Geophysical identification of permafrost in Livingston Island, maritime Antarctica

Abstract

The current permafrost distribution on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctic, was investigated using electrical resistivity tomography, refraction seismics, and shallow borehole temperatures. The field sites include different geological and geomorphological settings, including ice cored moraines and bedrock sites with debris covers of different thickness. Two-dimensional geophysical inversion schemes were used to analyze spatial heterogeneity at field sites and to detect isolated occurrences of ground ice. Results confirm that permafrost is widespread on Livingston Island, with high ice content in ice cored moraines and little in the cracks and fissures of frozen bedrock. Specific electrical resistivity values range from 10,000–40,000 ohm-m (frozen unconsolidated material) to 1500–10,000 ohm-m (frozen quartzite/shale). Combining seismic P wave velocities and specific electrical resistivities, a typical “roof-type” distribution was found with maximum resistivities coinciding with P wave velocities around 3000 m/s and decreasing resistivities for both increasing and decreasing velocities.