GPR Technologies for Predicting the Development of Dangerous Cryogenic Processes in Subsurface Soils

The results of laboratory tests carried out on rock samples of the Kharbalakhskoye coalfield located in Central Yakutia revealed significant secondary changes having taken place in the host rocks containing the coal. Evidently, under transformation processes, it is not only the composition of the rocks that had changed, but also the nature of structural bonds that have a great influence on their physical and mechanical properties. Thus, the ultimate strength values of coal-containing sandstone and siltstone samples under uniaxial compression vary from 20 to 30 MPa, while under uniaxial tension, the ultimate strength values range from 6 to 10 MPa. These relatively low numerical values pertaining to the physicomechanical properties of rocks, which are generally atypical for long-flame coal deposits, are almost 50% lower than those of analogous rocks hosting other coal deposits in Russia. It is considered that the mechanical strength properties of the rocks of the Kharbalakhskoye field are due to significant cryogenic processes. A comparative analysis of the properties of core samples obtained from boreholes drilled in 2019 with samples from a quarry obtained several decades ago reveals signs of transformation of rocks in the Kharbalakhskoye field due to phase transitions of freezing and thawing water.

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NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC DYNAMICS OF PERMAFROST SOILS IN THE AREAS OF OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION IN YAMALO-NENETS AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

Oil and Gas Studies ◽

10.31660/0445-0108-2015-6-99-104 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 99-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. L. Mamaeva ◽

S. A. Petrov

Keyword(s):

Oil And Gas ◽

Gas Production ◽

Oil And Gas Production ◽

Permafrost Rocks ◽

Oil And Gas Fields ◽

Permafrost Soils ◽

Extreme North ◽

Gas Fields ◽

Cryogenic Processes ◽

Nenets Autonomous

A research and comparison of natural and damaged (due to the active development of oil and gas fields) permafrost soils in the Jamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug were carried out. The analysis was run of correlation between an average monthly temperature of air, an average monthly sum of precipitation, the weight humidity and the thickness of the seasonal thawed layer. The conclusions were drawn about a poor resistance of landscapes on the permafrost rocks to the anthropogenic interventions, which in its turn is accompanied by the cryogenic processes and unfavorable influences on the Extreme North biosphere.

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The role of frost cracking in local denudation of steep Alpine rockwalls over millennia (Eiger, Switzerland)

Earth Surface Dynamics ◽

10.5194/esurf-8-637-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 637-659

Author(s):

David Mair ◽

Alessandro Lechmann ◽

Romain Delunel ◽

Serdar Yeşilyurt ◽

Dmitry Tikhomirov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Swiss Alps ◽

Rock Fall ◽

Temperature Changes ◽

Rock Face ◽

Temperature Conditions ◽

Denudation Rates ◽

Reconstructed Temperature ◽

Cryogenic Processes

Abstract. Denudation of steep rockwalls is driven by rock fall processes of various sizes and magnitudes. Rockwalls are sensitive to temperature changes mainly because thermo-cryogenic processes weaken bedrock through fracturing, which can precondition the occurrence of rock fall. However, it is still unclear how the fracturing of rock together with cryogenic processes impacts the denudation processes operating on steep rockwalls. In this study, we link data on long-term rockwall denudation rates at the Eiger (Central Swiss Alps) with the local bedrock fabric and the reconstructed temperature conditions at these sites, which depend on the insolation pattern. We then estimate the probability of bedrock for failure through the employment of a theoretical frost cracking model. The results show that the denudation rates are low in the upper part of the NW rockwall, but they are high both in the lower part of the NW rockwall and on the SE face, despite similar bedrock fabric conditions. The frost cracking model predicts a large difference in cracking intensity from ice segregation where the inferred efficiency is low in the upper part of the NW rockwall but relatively large on the lower section of the NW wall and on the SE rock face of the Eiger. We explain this pattern by the differences in insolation and temperature conditions at these sites. Throughout the last millennium, temperatures in bedrock have been very similar to the present. These data thus suggest the occurrence of large contrasts in microclimate between the NW and SE walls of the Eiger, conditioned by differences in insolation. We use these contrasts to explain the relatively low denudation rates in the upper part of the NW rockwall and the rapid denudation in the SW face and in the lower part of the NW rock face where frost cracking is more efficient.

