| Term: | Detachment failure |
| Definition: |
A slope failure in which the thawed or thawing portion of the active layer detaches from the underlying frozen material. NSIDCCryosphere
A slope failure in which the thawed or thawing portion of the active layer detaches from the underlying frozen material IPAPermafrost A slope failure in which the thawed or thawing portion of the Active Layer detaches from the underlying frozen material. Detachment Failures are common on colluvial slopes in areas of fine-grained, ice-rich deposits. They occur more frequently during warm summers or following disturbance of the vegetation or ground surface by, for example, tundra or forest fires or engineering activity, when the Depth of Thaw is greater than normal. Detachment Failures that expose Massive Ice or icy sediments can develop into retrogressive thaw slumps. TrombottoGeocryology GCW |