{"id":56399,"date":"2026-04-14T12:12:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/shorts\/melting-permafrost-why-soils-cannot-be-strengthened-but-can-be-stabilized\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T08:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:54:13","slug":"melting-permafrost-why-soils-cannot-be-strengthened-but-can-be-stabilized","status":"publish","type":"shorts","link":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/shorts\/melting-permafrost-why-soils-cannot-be-strengthened-but-can-be-stabilized\/","title":{"rendered":"Melting permafrost: why soils cannot be strengthened but can be stabilized"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When people talk about melting frozen ground, the consequences come to mind: sinkholes, shrivelled houses on permafrost, ruined roads. But the problem starts earlier and deeper. Scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-03-permafrost-permeable.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have proven<\/a> that when frozen ground warms up from -5 to +1 \u00b0C, it becomes 25-100 times more permeable. The ice in the pores melts, and channels for water and gases open up inside the rock. All this happens unnoticed as long as the ground looks stable.      <\/p>\n\n<p>In this article we analyze observational data from Russian and foreign research centers to understand what happens to permafrost during warming, why it cannot be simply strengthened and what helps to slow down its destruction.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What permafrost soils are made of and how they are monitored<\/h2>\n\n<p>In geology, permafrost is soil where the temperature <a href=\"https:\/\/neftegaz.ru\/tech-library\/geologiya-poleznykh-iskopaemykh\/147914-vechnaya-merzlota\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stays<\/a> below 0 \u00b0C for at least two consecutive years. It is not a homogeneous frozen mass, inside there is ice, mineral part, organic matter, water and voids. Their ratio varies greatly from region to region, for example:  <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>on the Arctic coast of Alaska, the ice content in the upper meters of the ground can be as high as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2409411121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">80%;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the edomic sediments of <a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/kolyma-gold-people-state-why-the-past-has-not-gone-away\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eastern Siberia<\/a>, which have been formed for tens of thousands of years, ice occupies <a href=\"https:\/\/bg.copernicus.org\/articles\/17\/3797\/2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">from 50 to 90% of the<\/a> rock volume.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>The more ice, the more the ground changes as the permafrost thaws.  <\/p>\n\n<p>That is why it is impossible to assess the condition of the underground strata by eye. Scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gtn-p.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">monitor<\/a> two key parameters: <\/p>\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ground temperature at a depth of several meters to 10-20 m &#8211; it is more stable there than at the surface;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the depth of the seasonally thawed layer &#8211; the upper part of the permafrost, which thaws every summer (in the high Arctic latitudes this layer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/permafrost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is<\/a> only 20-40 cm, but in warmer regions, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/rajony-dobychi-almazov-v-rossii\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yakutia<\/a>, it reaches 1-2 meters).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-1024x499.webp\"><img data-dominant-color=\"bfd4d5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #bfd4d5;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"499\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-1024x499.webp\" alt=\"Permafrost types: dark color indicates island and discontinuous permafrost, light color - continuous permafrost\" class=\"wp-image-54716 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-1024x499.webp 1024w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-300x146.webp 300w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-150x73.webp 150w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-768x374.webp 768w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-1536x749.webp 1536w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-1200x585.webp 1200w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty-600x293.webp 600w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-1.-tipy-vechnoj-merzloty.webp 1920w\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Permafrost types: dark color indicates island and discontinuous permafrost, light color indicates continuous permafrost. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/geokrio.ru\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PORA Expert Center<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>The temperature range from -5 to +1 \u00b0C is considered critical. This is where the permafrost loses its stability and changes its properties the fastest. Observational data show that the process is already underway. In northern Yakutia and Taymyr, the permafrost thawing depth has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-445X\/13\/12\/2150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increasing<\/a> over the last decades. According to the Russian division of CALM (a global network of 260 sites where scientists are engaged in geocryology), this trend has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.permafrost.su\/sites\/default\/files\/2024_%D0%90%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%98%D0%98.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">been recorded<\/a> at 69 out of 71 monitoring sites.