Geocryological‐engineering properties of cryogenic weathering crusts in deposits in northern Yakutia

Abstract

The article presents the results of a comparative study of the cryogenic weathering layer (in terms of granulometric composition and cryogenic texture) in two contrasting environments. One site, located at the summit of Turku Mountain near Kular in northern Yakutia, represents a “low‐dynamic”; weathering environment in an area of gentle relief and is characterized by cryogenic breakdown of the bedrock into a deep layer of sandy loam. The other site, near Mount Churpunn'ya, represents a more dynamic cryogenic weathering environment and the profile here consists mainly of coarse blocky material from which the fines have been almost entirely removed by solifluction. The author demonstrates that variations in the specific surface index (total surface area of particles per unit mass of the material) provides a useful index for assessing the depth of bedrock affected by cryogenic weathering.