Retrogressive thaw slumps along the Qinghai-Tibet Engineering Corridor: a comprehensive inventory and their distribution characteristics

The important Qinghai Tibet Engineering Corridor (QTEC) covers the part of the Highway and Railway underlain by permafrost. The permafrost on the QTEC is sensitive to climate warming and human disturbance and suffers accelerating degradation. Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) are slope failures due to the thawing of ice-rich permafrost. They typically retreat and expand at high rates, damaging infrastructure, and releasing carbon preserved in frozen ground. Along the critical and essential corridor, RTSs are commonly distributed but remain poorly investigated. To compile the first comprehensive inventory of RTSs, this study uses an iteratively semi-automatic method built on deep learning to delineate thaw slumps in the 2019 PlanetScope CubeSat images over a ~54,000 km2 corridor area. The method effectively assesses every image pixel using DeepLabv3+ with limited training samples and manually inspects the deep-learning-identified thaw slumps based on their geomorphic features and temporal changes. The inventory includes 875 RTSs, of which 474 are clustered in the Beiluhe region, and 38 are near roads or railway lines. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.933957 (Xia et al., 2021), with the Chinese version at https://data.tpdc.ac.cn/zh-hans/disallow/50de2d4f-75e1-4bad-b316-6fb91d915a1a/. These RTSs tend to be located on north-facing slopes with gradients of 1.2°–18.1° and distributed at medium elevations ranging from 4511 to 5212 m. a.s.l. They prefer to develop on land receiving relatively low annual solar radiation (from 2900 to 3200 kWh m−2), alpine meadow covered, and silt loam underlay. The results provide a significant and fundamental benchmark dataset for quantifying thaw slump changes in this vulnerable region undergoing strong climatic warming and extensive human activities.

Analysis of Necessity and Feasibility for Ground Improvement in Warm and Ice-Rich Permafrost Regions

Characterized by low bearing capacity and high compressibility, warm and ice-rich frozen soil is a kind of problematic soil, which makes the original frozen ground formed by of that unreliable to meet the stability requirements of engineering infrastructures and foundations in permafrost regions. With the design and construction of major projects along the Qinghai-Tibet Engineering Corridor (QTEC), such as expressway and airport runway, it is a great challenge to favor the stability of overlying structures by formulating the proper engineering design principles and developing the valid engineering supporting techniques. The investigations carried out in recent years indicated that warm and ice-rich permafrost foundations were widespread, climate warming was significant, and the stability of existing engineering structures was poor, along the QTEC. When the warm and ice-rich frozen ground is used as the foundation soil, the implementation of ground improvement is an alternative measure to enhance the bearing capacity of foundation soil and eliminate the settlement of structures during operation, in order to guarantee the long-term stability of the structures. Based on the key factors determining the physicomechanical properties of frozen soil, an innovative idea of stabilizing the warm and ice-rich frozen soil based on chemical stabilization is proposed in this study, and then, an in situ ground improvement technique is introduced. This study intends to explore the feasibility of ground improvement in warm and ice-rich permafrost regions along the QTEC based on in situ chemical stabilization and provide the technical support and scientific reference to prevent and mitigate the hazards in the construction of major projects in the future.

Повышение точности прогнозных расчетов технического состояния нефтепроводов с учетом данных датчиков СОД о температуре перекачиваемой нефти

