Detachment failure

Alternative definitions (3), class: vernacular (0)
Term: Detachment failure
Definition: 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.
Created 2022.03.08
Last Modified 2023.03.27
Contributed by GCW Glossary
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