenic landslides. Suggested is classification of cryogenic landslides based on several attributes: mechanisms, specific landforms, and other manifestations of landsliding characteristic of the Arctic plains of Russia. The theory results from long-term field study at research station “Vaskiny Dachi” in Central Yamal, key sites on Yugorsky peninsula, as well as occasional observations in other areas of the Russian Arctic. Two main types of cryogenic landslides are identified: retrogressive thaw slumps (earth/mud flows) and translational landslides (active-layer detachments). Distinguished are several stages of landform development resulting from landsliding, passing from thermocirques to landslide cirques. Landslide cirques are considered to start as a subsequent stage of decadent thermocirque after the ground ice layer is exhausted or buried by landslide masses. Cryogenic landslides are climate-related features and for this reason are indicators of past and modern climate fluctuations.