The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Permafrost (original) (raw)
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The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia | |
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Permafrost is a feature of the frigid terrainclose to the Earth's poles. It is a permanent layer of underground ice that is not thawed by the brief polar summer, due to the insulating effect of the overlying soil.
Early construction along the Alaska-Canada Highwayexposed long sections of permafrost, which melted during the Arctic summer and ruined the roadbed. Road engineers responded by developing roadbuilding techniques that kept the permafrost frozen, such as the use of a thick gravel roadbed that mimicked the natural insulation provided by overlying soil.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index
