DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORPHOLOGICAL PATTERNS OF PERMAFROST LANDSCAPES
A.S. Victorov, T.V. Orlov, M.V. Arkhipova, V.N. Kapralova, A.V. Zverev, V.V. Bondar, T.V. Gonikov
Sergeev Institute of Geoecology, Moscow, Russia
Keywords: mathematical morphology of landscapes, thermoabrasion shores, floodplains, erosional thermokarst plains
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to substantiate the existence and prevalence of the phenomenon of dynamic equilibrium in the development of morphological patterns of permafrost landscapes, the related regularities, and the possibilities of their application for forecasting and analyzing processes. The state of dynamic equilibrium in the development of morphological patterns is quite common for certain permafrost landscapes, such as abrasion and thermo-erosional shores, thermokarst plains with fluvial erosion, and floodplains. It is characterized by a combination of constant changes in the elements of the morphological pattern with the constancy of its characteristics (first of all, quantitative) for the landscape as a whole. A promising way to substantiate the existence of dynamic equilibrium of the morphological pattern of a given landscape is to analyze its mathematical model. It is argued that the state of dynamic equilibrium is reflected in a number of specific statistical characteristics. Thus, for thermokarst plains with fluvial erosion, a consistent statistical (integral-exponential) distribution of thermokarst lake areas and a correlation between the average area of thermokarst lakes and the average area of alas depressions (khasyreys) are observed. The obtained information on the state of dynamic equilibrium can be used for planning landscape monitoring, as well as for determining the quantitative parameters of dynamic landscape processes on the basis of the analysis of the quantitative characteristics of its morphological pattern without stationary observations.
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