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GPR monitoring of cryogenic processes in subgrade soils

2016 16th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) ◽

10.1109/icgpr.2016.7572624 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

L. L. Fedorova ◽

D. V. Savvin ◽

M. P. Fedorov ◽

A. S. Struchkov

Keyword(s):

Subgrade Soils ◽

Cryogenic Processes

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High alpine rock-wall retreat rates over millennia through thermo-cryogenic pre-conditioned rock fall (Mt. Eiger, Switzerland)

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-5908 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David Mair ◽

Alessandro Lechmann ◽

Romain Delunel ◽

Serdar Yeşilyurt ◽

Dmitry Tikhomirov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Swiss Alps ◽

Rock Fall ◽

Rock Wall ◽

Rock Face ◽

Depth Profiles ◽

Weathering Processes ◽

Temperature Conditions ◽

Low Efficiency ◽

Cryogenic Processes

Rock fall processes of various size and magnitude control retreat rates of high alpine rock-walls. For millennial time scales, these retreat rates can be quantified in-situ from concentrations of cosmogenic nuclides along bedrock depth profiles (Mair et al., 2019). We measured cosmogenic 36Cl and 10Be along several such profiles at Mt Eiger in the Central Swiss Alps to study the local rock-wall retreat on this time scale (Mair et al., 2019; 2020). The resulting spatial pattern shows that rock-wall retreat rates are low (0.5 to 0.6 &#177; 0.1 mm/yr) in the higher region of the NW rock-wall, in contrast to both the lower part of the NW rock-wall and the SE face, where rates are high (1.7 &#177; 0.4 to 3.5 &#177; 1.4 mm/yr). We link these retreat rates to differences in local temperature conditions, because the patterns of faults and fractures and the lithology of the bedrock are similar at all sites, and thermo-cryogenic processes are known to weaken the bedrock through fracturing, thereby preconditioning the occurrence of rock fall (e.g., Draebing and Krautblatter, 2019). However, it is still unclear how effective and at which rate individual thermo-cryogenic processes contribute to the preconditioning through fracturing. Therefore, we investigate several processes and estimate the probability of bedrock fracturing through the employment of a theoretical frost-cracking model, which predicts cracking intensity from ice segregation. The model results infer a low efficiency in the higher region of the NW rock-wall, but a relatively high one in the lower section of the NW wall and on the SE rock face of Mt. Eiger. Although the model is rather generic, the results disclose a significant control of temperature conditions on the erosional processes and rates. Furthermore, temperature conditions for the last millennia have been similar to present day conditions, as our reconstructions disclose, therefore the cosmogenic-nuclide-based long-term differences in rock-wall retreat rates predominantly stem from large contrasts in the microclimate between the NW and SE walls of Mt. Eiger. Accordingly, the site-specific differences in microclimate conditions could explain the lower retreat rates in the upper part of the NW rock-wall and the rapid retreat in the SW face and in the lower part of the NW rock face.ReferencesDraebing, D. and Krautblatter, M.: The Efficacy of Frost Weathering Processes in Alpine Rockwalls, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 6516&#8211;6524, doi:10.1029/2019GL081981, 2019.Mair, D., Lechmann, A., Yesilyurt, S., Tikhomirov, D., Delunel, R., Vockenhuber, C., Ak&#231;ar, N. and Schlunegger, F.: Fast long-term denudation rate of steep alpine headwalls inferred from cosmogenic 36Cl depth profiles, Sci. Rep., 9, 11023, doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46969-0, 2019.Mair, D., Lechmann, A., Delunel, R., Ye&#351;ilyurt, S., Tikhomirov, D., Vockenhuber, C., Christl, M., Ak&#231;ar, N. and Schlunegger, F.: The role of frost cracking in local denudation of steep Alpine rockwalls over millennia (Eiger, Switzerland), Earth Surf. Dyn., 8, 637&#8211;659, doi:10.5194/esurf-8-637-2020, 2020.

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An Overview of New Methodologies for the Design of Cryogenic Processes with an emphasis on LNG

Proceedings of the 1st Annual Gas Processing Symposium ◽

10.1016/b978-0-444-53292-3.50015-8 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 104-112

Author(s):

Truls Gundersen ◽

Audun Aspelund ◽

Paul I. Barton

Keyword(s):

New Methodologies ◽

Cryogenic Processes

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Activation of Cryogenic Processes in Central Yamal as a Result of Regional and Local Change in Climate and Thermal State of Permafrost

Russian Meteorology and Hydrology ◽

10.3103/s1068373919040083 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 283-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

E. A. Babkina ◽

M. O. Leibman ◽

Yu. A. Dvornikov ◽

N. Yu. Fakashchuk ◽

R. R. Khairullin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal State ◽

Local Change ◽

Cryogenic Processes

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Cryogenic processes and fire activity in a high Atlantic mountain area in NW Iberia (Picos de Europa) during the Mid–Late Holocene

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.022 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 573 ◽

pp. 1159-1170 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jesús Ruiz-Fernández ◽

