First application of time-domain electromagnetic technology (TEM) for permafrost mapping on the Arctic shelf.

Abstract:

Different geophysical methods are used to study and map submarine permafrost on the Arctic Shelf. Due to specific features of submarine permafrost, none of geophysical methods can provide conclusive data when gas-charged sediments and taliks occur within permafrost. Experimental data show that electrical properties of frozen grounds change significantly. For example, depending on ground lithology and wetness, electrical resistivity can increase up to 10³ times upon freezing. Thus, electromagnetic methods could be considered more informative and valuable tool for characterizing subsea permafrost. Investigation of submarine permafrost on the shallow Arctic Shelf requires modifications of electromagnetic methods to cover specific needs of working from the fast ice. Winter expeditions devoted to subsea permafrost investigations were performed in March-April of 2012-2015 in the near-shore area of the Laptev Sea. TEM was applied to predict permafrost down to 1 km depth. TEM systems are advantageous when many stations are required, because many short deployments can be performed in a single survey. Working from the fast ice allowed collection of few tens of stations to cover the entire polygon. Interpretation of data collected in 2012 allowed to predict position of the permafrost table near-shore near Muostakh Island, which was validated by followed up permafrost drilling. Surveys performed in 2013-2015 also confirmed good agreement between electromagnetic data and observational data obtained by drilling. Accuracy of the methods reached 3.5%. Note, that in March-April of 2014 and 2015, we used the modified TEM which allows obtaining continuous subsea permafrost table profiles.