The cooling effect of crushed rock structures on permafrost under an embankment

Based on the analysis and comparison of soil temperature, thermal regime and permafrost table under the experimental embankment of crushed rock structures in Beiluhe, results show that crushed rock structures provide an extensive cooling effect, which produces a rising permafrost table and decreasing soil temperatures. The rise of the permafrost table under the embankment ranges from an increase of 1.08 m to 1.67 m, with an average of 1.27 m from 2004 to 2007. Mean annual soil temperatures under the crushed rock layer embankment decreased significantly from 2005 to 2007, with average decreases of ?1.03 °C at the depth of 0.5 m, ?1.14 °C at the depth of 1.5 m, and ?0.5 °C at the depth of 5 m. During this period, mean annual soil temperatures under the crushed rock cover embankment showed a slight decrease at shallow depths, with an average decrease of ?0.2 °C at the depth of 0.5 m and 1.5 m, but a slight rise at the depth of 5 m. After the crushed rock structures were closed or crammed with sand, the cooling effect of the crushed rock layer embankment was greatly reduced and that of the crushed rock cover embankment was just slightly reduced.