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-midnight-gradient-background has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-d57a2b724bcd6cbf68683dd9035c3833\"><strong><em>Read also: <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/news\/novye-standarty-stroitelstva-na-vechnoj-merzlote-utverzhdeny-v-rossii\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>&#8220;New permafrost construction standards approved in Russia&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How soils lose stability as permafrost thaws<\/h2>\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s break down the three processes that cause permafrost to lose stability.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The seasonally thawed layer is getting deeper<\/h3>\n\n<p>Every summer the top layer of permafrost soil thaws and then freezes again in winter. It is called seasonally thawed, or active. The depth of this layer is one of the main indicators of the state of permafrost, and it is its dynamics that tells us what is happening to the rocks.  <\/p>\n\n<p>In the Taymir, for example, the average depth of the active layer <a href=\"https:\/\/par.nsf.gov\/servlets\/purl\/10326620\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has increased<\/a> from about 80 cm in the 1980s to 96 cm in the 2000-2020s. The trend is about 1 cm per year. The deeper the seasonal thawing penetrates, the faster the permafrost loses stability, even if nothing has changed on the surface yet.  <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The permafrost is becoming more permeable<\/h3>\n\n<p>When the ice inside the ground begins to melt, channels for water and gases appear in the rock. The water carries the heat deep down and speeds up the process, while methane and carbon dioxide, which have been trapped in the strata for thousands of years, make their way to the surface. <\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2026\/04\/260404191033.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A University of Massachusetts study<\/a> shows what this leads to in practice. In northern Alaska, groundwater flow through thawing ground is increasing, the permafrost thawing season has stretched into October, and the amount of ancient carbon that rivers carry into the ocean has multiplied. So thawing sets off a chain reaction: more water inside the rock &#8211; more melting &#8211; more emissions &#8211; more warming.  <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The devastation is dramatic<\/h3>\n\n<p>Permafrost does not always erode gradually. One of the characteristic phenomena is regressive thermocircles. This is the name given to landslide-like collapses that occur when the ground thaws abruptly. The surface can subside in one season, changing the relief by tens and hundreds of meters.   <\/p>\n\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-03-recovery-sudden-permafrost-collapse-ranges.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study by the University of Illinois<\/a>, it takes from ten years in the low Arctic latitudes to a century in the high Arctic and high-mountain regions for vegetation to recover after such collapses. However, the return of greenery does not mean that the permafrost itself has recovered. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-midnight-gradient-background has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-55c94c9ef2b0f022fcffa87a4bbd93a7\"><strong><em>Read also: <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/news\/monitoring-merzloty-operativno\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>&#8220;Monitoring of permafrost with rapid methods &#8211; development of scientists&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Permafrost houses are only part of the problem<\/h2>\n\n<p>Degradation of frozen ground <a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/news\/klimaticheskie-izmeneniya-ugrozhayut-merzlote-shpicbergena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">affects<\/a> infrastructure, changes the carbon balance, hydrology and ecosystems of entire regions.<\/p>\n\n<p>Permafrost is one of the largest reservoirs of carbon on the planet, containing about 1,700 billion tons, three times the amount in Earth&#8217;s entire atmosphere. As long as the ground remains frozen, this carbon is conserved. Today, the Arctic tundra is no <a href=\"https:\/\/arctic.noaa.gov\/report-card\/report-card-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">longer<\/a> a carbon sink and has become a carbon source. Average annual emissions from fires in the region amount to about 207 million tons of carbon.   <\/p>\n\n<p>The Arctic itself is also changing. In 200 rivers in Alaska, water <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/centers\/alaska-science-center\/science\/rusting-arctic-rivers-freshwater-ecosystems-respond-rapidly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has turned<\/a> orange over the past decade. Melting permafrost is releasing iron and other metals that increase acidity and threaten ecosystems. Shorelines are becoming more vulnerable, too. In the Chukchi Sea, the season of protective landfast ice <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2026-03-alaska-analysis-loss-arctic-landfast.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">decreased<\/a> by 57 days, and in the Beaufort Sea by 39 days between 1996 and 2023. Without an ice sheet, frozen shores deteriorate faster.     <\/p>\n\n<p>All these processes raise one practical question: can permafrost degradation be slowed down &#8211; and if so, how?<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-1024x768.webp\"><img data-dominant-color=\"6a6f6a\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #6a6f6a;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-1024x768.webp\" alt=\"An aerial view of the Kutuk River in Alaska's Arctic Gateway National Park, which looks like orange paint spilling over clear blue water.\" class=\"wp-image-54719 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-1200x900.webp 1200w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2-600x450.webp 600w, https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ris.-2.webp 1600w\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An aerial view of the Kutuk River in Alaska&#8217;s Arctic Gateway National Park, which looks like orange paint spilling over clear blue water. