is there another explanation for pingo growth?

I believe there is a very credible alternative model which in addition to the build-up of excess pore water pressure relies upon the development of high levels of in-plane tensile and compressive stress in the permafrost layer. These stresses are due to the restraint of the expansions and contractions that in the absence of lateral restraint would occur when the permafrost layer is subject to seasonal increases in temperature. A thermally induced upheaval buckling under these conditions will be argued in a future blog to be consistent with the observed local distortions that characterise the typical geomorphic features of the pingo. But more inportant it will be demonstrated that the average annual temperature changes through the thickness of the pingo required to induce an increment of pingo growth are well within the ranges experienced in the areas where pingos typically occur.

However, before describing this alternative explanation of how pingos might form, it might be helpful to establish the background to this new model in relation to the thermally induced, uplift, buckling of heavy sheets. For this reason my next posting will represent a temporary deviation from the pingo theme of my current postings.