Modelling of deep seated hill slope creep in permafrost

Abstract

Attempts have been made to simulate hillslope creep observations at a site near the village of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. Unlike other creep studies in permafrost, this site was unique in that the deformations occurred within a massive ice body, forming the core of a 30 m high concentric hill approximately 1200 m long and 700 m wide. The described simulation model of slope creep is based on both an extension of a closed-form solution originally proposed for two- and three-dimensional ice caps and a finite element creep analysis. The solution covers cyclic temperature fluctuations and incorporates spatial variations of the temperature-dependent creep parameters. Results of simulations are compared with in situ measurements of creep displacements in the hill.Key words: permafrost, slope, creep, in situ measurements, numerical simulation.