Frost heaving

Anatomy of a frost heave during spring thaw. The side of a 6-inch (15-cm) heave with the soil removed to reveal (bottom to top):
  • Needle ice, which has extruded up from the freezing front through porous soil from a water table below
  • Coalesced ice-rich soil, which has been subject to freeze-thaw
  • Thawed soil on top
Photograph taken 21 March 2010 in Norwich, Vermont

Frost heaving (or a frost heave) is an upwards swelling of soil during freezing conditions caused by an increasing presence of ice as it grows towards the surface, upwards from the depth in the soil where freezing temperatures have penetrated into the soil (the freezing front or freezing boundary). Ice growth requires a water supply that delivers water to the freezing front via capillary action in certain soils. The weight of overlying soil restrains vertical growth of the ice and can promote the formation of lens-shaped areas of ice within the soil. Yet the force of one or more growing ice lenses is sufficient to lift a layer of soil, as much as 1 foot (0.30 metres) or more. The soil through which water passes to feed the formation of ice lenses must be sufficiently porous to allow capillary action, yet not so porous as to break capillary continuity. Such soil is referred to as "frost susceptible". The growth of ice lenses continually consumes the rising water at the freezing front.[1][2] Differential frost heaving can crack road surfaces—contributing to springtime pothole formation—and damage building foundations.[3][4] Frost heaves may occur in mechanically refrigerated cold-storage buildings and ice rinks.

Needle ice is essentially frost heaving that occurs at the beginning of the freezing season, before the freezing front has penetrated very far into the soil and there is no soil overburden to lift as a frost heave.[5]

  1. ^ Taber, Stephen (1929). "Frost Heaving" (PDF). Journal of Geology. 37 (5): 428–461. Bibcode:1929JG.....37..428T. doi:10.1086/623637. S2CID 224836578. Archived from the original on 2013-04-08. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  2. ^ Rempel, A.W.; Wettlaufer, J.S.; Worster, M.G. (2001). "Interfacial Premelting and the Thermomolecular Force: Thermodynamic Buoyancy". Physical Review Letters. 87 (8): 088501. Bibcode:2001PhRvL..87h8501R. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.088501. PMID 11497990.
  3. ^ Transports Quebec (2007). "Québec Pavement Story". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  4. ^ Widianto; Heilenman, Glenn; Owen, Jerry; Fente, Javier (2009). "Foundation Design for Frost Heave". Cold Regions Engineering 2009: Cold Regions Impacts on Research, Design, and Construction: 599–608. doi:10.1061/41072(359)58. ISBN 9780784410721.
  5. ^ Beskow, Gunnar (1935). "Soil Heaving and Frost Heaving with Special Application to Roads and Railroads" (PDF). The Swedish Geological Society (30). Translated by Osterberg, J. O. Archived from the original on 2013-04-08. Retrieved 2010-03-24.