Permafrost
26.03.2025
Permafrost
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For Prelims: About Permafrost, What Is Permafrost Made Of? |
Why in the news?
According to a new study, permafrost covers 64.8% of the total area of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
About Permafrost:
- Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight.
Where are they found?
- These permanently frozen grounds are most common in regions with high mountains and in Earth’s higher latitudes—near the North and South Poles.
- They can be found on land and below the ocean floor.
- It can extend down beneath the earth’s surface from a few feet to more than a mile, covering entire regions, such as the Arctic tundra, or a single, isolated spot, such as a mountaintop of alpine permafrost.
- Permafrost covers large regions of the Earth. Almost a quarter of the land area in the Northern Hemisphere has permafrost underneath.
What Is Permafrost Made Of?
- Permafrost is made of a combination of soil, rocks and sand that are held together by ice.
- The soil and ice in permafrost stay frozen all year long.
- Although the ground is frozen, permafrost regions are not always covered in snow.
- Near the surface, permafrost soils also contain large quantities of organic carbon—a material leftover from dead plants that couldn’t decompose, or rot away, due to the cold.
- Lower permafrost layers contain soils made mostly of minerals.
- A layer of soil on top of permafrost does not stay frozen all year. This layer, called the active layer, thaws during the warm summer months and freezes again in the fall.
- In colder regions, the ground rarely thaws—even in the summer. There, the active layer is very thin—only 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters). In warmer permafrost regions, the active layer can be several meters thick.
Source: The Hindu
Consider the following statements regarding Permafrost:
1. It is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight.
2. It is made of a combination of soil, rocks and sand that are held together by ice.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.1 only
B.2 only
C.Both 1 and 2
D.Neither 1 nor 2
Answer C