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Permafrost is soil that remains below the freezing point of water (0 °C) for more than two consecutive years. It is mainly located at high latitudes (24% of the exposed land in the Earth’s northern hemisphere) and high altitude (alpine permafrost). Permafrost exists at all latitudes on Mars and subsurface ice probably is abundant. Asteroid 25143-Itokawa and Eros show surface morphologies that suggest the occurrence of a permafrost and occasionally meltwater. Earth’s permafrost is a site of microbial activity within thin films of liquid water between ice and soil particles. The occurrence and distribution of these microbial communities are studied as possible analogues of life forms on icy planets and satellites of the Solar system.
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Pinti, D.L. (2022). Permafrost. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1172-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1172-4
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4
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Chapter history
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Latest
Permafrost- Published:
- 25 November 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1172-4
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Original
Permafrost- Published:
- 02 May 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1172-3