Patterned ground in the Maritimes, Canada
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/BP/1976/26/12Keywords:
polygonal ground, distribution of trees, periglacial ground structuresAbstract
Polygonal ground patterning expressed by the distribution of tree species has been widely observed in the Maritimes, Canada. The differential distribution of trees arose because poorly drained peripheral gullies contrasted with drier polygon centres. This patterning shows the closest similarity with polygonal ground structures forming today in the arctic, and so they probably originated during deglaciation at the close of the Pleistocene.
References
Billings, W. D. and Mark, A. F., 1961 - Interactions between Alpine tundra vegetation and patterned ground in the mountains of southern New Zealand. Ecology, 42; p. 18-31.
Billings, W. D. and Mooney, H. A., 1959 - An apparent frost hummock-sorted polygon cycle in the Alpine tundra of Wyoming. Ecology, 40; p. 16-20.
Black, R. F., 1952 - Growth of ice-wedge polygons in permafrost near Barrow, Alaska. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 63; p. 1235-1236.
Black, R. F., 1957 - Pleistocene climatic change recorded by ice-wedge polygon casts of Cary Age at Rivers Falls, Wisconsin. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 68; p.1888-1889.
Black, R. F., 1969 - Climatically significant fossil periglacial phenomena in northcentral United States. Biul. Peryglacjalny, 20; p. 225-238.
Borns, H. W., 1965 - Late glacial ice-wedge casts in northern Nova Scotia, Canada. Science, 148; p. 1223-1226.
Cabot, E. C., 1947 - The northern Alaskan coastal plain interpreted from aerial photographs. Geogr. Rev., 37; p. 639-640.
Corte, A. E., 1962 - Relationship between four ground patterns, structure of the active layer, and type and distribution of ice in the permafrost. U.S. Army Cold Reg. Res. Eng. Lab., Res. Rep. 1; 88 p.
Dimbleby, G. W., 1952 - Pleistocene ice wedges in northeast Yorkshire. Jour Soil Sci., 3; p.1-19.
Drury, W. H., 1962 - Patterned ground and vegetation on southern Bylot Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Gray Herbarium of Harvard Univ., Cambridge, Mass., No. 190.
Elton, C. B., 1927 - The nature and origin of soil-polygons in Spitzbergen. Jour. Geol. Soc., 83; p. 163-194.
Frost, R. E., 1952 - Interpretation of permafrost features from airphotos. In: Frost action in soils. U. S. Highway Res. Board, Spec. Rep. 2; 223-246.
Hopkins, D. M. and Sigafoos, R. S., 1951 - Frost action and vegetation patterns on Seward Peninsula, Alaska. U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 974-C; p. 51-100.
Lachenbruch, A. H., 1961 - Depth and spacing of tension cracks. Jour. Geophys. Res., 66; p. 4273-4292.
Leffingwell, E. K., 1915 - Ground-ice wedges - the dominant form of ground-ice on the north coast of Alaska. Jour. Geol., 23; p. 635-654.
Morgan, A. V., 1972 - Late Wisconsinan ice-wedge polygons near Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Can. Jour. Earth Sci., 9; p. 607-617.
Péwé, T. L., 1966 - Permafrost and its effect on life in the North. Oregon State Univ. Press, Corvallis, Oregon; p. 1-40.
Polunin, N., 1934 - The vegetation of Akpatok Island. Part 1. Jour. Ecol., 22; p. 337-395.
Selzer, G., 1936 - Diluviale Losskeile und Losskeilnetze aus der Umgebung Göttingen. Geol. Rundsch., 27; p. 275-293.
Taber, S., 1943 - Perenially frozen ground in Alaska; its origin and history. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 54; p. 1433-1548.
Washburn, A. L., 1956 - Classification of patterned ground and review of suggested origins. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 67; p. 823-865.

