I think your mixing up terms here. For N.Dakota its the frost line (depth of frozen ground). During years when theres a lot of cold and no snow, the ground freezes deeper and can affect foundations, fences, roads, driveways, water lines and septic systems. Frost heaves are what do the damage to most of the surface stuff, parts of the ground remain frozen (like a rock) and move due to expansion and like cans of vegetables, the bigger stuff pushes upward. So depending on the type of soil, and its moisture content, frost heaves can cause big problems.
Growing up, we had two spots in our driveway that got frost heaves. Below was sand above was clay. The clay remained frozen above the sand and was like a trampoline because as the sand thawed it got smaller and left an air gap. One particularly bad year the neighbors 64 chevy PU broke thru and the front left tire was in a hole all the way to the frame.
Waiting for the frost to come out of the ground can slow planting and cause equipment damage when your out plowing and hit one of these ice chunks below the surface.
Its also part of the flooding issues in Grand Forks. At that particular point in the USA, the river flows north, so warmer waters from the south are overflowing partly due to the frozen ground working exactly like a concrete road. The water cannot soak in because its still frozen (but this isnt the only issue for Grand Forks).
Quote:
Originally Posted by lemit
I grew up hearing about permafrost from relatives in North Dakota and Montana, and from my father, who did farm work summers in North Dakota when he was a teenager.
Do farmers in North Dakota still battle permafrost? What about ranchers in Montana? It seems to me that if the permafrost is receding, we might be experiencing something like warming on a large scale, almost of global proportions. I can't think of a good term for it, but maybe you can guess what I'm getting at.
This gives a hint at what's happening: How rapidly is permafrost changing - Romanovsky
Does anybody here have other research or personal knowledge of a change in the permafrost? I have to admit I'd particularly like to hear the personal experiences, since that's how I first heard about permafrost.
Thanks.
--lemit |
