New paper on Arctic block failure in Canadian Geotechnical Journal

Ottawa, ON, September 22, 2009 – Arctic climates and sea ice conditions are changing more rapidly than expected by many climate change experts. While many past studies have predicted ice-free summers in the Arctic by 2100, more recent studies, such as the one by Holland et al. (2006), are predicting ice-free summers by 2040. Recent trends in summer sea ice seem to support these findings as increasing areas of open water and the associated storm activity threaten to erode the Arctic coastline.

A newly published paper in the October 2009 edition of Canadian Geotechnical Journal (CGJ) entitled Arctic coastal retreat through block failure examines the mechanics of block failure in frozen bluffs underlain by permafrost along Arctic coasts. Written by an associate professor and a postdoctoral research associate from McGill University's Department of Geography, this paper provides an in-depth view of block failure driven by the fissures created in outcroppings of ice by melting and re-freezing ice and erosion through the combined action of mechanical and thermal energy.

Published monthly since 1963, the Canadian Geotechnical Journal features articles, notes, and discussions related to new developments in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, and applied sciences. Papers on actual case records from practice are encouraged and frequently featured. This journal is available online at http://cgj.nrc.ca.

As Canada's national science library and largest scientific and technical publisher, NRC Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (NRC-CISTI) is Canada's gateway to global digital STM information. Through its NRC Research Press program, it publishes 15 peer-reviewed journal titles as well as a growing number of affiliated journals in the areas of science, engineering and health as well as monographs and conference proceedings. For a full list of their publications, visit the NRC Research Press website, at http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/rp2_home_e.html.