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PREFERRED TERM

PERMAFROST  

DEFINITION

  • (Also called perennially frozen ground, pergelisol, permanently frozen ground.) A layer of soil or bedrock at a variable depth beneath the surface of the earth in which the temperature has been below freezing continuously from a few to several thousands of years. Permafrost exists where the summer heating fails to descend to the base of the layer of frozen ground. A continuous stratum of permafrost is found where the annual mean temperature is below about 5C (23F).

BROADER CONCEPT

URI

https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/b6723314-3db7-4bdd-85ee-0b8507e6ae1b

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