The Problem of Permafrost Degradation and Development of Geocryological Science in Yakutia in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Goals. The article aims to reconstruct a dynamic pattern characterizing the degradation of permafrost and its consequences for Yakutia’s population from the early twentieth century to the late Soviet era, as well as to articulate the role of this problem in the development of geocryology in the region. Materials and methods. The study basically analyzes scattered documentary evidence discovered in archival and museum collections of Moscow, Irkutsk and Yakutsk, the authors’ field materials, and data from related scientific publications. Results. The conducted work makes it possible to note that permafrost degradation caused by anthropogenic impacts was largely somewhat permanent process throughout the period under consideration. In case of urban settlements, corresponding cases were associated with either initial design defects (buildings and structures) or insufficient consideration of the permafrost factor (during the latter’s operation). In case of rural areas, such human intervention was primarily manifested in the removal of vegetation cover aimed at creating arable and meadow lands. It is shown that the need for timely responses to emerging challenges contributed to the development of geocryological science in Yakutia, its enrichment with new original areas of research within the framework of engineering geocryology and agricultural ecology across the cryolithic zone.