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Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions ›› 2019, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (4): 257-266.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2019.00257.

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Influence of frost weathering on the recession of surfaces of technogenic landforms in Yakutia

Andrey E. Melnikov1,2(),Nikolay N. Grib2   

  1. 1. Melnikov Permafrost Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk 677010, Russia
    2. Technical Institute (branch) of M. K. Ammosov North-eastern Federal University, Neryungri 678960, Russia
  • Received:2019-04-02 Accepted:2019-05-23 Online:2019-08-31 Published:2019-09-02
  • Contact: Andrey E. Melnikov E-mail:MelnikowDron@mail.ru

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Abstract:

The article assesses the influence of permafrost weathering on the rate of destruction of technogenic land forms, as exhibited on as illustrated by the railway embankment of the Amur-Yakut mainline in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Studies were carried out on a railway section more than 375 km long. The subsidence rate of the embankment slopes and structural excavations was determined using laboratory methods that simulate various mechanisms of temperature (with a transition through 0 °C) impact on rocks. For the first time, a quantitative assessment of the influence of cryogenic weathering on the stability of the railway in the region belonging to the northern building-climatic zone is given. For the territory under consideration, embankment rocks were experimentally determined to undergo more than 100 freezing and thawing cycles during a year. Under the existing climatic conditions, cryogenic weathering actively affects the embankment of the railway to a depth of 30 cm. Most of the embankment deformations detected during field observations are due to defects in the integrity of this particular layer. The size of the disintegrating layer of particular types of rock comprising the railway embankment has been established as reaching 10 cm per year. In 5 years following the formation of embankments comprising the upper structure of the railroad tracks, the physical and mechanical properties of rocks, which initially had a tensile strength for uniaxial compression in the range of 40-70 MPa, were reduced by more than 50%. According to the authors, the establishment of regional cryohypergenesis features is universal in nature and can be applied to solving a wide range of tasks related to the assessment and prediction of the degree of cryogenic transformation of rocks having different structural properties.

Key words: cryogenic weathering, embankment, railway, subsidence rate, Republic of Sakha, Yakutia

Figure 1

Tommot-Kerdem railway section on a schematic map of the territory of Russia. 1: Amur-Yakut mainline; 2: section of the Tommot-Kerdem railway on the Amur-Yakut mainline; 3: populated areas; and 4: water bodies"

Figure 2

Location of temperature sensors on the Tommot-Kerdem railway embankment:1: laying platform for the upper structure of the track; 2: embankment slopes; 3: installation of thermistor chain in the embankment body; 4, 5: elements of the embankment, protected by various structures from active weather"

Figure 3

Distribution scheme of rocky soil on the embankment. 1: levelling layer 0.5-m thick of rocky soil of maximum fraction 20 cm; 2: rocky soil with filler up to 10%; 3: rocky soil with a diameter of 20-50 cm without filler; and 4: reinforcement by rocky soil layered up to 0.5 m"

Table 1

Mineral composition of carbonate rocks composing the embankment of the railway"

Rock Structure Texture Mineral composition
Main Accessory Secondary

Limestone with dolomite

impurity, micro-cracked

Pelitomorphic,

micro-, fine-grained

 Massive Calcite 97% Zircon o.g.

Quartz 1%

Dolomite 2%

Pyrite r.g.

Pyrrhotite o.g.

Fe oxides o.g.

Sericite o.g.
Dolomite Micro-grained, mosaic Massive Dolomite 98%

Pyrite r.g.

Quartz o.g.

K-feldspar o.g.

Fe oxides up to 2%

Chlorite o.g.

Fe oxides up to 3%

Quartz o.g.
Dolomite with finely dispersed Fe oxides, with platy parting Micro-grained

Lammelar,

fine-lammelar

 Dolomite 96%

K-feldspar 1%

Rutile r.g.

Sericite r.g.

