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The effect of permafrost changes on embankment stability along the Qinghai–Xizang Railway

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Abstract

After construction of the Qinghai–Xizang Railway, the resultant heat exchange between soil and atmosphere caused changes in the thermal and mechanical stability of permafrost beneath the railway embankment. Monitoring from 2005 to 2010 indicated 12 sections of embankment that experienced more than 5 cm of settlement, with three showing deformations of more than 10 cm and signs of continuing settlement. Embankment stability is closely related to permafrost changes beneath the embankment. Large-scale deformations have contributed to permafrost thaw and artificial permafrost table deepening, and this deformation has not stabilized over the short term. In contrast, small-scale deformations have contributed to a warming of the permafrost that has gradually stabilized as soil temperature decreases. Only three sections of the Qinghai–Xizang Railway have exhibited settlement deformation that exceeds 10 cm, through a deepening of the artificial permafrost table and a gradual increase in permafrost thawing result in embankment settlement deformation. However, with climate warming trends and the long-term operation of the railway, the long-term thermal and mechanical stability of the embankment needs to be carefully monitored to ensure the safe operation of the Qinghai–Xizang Railway.

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Acknowledgments

This research is partly supported by the Global Change Research Program of China (2010CB951402) and the Program for Innovative Research Group of Natural Science Foundation of China (40821001), and the Hundred Young Talents program award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to Qingbai Wu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Cold and Arid Region Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Qingbai Wu, Fujun Niu, Wei Ma & Yongzhi Liu

  2. Beiluhe Observation Station of Frozen Soil Environment and Engineering, Cold and Arid Region Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Qingbai Wu, Fujun Niu, Wei Ma & Yongzhi Liu

Authors
  1. Qingbai Wu
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  2. Fujun Niu
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  3. Wei Ma
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  4. Yongzhi Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qingbai Wu.

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Fig9

Permafrost monitoring network along the Qinghai–Tibet Railway. Solid red circles indicate the monitoring sections presented in this article. Yellow open circles are other monitoring sites...Embankment deformation >5 cm

Embankment deformation >5 cm

Fig11

Thermal regime of soil beneath the embankment on the sunny shoulder of section HR3 from September 2004 to September 2010

Artificial permafrost table beneath the embankment on the sunny and shaded shoulders of section BR4

Embankment deformation on the sunny and shaded shoulders of section BR4

Fig14

Artificial permafrost table beneath the embankment on the shaded and sunny shoulders of AD1. Dashed line is the depth of the natural permafrost table beneath the embankment

Embankment deformation on the shaded and sunny shoulders of AD1

Fig16

Accumulated increase of embankment deformation and the artificial permafrost table beneath the embankment. Solid and open circles are the shaded and sunny shoulders of AD1; solid and open triangles are the shaded and sunny shoulders of LD1; open squares are the sunny shoulder of BR4

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Wu, Q., Niu, F., Ma, W. et al. The effect of permafrost changes on embankment stability along the Qinghai–Xizang Railway. Environ Earth Sci 71, 3321–3328 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2718-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2718-z

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