MODELLING PERMAFROST TERRAIN USING KINEMATIC, DUAL-WAVELENGTH LASER SCANNING

This study investigates a new landform found on Axel Heiberg Island in Nunavut, Canada. Vermicular Ridge Features (VRFs) are comprised of a series of ridges and troughs creating a unique brain-like pattern. We aim to identify how VRFs form and assess the past climate conditions necessary for their formation. We use surface elevation and subsurface data to infer a formation mechanism. We propose VRFs were formed from the burial and removal of glacier ice as the glaciers were retreating.

We attempt to enhance the current diagnostic criteria for channels formed under ice sheets by applying mathematical relationships commonly used to describe the correlation between river size and discharge. Our analysis reveals a unique relationship between channel size and drainage area size, which we have interpreted to represent formation under an ice sheet. These relationships can be applied to extremely remote environments to discuss glaciation in locations with accessibility constraints.