Strontianite <1%

Table 2

Average number of transitions through 0 °С of air temperature on the land surface along the Tommot-Kerdem Railway line"

Month Tommot Amga Kerdem
January 0 0 0
February 0 0 0
March 1 2 -
April 42 35 35
May 24 20 16
June 0 0 1
July 0 0 0
August 0 0 0
September 27 31 26
October 29 26 24
November 3 2 2
December 0 0 0
Total for the whole year 126 116 104

Figure 4

Change in the number of temperature transitions through 0 °C in the embankment, depending on depth, h;"

Figure 5

Degree of rock destruction, depending on the hydrological conditions along the railway, July 2012: (a) weathering of dolomite without water flow (upper part of the slope); (b) destruction of the same"

Table 3

Rate of rock disintegration during cryogenic weathering"

Rock FTC conditions h (mm) υМВР (cm/a) Size of the disintegrating layer at 5 years of monitoring (cm)
Dolomite with a fine impurity of iron oxides I 0.5291 6.08 30.42
II 0.7727 8.89 44.43
III 0.7733 8.89 44.47
Limestone with dolomite impurity I 0.2652 3.05 15.25
II 0.3147 3.62 18.09
III 0.3600 4.14 20.70
Sandstone I 0.2400 2.76 13.80
II 0.3333 3.83 19.17
III 0.3733 4.29 21.47
Dolomite I 0.1467 1.69 8.43
II 0.2240 2.58 12.88
III 0.2620 3.01 15.07

Figure 6

Disintegration of dolomite with a finely dispersed impurity of Fe oxides, forming the recess, under the influence of cryogenic weathering: 2008 (a), 2014 (b)"

Table 4

Weight loss of FTC-tested samples, ΔМ (%)"

Rock FTC conditions FTC number
25 50 100 200 300 400 500
Dolomite with a fine impurity of iron oxides I 4.11 10.32 18.94 22.47 29.18 32.10 39.68
II 6.00 15.61 23.85 27.41 40.73 52.64 57.95
III 8.93 21.32 28.20 35.55 49.95 57.00 58.00
Limestone with dolomite impurity I 1.54 3.88 5.95 11.55 14.07 17.00 19.89
II 2.30 3.23 8.85 13.52 15.41 21.00 23.60
III 3.50 5.95 9.37 15.50 18.86 23.50 27.00
Sandstone I 1.60 4.00 8.89 10.32 14.44 16.03 18.00
II 3.00 6.20 13.00 14.72 17.48 20.77 25.00
III 4.20 8.90 16.80 22.60 21.00 24.50 28.00
Dolomite I 0.90 2.00 2.94 6.30 9.00 12.50 11.00
II 1.40 2.30 3.50 8.00 9.86 14.50 16.80
III 2.00 3.33 5.10 9.89 12.47 15.68 19.65

Figure 7

Disintegration of rock samples under the influence of cryogenic weathering after 500 FTC, depending on the conditions of freezing and thawing. Rows. 1: dolomite; 2: limestone with dolomite impurity; 3: dolomite with finely dispersed impurity of"

Table 5

Change in the tensile strength (σ) of rock under uniaxial compression (MPa)after a certain number of FTC under"

Rock FTC conditions FTC number
0 25 50 100 200 300 400
Dolomite with a fine impurity of iron oxides I 42.25 37.18 31.11 21.25 18.75 15.77 12.01
II 42.25 36.99 28.05 18.75 13.32 10.45 8.89
III 42.25 31.55 25.15 17.68 9.33 - -
Limestone with dolomite impurity I 67.79 62.51 49.81 48.50 47.64 44.29 42.62
II 67.79 59.87 47.25 45.00 41.00 39.67 37.91
III 67.79 55.12 46.15 41.27 39.89 38.52 36.50
Sandstone I 63.92 54.45 38.99 31.68 26.73 25.42 23.19
II 63.92 44.86 37.28 29.95 24.66 24.00 21.87
III 63.92 45.14 36.41 27.00 21.55 19.92 14.53
Dolomite I 54.32 53.02 52.77 48.00 46.33 40.87 37.15
II 54.32 49.99 48.64 46.11 45.39 40.00 35.74
III 54.32 47.07 45.98 44.18 43.55 39.71 33.12
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