The experience of operating oil main pipelines laid underground in cryolithozone conditions shows that one of the reasons for the decrease in operational reliability of the pipeline is its thermal effect on permanently frozen ground. The parameter included in the list of initial data for predictive calculations of the technical condition of the oil pipeline is the temperature of the pumped oil, which is traditionally determined by the readings of the sensors measuring the temperature of the pipe wall of monitoring and supervisory control systems. However, the distance between these sensors can reach several tens of kilometers, so the measurements are valid only for selected sections on the pipeline segment, the shape of the temperature distribution function between them remains unknown, which negatively affects the accuracy of predictive calculations. To solve this problem it is proposed to use flow temperature sensors installed on cleaning and diagnostic facilities, with the help of which it is possible to measure the temperature of the pumped oil in each section of the pipeline. The authors set a goal to study the applicability of the results of oil temperature measurements by sensors from cleaning and diagnostics facilities to improve the accuracy of predictive calculations of thawing areolas and soil settlements at the base of main oil pipeline. In the course of the study, a series of tests was carried out using the oil temperature sensor installed on the inline inspection tool VIP 40-OPT.00-01.000 and pipe wall strap-on temperature sensor TSPU 011. According to the results of the study, the expediency of using the results of oil temperature measurements by the sensor of inline inspection tool when calculating the temperature of the pipeline wall to select the shape of the approximating function, as well as to solve related problems of geotechnical monitoring was confirmed. In order to improve the accuracy of predictive calculations of thawing areolas and soil settlements, an algorithm has been developed for checking the compliance of the calculated model of the oil pipeline with the actual pumping conditions. Опыт эксплуатации магистральных нефтепроводов, проложенных подземным способом в условиях криолитозоны, показывает, что одной из причин снижения эксплуатационной надежности трубопровода является его тепловое воздействие на многолетнемерзлый грунт. Параметром, входящим в перечень исходных данных для проведения прогнозных расчетов технического состояния нефтепровода, является температура перекачиваемой нефти, которая традиционно определяется по показаниям датчиков измерения температуры стенки трубы систем диспетчерского контроля и управления. Однако расстояние между этими датчиками может достигать десятков километров, поэтому проводимые измерения справедливы только для выбранных секций на участке трубопровода, форма функции распределения температуры между ними остается неизвестной, что отрицательно сказывается на точности прогнозных расчетов. Для решения данной проблемы предлагается использовать датчики температуры потока, устанавливаемые на средствах очистки и диагностики – с их помощью возможно производить измерения температуры перекачиваемой нефти в каждой секции трубопровода. Авторами поставлена цель по исследованию применимости результатов измерений температуры нефти датчиками со средств очистки и диагностики для повышения точности прогнозных расчетов ореолов оттаивания и осадок грунта в основании магистрального нефтепровода. В ходе исследования проведены испытания с использованием датчика температуры нефти, установленного на внутритрубном инспекционном приборе ВИП 40-ОПТ.00-01.000 и накладного датчика температуры стенки трубы ТСПУ 011. По итогам исследования подтверждена целесообразность использования результатов измерений температуры нефти датчиком внутритрубного инспекционного прибора при расчетах температуры стенки трубопровода для выбора формы аппроксимирующей функции, а также для решения сопутствующих задач геотехнического мониторинга. С целью повышения точности прогнозных расчетов ореола оттаивания и осадки грунта разработан алгоритм проверки соответствия расчетной модели нефтепровода фактическим условиям перекачки.

Thawing of Permafrost During the Operation of Wells of North-Mukerkamyl Oil and Gas Field

Thawing of ice-saturated rocks due to climate change or various technological impacts will be accompanied by subsidence of the earth’s surface and development of dangerous permafrost geological processes called thermokarst, leading to accidents, which may destruct the wells. Currently, the investment programs of the development of new northern oil and gas fields are restricted. In this regard, reducing the cost of developing the oil and gas fields is an urgent problem. For example, diminishing the area of well pads and maintaining efficiency in the northern oil and gas fields can significantly reduce the costs, in particular, during the design stage. A model of unsteady thermal fields propagation in frozen soil from new well construction for the North Mukerkamyl oil and gas field is developed, taking into account the construction features, the annulus, and the complex lithology of the soil surrounding the well. It is planned to take into account climatic and technological factors, in particular, an annual rest period of well operation, which held from several hours to two weeks. The paper discusses the computational features of the thermal fields calculating in frozen ground from wells and explores the influence of various parameters, which in the computations may lead to a significant increasing of thawing area in the well pads

Invisible Glaciers

This chapter introduces the concept of the periglacial environment, an area of frozen ground that is rich in hydrological resources. Periglacial environments provide drinking water to significant portions of the Earth’s population and are home to the enigmatic and almost unknown rock glaciers, which are subterranean rivers of ice, invisible to the naked eye unless you know where to look for them. The chapter offers the reader many pictures of rock glaciers around the world and describes the hydrological function and the natural dynamics of the periglacial environment and how it captures water from the atmosphere, freezes it, and then re-injects it into the ecosystem.

Degrading permafrost river catchments and their impact on Arctic Ocean nearshore processes

Arctic warming is causing ancient perennially frozen ground (permafrost) to thaw, resulting in ground collapse, and reshaping of landscapes. This threatens Arctic peoples' infrastructure, cultural sites, and land-based natural resources. Terrestrial permafrost thaw and ongoing intensification of hydrological cycles also enhance the amount and alter the type of organic carbon (OC) delivered from land to Arctic nearshore environments. These changes may affect coastal processes, food web dynamics and marine resources on which many traditional ways of life rely. Here, we examine how future projected increases in runoff and permafrost thaw from two permafrost-dominated Siberian watersheds—the Kolyma and Lena, may alter carbon turnover rates and OC distributions through river networks. We demonstrate that the unique composition of terrestrial permafrost-derived OC can cause significant increases to aquatic carbon degradation rates (20 to 60% faster rates with 1% permafrost OC). We compile results on aquatic OC degradation and examine how strengthening Arctic hydrological cycles may increase the connectivity between terrestrial landscapes and receiving nearshore ecosystems, with potential ramifications for coastal carbon budgets and ecosystem structure. To address the future challenges Arctic coastal communities will face, we argue that it will become essential to consider how nearshore ecosystems will respond to changing coastal inputs and identify how these may affect the resiliency and availability of essential food resources.