pingo

pingo, dome-shaped hill formed in a permafrost area when the pressure of freezing groundwater pushes up a layer of frozen ground.

Pingos may be up to 90 metres (300 feet) high and more than 800 metres (0.5 mile) across and are usually circular or oval-shaped. The core, which may be only slightly smaller than the pingo itself, consists of a mass of clear ice. Modern pingos occur in the continental tundras and are generally restricted to latitudes of 65° to 75° N. Rupture of the overlying material at the top of the pingo exposes the ice to melting and may create a smaller crater and lake. Two types of pingos are recognized: open-system and closed-system.

Open-system pingos are those that receive liquid water continuously from a groundwater aquifer. They form in regions of discontinuous or thin permafrost. Artesian pressure (pressure that forces groundwater to the surface without pumping) builds up under the permafrost layer, and, as the water rises, pushing up the overlying material, it freezes in a lens shape. This variety of pingo is most frequently found in the alluvial material (sand, silt, clay, and gravel deposited by rivers) of a mountainous or hilly area.

Closed-system pingos, in contrast, form in regions with limited groundwater availability, such as river deltas, shallow lakes, and other flat areas, when advancing permafrost generates upward pressure. The confined mass of saturated soil freezes, pushing the overlying material upward as it expands.

Scars of former pingos have been found in areas near the edges of former ice sheets that date to the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago). Because pingos form under specific conditions, they serve as good indicators of climate change.