MODELLING PERMAFROST TERRAIN USING KINEMATIC, DUAL-WAVELENGTH LASER SCANNING

This study investigates enigmatic ring forms found on Axel Heiberg Island (Umingmat Nunaat) in Nunavut, Canada. These ring forms comprised a series of ridges and troughs creating individual rings or brain-like patterns. We aim to identify how they form and assess the past climate conditions necessary for their formation. We use surface and subsurface observations and comparisons to other periglacial and glacial ring forms to infer a formation mechanism and propose a glacial origin. 

We attempt to enhance the current diagnostic criteria for channels formed under ice sheets by applying mathematical relationships commonly used to describe the correlation between river size and discharge. Our analysis reveals a unique relationship between channel size and drainage area size, which we have interpreted to represent formation under an ice sheet. These relationships can be applied to extremely remote environments to discuss glaciation in locations with accessibility constraints.