Uncertainties of thermal boundaries and soil properties on permafrost table of frozen ground in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

In the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP),the permafrost table has a significant effect on the stability of geotechnical engineering.The thermal boundaries and soil properties are the key factors affecting the permafrost table.Complex geological environments and human activities can lead to the uncertainties of thermal boundaries and soil properties.In this paper,an array of field experiments and Monte Carlo(MC)simulations of thermal boundaries and soil properties are carried out.The coefficient of variation(COV),scale of fluctuation(SOF),and autocorrelation distance(ACD)of uncertainties of thermal boundaries and soil properties are investigated.A stochastic analysis method of the probabilistic permafrost table is then proposed,and the statistical properties of permafrost table on the QTP are computed by self-compiled program.The proposed stochastic analysis method is verified with the calculated and measured temperature observations.According to the relationship between ACD and SOF for the five theoretical autocorrelation functions(ACFs),the effects of ACF,COV,and ACD of soil properties and the COV of thermal boundaries on the permafrost tables are analyzed.The results show that the effects of different ACFs of soil properties on the standard deviation(SD)of permafrost table depth are not obvious.The SD of permafrost table depth increases with time,and the larger the COVs of thermal boundaries and soil properties,the deeper the SD of permafrost table;the longer the ACD of soil properties,the shallower the SD of permafrost table.This study can provide a reference for the stability analysis of geotechnical engineering on the QTP considering the uncertainties of thermal boundaries and soil properties.

Characteristics and changes of permafrost along the engineering corridor of National Highway 214 in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Due to a series of linear projects built along National Highway 214,the second"Permafrost Engineering Corridor"on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has formed.In this paper,by overcoming the problems of data decentralization and standard inconsistency,permafrost characteristics and changes along the engineering corridor are systematically summarized based on the survey and monitoring data.The results show that:1)Being controlled by elevation,the permafrost is distributed in flake discontinuity with mountains as the center along the line.The total length of the road section in permafrost regions is 365 km,of which the total length of the permafrost section of National Highway 214 is 216.7 km,and the total length of the permafrost section of Gong-Yu Expressway is 197.3 km.The mean annual ground temperature(MAGT)is higher than−1.5℃,and permafrost with MAGT lower than−1.5℃ is only distributed in the sections at Bayan Har Mountain and E'la Mountain.There are obvious differences in the distribution of ground ice in the different sections along the engineering corridor.The sections with high ice content are mainly located in Zuimatan,Duogerong Plain and the top of north and south slope of Bayan Har Mountain.The permafrost thickness is controlled by the ground temperature,and permafrost thickness increases with the decrease of the ground temperature,with the change rate of about 37 m/℃.2)Local factors(topography,landform,vegetation and lithology)affect the degradation process of permafrost,and then affect the distribution,ground temperature,thickness and ice content of permafrost.Asphalt pavement has greatly changed the heat exchange balance of the original ground,resulting in serious degradation of the permafrost.Due to the influence of roadbed direction trend,the phenomenon of shady-sunny slope is very significant in most sections along the line.The warming range of permafrost under the roadbed is gradually smaller with the increase of depth,so the thawing settlement of the shallow section with high ice-content permafrost is more significant.