Permafrost in Marine Deposits at Ilulissat Airport in Greenland, Revisited
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NICOP IX International Conference on Permafrost University of Alaska Fairbanks 2008 Session 28: Cold Regions Infrastructures and Transportation Permafrost in Marine Deposits at Ilulissat Airport in Greenland, Revisited Niels Foged Director of Research, PhD, BYGDTU, Technical University of Denmark. Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen PhD in Arctic Geophysics, Ass. Professor at ARTEK, BYGDTU, Technical University of Denmark. Collaboration: UAF GI Permafrost Laboratory Danish Meteorological Institute Polar Earth Science Program, (ARC-0612533) ASIAQ, Greenland Survey BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Ilulissat Airport Soil investigations1978-1979 Project invest.& Design 1981 Construction 1982-1984 Control and MSc-study 1993 Revisited 2007 •A single local depression with repair in pavement due to settling caused by thawing of an ice-segregated clay layer, which was not replaced during construction between rock fill layer and gneiss bed rock. BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Humlum & Christiansen, 2000 Ilulissat Nuuk BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Highest marine levels West Greenland Altitude (metres) above recent sea level Weidick,A.; 1976: Glaciation and the Quaternary of Greenland. GGU: Geology of Greenland. BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Ilulissat Airport Geotechnical investigations using resistivity profiling and boreholes with field and laboratory testing and soil temperature data collection. Test fill on a bassin filled with more or less saline marine clays. Foged,N. & Bæk-Madsen C. (1980): Jacobshavn Airport Thermal Stability in Marine deposits, Proc. 2nd. Int. Symp. on Ground freezing, Trondheim, Norway. BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Cross section in basin SW of Runway BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Ilulissat Airport Typical Boring Profile 79012 Active layer: 0.4m (Tf≈ 0 degC) Permafrozen low salinity clay: 3,8m (Tf ≈–1degC) ”Unfrozen” (partially frozen) high salinity clay: Cl- (g/L) 3,0m (Tf ≈–2 to-3 degC) BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Oedometer testing Depth 3.2 m Silty clay with thin icelayers giving rise to a fissured blocky structure after thawing. Water content 31.5%(dry weight) σ0 = 55 kPa σpc = 210 kPa Cl--content 13‰ Theoretical Tf ~ -1.4 °C Controlled thawing caused 7.8% deformation Main deformation occurs between -3 and -1 °C Drainage occurs also under partially frozen conditions BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Soil temperature measurement station in Ilulissat town Ole B. Olesen (GEUS) BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark ILULISSAT WEST GREENLAND Yearly mean air temperature MAAT (degC) from ASIAQ and DMI Files 0,00 -1,00 -2,00 -3,00 -4,00 -5,00 ASIAQ KLIMA INFO -6,00 Ilulissat DMI files -7,00 -8,00 -9,00 -10,00 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Construction of airport BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Test fill at Ilulissat Airport BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Section a-a in Test Fill BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Technical University of Denmark BYG -10 Temperature (degC) 10 15 01-01-8202-07-8201-01-8302-07-8301-01-8401-07-8431-12-8401-07-8531-12-8501-07-8631-12-8601-07-8731-12-87 -5 DTU 0 5 Soil temperature measurements at test fill Borehole 82006 and 82007 Soil temperatures at Test Fill in Airport of Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) Day-Month-Year Boreholes B82006 and B82007 CH12: B82007 6.25m b.g.s. CH11: B82007 5.25m b.g.s. CH10: B82007 4.25m b.g.s. CH9: B82007 3.25m b.g.s. CH8: B82007 2.25m b.g.s. CH7: B82007 1.25m b.g.s. CH3: B82006 0.02m b.g.s. CH2: B82006 0.01m b.g.s. Settlement of top of Test Fill and at top of settlement gauges set in permafrozen layer Levels at Test Fill Site 2007-06-13 compared to 1982-09-14 and 1993-07-01: A +28.991 ∆ = 0.17m / <0.124m B missed C +29.1 ∆ = 0.0 m / 0.0 m D +28.907 ∆ = 0.25m / 0.138m E +28.857 ∆ = 0.24m / 0.173m 28.80 Levels of top of settlement gauges placed in the middle of the test fill: No distinct settlement of previous 28.64 surface and top and bottom of frozen 28.58 clay layer Note: Measurements 1983-10-03 are 2007-06-13 wrong (fix point was not correct) BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Test fill at Ilulissat Airport 4 3 2 1 BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Cross sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Test Fill based on survey 2007-06-13 Levelling point C 30,0 29,5 29,0 28,5 Section 1 28,0 Section 2 27,5 Section 3 ) Section 4 27,0 m ( l 26,5 e v e 26,0 L 0,00 5,00 10,00 15,00 20,00 25,00 30,00 35,00 St. (m) from Safety Area Boundary Levelling and visual inspection revealed a block failure from approx St. 17 in the eastern part of the fill combined with a horizontal displacement of the topsoil and active layer and tilting piles of the airport fence. BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Ilulissat Airport Conclusions •The airport was designed and constructed in an area with permafrost in saline marine clays based on detailed geophysical and geotechnical studies in field and laboratory. •Variable permafrost conditions with organic solifluction soils on icerich low salinity frozen clay underlain by partially frozen to unfrozen saline permafrost caused a conservative approach with removal of these layers and substitution with rock fill. • Control investigations show in general fine operational conditions and very limited maintenance costs during the period from 1984 to 2008. • A test fill revealed good thermal control due to convection in a 2m thick coarse grained rock fill topped with coarse gravel on the clay basin. However, minor settlements and missing side stability especially after 1993 have been observed. • Revisiting the area in 2007 it was selected as a type locality in the present NSF funded ARC-0612533 project: Recent and future permafrost variability, retreat and degradation in Greenland and Alaska : An integrated approach carried out by UAF, DMI, ASIAQ and ARTEK. BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark Figure 2. Test sites proposed and their relation to the permafrost zones of Greenland and Alaska. For Greenland, estimated and compiled by Humlum and Christiansen (Jakobsen et al., 2000); Alaska, modified from Brown et al. (1997, 1998). BYGDTU Technical University of Denmark.