Structures Created By Frost Heaving
Frost heaving creates raised-soil landforms in various geometries, including circles, polygons and stripes, which may be described as palsas in soils that are rich in organic matter, such as peat, or lithalsa in more mineral-rich soils. The stony lithalsa (heaved mounds) found on the archipelago of Svalbard are an example. Frost heaves occur in alpine regions, even near the equator, as illustrated by palsas on Mount Kenya.
In Arctic permafrost regions, a related type of ground heaving over hundreds of years can create structures, as high as 60 metres, known as pingos, which are fed by an upwelling of ground water, instead of the capillary action that feeds the growth of frost heaves.
Polygonal forms apparently caused by frost heave have been observed in near-polar regions of Mars by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) aboard the Mars Global Surveyor and the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. In May 2008 the Mars Phoenix lander touched down on such a polygonal frost-heave landscape and quickly discovered ice a few centimetres below the surface.
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