Alexandre Nieuwendam ◽

Marc Oliva ◽

Vera Lopes ◽

Anabela Cruces ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

Mountain Area ◽

Nw Iberia ◽

Fire Activity ◽

Cryogenic Processes

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Using the results of dangerous cryogenic processes investigations in student education

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17896 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Valery Grebenets ◽

Vasily Tolmanov ◽

Vladimir Fedin ◽

Anton Sinitskiy

Keyword(s):

Temperature Increase ◽

Arctic Region ◽

Climatic Changes ◽

The Arctic ◽

Research Results ◽

Far North ◽

Student Education ◽

Number Of Factors ◽

Cryogenic Processes ◽

The Arctic Region

The department traditionally holds specialized practices of cryolithology and glaciology. Recently, specialized field course (sometimes international) have been concentrated in the Arctic region of Russia in the south of Yamal. The studies were focused on the investigation of the permafrost features in the regions, on assessing the permafrost dynamics and processes, affected by the various number of factors.Here, the results of studies dedicated to the assessment of dangerous cryogenic processes impact on the infrastructure of the far north are widely introduced. Unique studies of the level of deformation of the infrastructure of the northern settlements are carried out during the establishment and development of an unfavorable geocryological situation.&#160; Monitoring observations are carried out both in natural and in urbanized conditions, &#160;allow us to compare the intensity of the processes, evaluate the contribution of technogenesis and climatic changes.Based on the research results, students and researchers receive the necessary data and field results for analyzing the dynamics and changes in geotechnical systems in the context of an increase in the technogenic press and temperature increase in the region.Investigation is supported by the RFBR project 18-05-60080 &#8220;Dangerous nival-glacial and cryogenic processes and their influence on infrastructure in the Arctic&#8221;&#160;

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Negative changes in permafrost due to waste storage

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6824 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Valery Grebenets ◽

Fedor Iurov ◽

Vasily Tolmanov

Keyword(s):

Chemical Reactions ◽

Frozen Soil ◽

Cold Climate ◽

The Arctic ◽

Chemical Pollution ◽

Drilling Fluids ◽

Waste Storage ◽

Frozen State ◽

The Impact ◽

Cryogenic Processes

Keywords: permafrost, waste, hazardous cryogenic processesThe problem of waste storage is particularly acute in Arctic. This is due to the vulnerability of northern ecosystems, the existence of permafrost, especially vulnerable to anthropogenic impact, the water-resistant properties of frozen rocks and the effect of destructive cryogenic processes. In addition, the causes of concern are the trends in air and frozen soil temperatures reported for the northern regions: pollutants stored in relatively stable frozen state can be released into the environment as a result of thawing. This is especially true for industrial regions, where billions of cubic meters of waste from the mining and beneficiation of ores and coal, form timber processing, mine water spills and drilling fluids, etc. are stored in a frozen state.Field investigations were carried out in number of settlements in cryolithozone of Russia (Norilsk, Vorkuta, Igarka, settlements in the lower Ob, national villages of Taimyr, etc.). The observations involved remote sensing methods and included estimation of the area of littering and the types of waste. In many cases sampling for chemical analyzes, thermometry, and mapping of hazardous processes were made.The impact of stored wastes on permafrost was divided into three main types: a) mechanical (changing the relief and the flow paths of surface and ground waters); b) physical and chemical (pollution by the waste itself and by its decomposition products); c) thermal (heating of frozen soils by high-temperature waste or heat generation during various chemical reactions).During the research, 6 main types of waste storage were identified, each of which had a destructive effect on permafrost soils and northern ecosystems:1) dumps of municipal solid waste (inherent in all settlements);2) storages of industrial waste, tailing storage facilities in the industrial centers of the north;3) abandoned and cluttered territories;4) landfills of timber processing waste in the centers of the timber industry;5) rock dumps in open-cast mining sites, which in the cold climate can transform into rock glaciers;6) storage areas for polluted snow tranfered from built-up areas.Particular attention was paid to the accumulation of chemical pollutants in industrial centers (with Norilsk industrial region as an example). This problem in conditions of permafrost is exacerbated by the low self-purification of northern biogeocenoses; slowdown of oxidation and some other chemical reactions in cold climates; drainage and unloading of groundwater of seasonally thawed layer, intra-permafrost and under-permafrost taliks into the water bodies.The use of imperfect technologies for the extraction and processing the raw materials, remains of past years practices with neglected environmental situation, the lack of special standards for the storage of waste and industrial by-products, the lack of development of waste disposal methods for severe climatic conditions led to the pollution of vast territories and to destruction of many ecosystems.This work was supported by the RFBR grant 18-05-60080 &#8220;Dangerous nival-glacial and cryogenic processes and their impact on infrastructure in the Arctic&#8221;.

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