Definition
A polygon outlined by sand wedges underlying its boundaries.
Category
A type of periglacial landform.
A type of thermal-contraction-crack polygon.
A type of patterned ground.
Synonyms
Sand-filled polygon; Soil-wedge polygon (not recommended: tessellation, tundra polygon, “Taimyr” polygon)
Description
Sand-filled frost-fissure polygon net. Similar to ice-wedge polygons, their troughs have raised rims.
Morphometry
On Earth, open cracks can be 1–100 mm wide, 2–5 m or more deep, and 1 m to several tens of meters long (Mackay 1974; Murton 1996). Typical is a raised rim on either side of the fissure. Sometimes the rim may be as much as 0.5–1.0 m high. In plain view, the cracks form orthogonal or non-orthogonal networks, according to the kind of angles where cracks or their projections intersect, and complete or incomplete, depending on whether the cracks join (Lachenbruch 1962). Polygon diameter varies from a few meters to >100 m.
Subtypes
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References
Black RF (1976) Periglacial features indicative of permafrost: ice and soil wedges. Quat Res 6(1):3–26
Fábián SÁ, Kovács J, Tarnocai C, Varga G (2009) Similarities between the recent permafrost in north-western Canada and the Pleistocene relict cryogenic forms in Central Europe (Hungary). In: Krugger M, Stern HP (eds) New permafrost and glacier research. Nova, New York, pp 107–129
French HM (2007) The periglacial environment. Wiley, London, 458 p
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Kovács J, Fábián SÁ, Schweitzer F, Varga G (2007) A relict sand-wedge polygon site in north-central Hungary. Permafr Periglac Process 18:379–384
Lachenbruch AH (1962) Mechanics of thermal contraction cracks and ice-wedge polygons in permafrost. U.S. Geological Survey, Special paper 70, 69 p
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Mackay JR (1974) Ice-wedge cracks, Garry Island, Northwest Territories. Can J Earth Sci 11:1366–1383
Marchant DR, Head JW III (2007) Antarctic dry valleys: microclimate zonation, variable geomorphic processes, and implications for assessing climate change on Mars. Icarus 192:187–222
Mellon MT, Searls ML, Martinez-Alonso S et al (2007) HIRISE observations of patterned ground on Mars. In: Seventh international conference on Mars #3285. Pasadena, California, USA
Murton JB (1996) Morphology and paleoenvironmental significance of quaternary sand veins, sand wedges and composite wedges, Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Western Arctic Canada. J Sediment Res 66:17–25
Péwé TL (1959) Sand wedge polygons (Tessellations) in the McMurdo Sound Region, Antarctica. Am J Sci 257:545–552
van Everdingen R (ed) (1998, revised May 2005) Multi-language glossary of permafrost and related ground-ice terms. National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder
Washburn AL (1979) Geocryology. Edward Arnold, London, 406 p
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Kovács, J. (2015). Sand-Wedge Polygon. In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_326
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_326
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