Solifluction, also known as soil fluction, is a type of mass wasting where waterlogged sediment slowly moves downslope over impermeable material. It can occur in any climate where the ground is saturated by water, though it is most often found in periglacial environments where the ground is permanently frozen (permafrost). During warm seasonal periods the surface layer melts and literally slides across the frozen under layer, slowly moving downslope due to frost heave that occurs normal to the slope. This type of mass wasting can occur at a rate of between 0.5 and 15cm per year. In geology, mass wasting is the process by which rock and regolith move downslope. ... Periglacial refers to places in the edges of glacial areas, normally those related to past ice ages rather than those in the modern era. ... In geology, permafrost or permafrost soil is soil that stays in a frozen state for more than two years in a row. ...
In the spring of 2002, surface movement was monitored on five solifluction lobes using repetitive surveying of surface targets, while groundwater levels and thaw depths were measured on these lobes and along the entire slope.
Spatial analysis of lobe dispersion suggest that the population of solifluction lobes represents an organized succession of wave-like benches, whose wavelength and amplitude are controlled by the downslope increase in solifluction activity.
Excavation of a solifluction lobe to uncover the buried humus horizon.
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