What term describes soil that remains frozen year-round?

What term describes soil that remains frozen year-round?

• A. Permafrost
• B. Cryosol
• C. Gelisol
• D. Thermokarst

Answer: (A)

Permafrost is ground that stays frozen for two or more consecutive years. This permanently frozen condition governs how water moves through the soil, how vegetation can survive, and how structures interact with the ground in cold regions like the Arctic and high mountains. The other terms relate to permafrost in different ways but describe things other than the state of being permanently frozen: a Gelisol is a soil order that includes permafrost-affected soils, but the question is about the ground remaining frozen year-round itself; a Cryosol is another classification concept for very cold soils, not specifically the year-round frozen state; and thermokarst refers to the landscape features that form when permafrost thaws, not the frozen condition itself. So the best term for soil that remains frozen year-round is permafrost.

Permafrost is ground that stays frozen for two or more consecutive years. This permanently frozen condition governs how water moves through the soil, how vegetation can survive, and how structures interact with the ground in cold regions like the Arctic and high mountains. The other terms relate to permafrost in different ways but describe things other than the state of being permanently frozen: a Gelisol is a soil order that includes permafrost-affected soils, but the question is about the ground remaining frozen year-round itself; a Cryosol is another classification concept for very cold soils, not specifically the year-round frozen state; and thermokarst refers to the landscape features that form when permafrost thaws, not the frozen condition itself. So the best term for soil that remains frozen year-round is permafrost.