Zoological erosion in permafrost environments: A possible origin of dells?¹

Ideas and observations for this paper were obtained during the High Arctic Symposium and Field Meeting on Ellesmere Island organized and led by Dr. Antoni Lewkowicz. (I cannot thank Toni enough for helping fund my participation and for all the work and effort he put into this meeting.) Dr. Lewkowicz also kindly gave the author permission to quote some of his data on Ellesmere climate and permafrost and to submit this paper. Some funding for the author's participation came from NSERC Research Grant #169996 and from the University of Northern British Columbia—both of whom are thanked. Dr. Colin Thorn and an anonymous reviewer greatly helped in improving this paper and I am most grateful for their suggestions and advice.

Abstract

In most cold‐region studies, animals as geomorphic agents have been considered “curiosities”; and thus not in need of study and quantification. Available evidence does, however, indicate that animals can be major causes of erosion and sediment transport. Furthermore, the zoogeomorphic effects may be exploited by other processes that would otherwise not occur. Permafrost is susceptible to degradation as a result of loss of the active layer. Surface processes in permafrost regions are greatly affected by the vegetation cover such that loss of vegetation and erosion of the active layer causes melting of the permafrost, surface runoff, erosion, and debris transport. It is suggested that muskox frequently follow the troughs of ice‐wedge polygons as preferential access routes to streams and rivers. In so doing, they cause erosion of the vegetation and active layer, thereby causing permafrost degradation and initiation of secondary geomorphic processes. Based on observations on Ellesmere Island, it is suggested that this form of zoological erosion could explain the occurrence of dells. Key words: zoogeomorphology, permafrost, erosion, ice‐wedge polygons, dells.

Notes

Ideas and observations for this paper were obtained during the High Arctic Symposium and Field Meeting on Ellesmere Island organized and led by Dr. Antoni Lewkowicz. (I cannot thank Toni enough for helping fund my participation and for all the work and effort he put into this meeting.) Dr. Lewkowicz also kindly gave the author permission to quote some of his data on Ellesmere climate and permafrost and to submit this paper. Some funding for the author's participation came from NSERC Research Grant #169996 and from the University of Northern British Columbia—both of whom are thanked. Dr. Colin Thorn and an anonymous reviewer greatly helped in improving this paper and I am most grateful for their suggestions and advice.