Characterization and Mapping of Patterned Ground in the Saginaw Lowlands, Michigan: Possible Evidence for Late-Wisconsin Permafrost

Landform characterization using geophysics—Recent advances, applications, and emerging tools

“…8 shows the results of two parallel CST profiles; test borings prior to opening the soil pit confirmed that at a position of x = 0 m, where values of resistivity where highest, sand was present. This anomaly was excavated and confirmed to be a bowl-shaped, laterally continuous, body of sandy loam, interpreted as a thermokarst channel (Lusch et al, 2009). In this study, ERT and CST provided complementary information to mapping from aerial photos and traditional methods for characterizing soils.…”

“…In a recent study in the Saginaw Lowlands in Michigan, USA, polygonal patterned ground, attributed to paleo-permafrost, was characterized by mapping with aerial photographs, GIS and statistical methods, soils characterization, and geophysics (Lusch et al, 2009). Strongly patterned ground was found in approximately 5% (~1000 km 2 ) of the total study area, bounded by paleo-shorelines of Glacial Lakes Elkton and Warren (Fig.…”

“…At site D, constant spread electrical resistivity profiling was successfully used to locate a high resistivity anomaly in a swale very near the location of an apparent sand-wedge cast (Lusch, 1982;Lusch et al, 2009). Fig.…”

“…The majority of polygons in the study area are about 1 hectare in size, with a long axis that is, on average, double the short axis. Most polygons are oriented roughly north-south and are formed in loamy soil texture classes (Lusch et al, 2009). Sites for detailed field investigations were chosen based on aerial photographs and were located in forested areas to minimize disturbance from farming activities (Fig.…”

High-resolution electrical resistivity tomography applied to patterned ground, Wedel Jarlsberg Land, south-west Spitsbergen

“…These processes are favoured in ice-free areas of high latitudes and in high mountains. Relict patterned ground and related structures, inherited from periods of Pleistocene cooling, are more widespread and widely identified in lowland terrains of Eurasia and North America (e.g., Sekyra 1956;Kaatz 1959;Williams 1964;Christensen 1974;Boardman 1987;Lusch et al 2009;Dą bski 2011). Early reviews of patterned ground formation (Jahn 1948;Troll 1958) indicate that the origin, distribution and controls on the development of these structures generated interest as early as in the beginning of the 20th century.…”