Problem
Frozen ground
Other Names:
Unusable ice surface Background:
Seasonally frozen ground, like snow, covers a large expanse of the globe. Its depth and distribution varies as a function of air temperature, snow depth and vegetation, and can exhibit high temporal and spatial variability. Most of the Earth's snow-covered area is located in the Northern Hemisphere, Although not completely known, the global extent of permafrost underlies about 24.5% of exposed Northern Hemisphere land areas. Thickness exceeds 600 m along the Arctic coast of northeastern Siberia and Alaska, but permafrost thins and becomes horizontally discontinuous towards the margins. Only about 2 million sq km consists of actual ground ice ("ice-rich"). The remainder (dry permafrost) is simply soil or rock at subfreezing temperatures.
Broader Problems:
Unused landSeasonal fluctuationsUnavailability of farming land Narrower Problems:
Permafrost instability Related Problems:
Threatened polar desert habitats Aggravates:
Seasonal fluctuations in food production Reduced By:
Decrease in ice coverValues:
Unused Subject(s):
Economics → Resource utilization??Fundamental Sciences → Heat??
Fundamental Sciences → Mechanics??
Meteorology → Meteorology ??
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
G: Very specific problems Date of last update
21.06.2016 – 07:18 CEST