Time To Form Deep Permafrost
| Time (yr) | Permafrost depth |
|---|---|
| 1 | 4.44 m (14.6 ft) |
| 350 | 79.9 m (262 ft) |
| 3,500 | 219.3 m (719 ft) |
| 35,000 | 461.4 m (1,514 ft) |
| 100,000 | 567.8 m (1,863 ft) |
| 225,000 | 626.5 m (2,055 ft) |
| 775,000 | 687.7 m (2,256 ft) |
Calculations indicate that the time required to form the deep permafrost underlying Prudhoe Bay, Alaska was 500,740 years. This extended over several glacial and interglacial cycles of the Pleistocene and suggests that the present climate of Prudhoe Bay is probably considerably warmer than it has been on average over that period. Such warming over the past 15,000 years is widely accepted. The table to the right shows that the first hundred metres of permafrost forms relatively quickly but that deeper levels take progressively longer.
Read more about this topic: Permafrost
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