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucdavis.edu\/climate\/news\/alaskas-rusting-waters-pristine-rivers-and-streams-turning-orange\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ken Hill<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So can the permafrost be strengthened<\/h2>\n\n<p>The word &#8220;strengthen&#8221; is an illusion. The permafrost cannot be made solid again <a href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/news\/otecestvennaya-it-razrabotka-geotehmonitoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">like repairing a foundation<\/a>. In practice, the task is different: not to return permafrost to its former state, but to slow down its degradation where possible.  <\/p>\n\n<p>Today the main tool is monitoring. In Russia, starting from 2023, the AARI <a href=\"https:\/\/poisknews.ru\/arktika-i-antarktika\/aanii-v-rossii-sozdaetsya-sistema-fonovogo-monitoringa-sostoyaniya-mnogoletnej-merzloty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is deploying<\/a> a state system of background permafrost observation. As of the beginning of 2026, there are 78 sites in 12 regions &#8211; from Spitsbergen to Chukotka. Each station is a 25-meter deep borehole with 32 sensors that transmit data on ground temperature at different horizons several times a day. The full network of 140 sites is still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interfax.ru\/russia\/1075248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">being formed<\/a>.    <\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;In the next hundreds of years, the permafrost will not be destroyed globally, although there will be a restructuring of this system. It should be carefully monitored, timely and correctly respond to changes,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnp.ru\/social\/merzlota-rastaet-pod-kontrolem-uchenykh.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">notes<\/a> Alexander Makarov, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>In parallel, local engineering solutions are also being tested. In the Arctic cities of Norilsk and Salekhard, thermal stabilizers are <a href=\"https:\/\/rg.ru\/2020\/06\/17\/kak-zashchitit-zhilye-doma-ot-taianiia-vechnoj-merzloty.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">used<\/a>: devices that use winter cold to cool the ground beneath buildings. This is not permafrost stabilization in the broad sense, but point temperature stabilization at the base of specific buildings. Such measures help protect infrastructure, but do not solve the problem of permafrost degradation as a geological system.   <\/p>\n\n<p>At the landscape level, scientists talk about a different set of measures: preserving vegetation cover, controlling drainage and snow accumulation, and limiting interference with surface conditions.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>What is the situation with permafrost in your region? If you work in the Arctic, have experienced the consequences of permafrost degradation or are involved in monitoring, please tell us in the comments. Your experience is important to us.  <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When people talk about melting frozen ground, the consequences come to mind: sinkholes, shrivelled houses on permafrost, ruined roads. But the problem starts earlier and deeper. Scientists have proven that when frozen ground warms up from -5 to +1 \u00b0C, it becomes 25-100 times more permeable. The ice in the pores melts, and channels for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":56402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Permafrost thawing: causes and stabilization","_seopress_titles_desc":"Melting permafrost: why soils are losing stability, whether they can be strengthened and what stabilization and monitoring methods are used today.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[566,581],"tags":[585,584],"class_list":{"0":"post-56399","1":"shorts","2":"type-shorts","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"category-ecology","7":"category-geology","8":"tag-climate-and-ecosystems","9":"tag-geotechnical-survey"},"acf":[],"pbg_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884.webp",1024,768,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884-150x113.webp",150,113,true],"medium":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884-300x225.webp",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884-768x576.webp",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884.webp",1024,768,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884.webp",1024,768,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884.webp",1024,768,false],"bricks_large_16x9":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884-1024x675.webp",1024,675,true],"bricks_large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884.webp",1024,768,false],"bricks_large_square":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884.webp",1024,768,false],"bricks_medium":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884-600x450.webp",600,450,true],"bricks_medium_square":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/p9200884-600x600.webp",600,600,true]},"pbg_author_info":{"display_name":"Yulia Frolova","author_link":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/author\/giulia-nikolaevna\/","author_img":false},"pbg_comment_info":" No Comments","pbg_excerpt":"When people talk about melting frozen ground, the consequences come to mind: sinkholes, shrivelled houses on permafrost, ruined roads. But the problem starts earlier and deeper. Scientists have proven that when frozen ground warms up from -5 to +1 \u00b0C, it becomes 25-100 times more permeable. The ice in the pores melts, and channels for&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shorts\/56399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shorts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/shorts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shorts\/56399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56403,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shorts\/56399\/revisions\/56403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}