YEDOMA AND ICE COMPLEX - PROBLEMS OF UNDERSTANDING AND USAGE
V.E. Tumskoy
Melnikov Permafrost Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russia
Keywords: yedoma, ice complex, alas, thermokarst, stratigraphy, Neopleistocene, cryolithozone, Quaternary deposits, Yakutia
Abstract
The article examines the etymology and history of the evolution of the scientific terms “yedoma” and “ice complex”, widely used by scientists of different fields in the study of landscapes, geomorphological conditions, Quaternary geology and the history of cryolithogenesis in the North-East of Eurasia. Some problems in the use of these terms, inaccuracies and discrepancies recorded in reference and educational literature are considered. Based on new data on the structure of ice-rich deposits obtained over the past quarter of a century, new grounds for their clarification are given and their definitions are proposed. It is shown that terminological problems are often associated with under-exploration of the objects being defined, but to no lesser extent they are determined by the verbal carelessness of researchers in the presentation of their results.
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