USE OF GIS TECHNOLOGIES IN PERMAFROST LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS OF DEVELOPMENT AREAS
This study provides the first quantitative characteristics of permafrost conditions in several areas of Yakutia affected by human activities, including the Tommot-Kerdem railway, Timpton hydropower plants, Vankor oil and gas fields and flood-prone areas along the Alazeya River. Based on primary materials of field permafrost-landscape studies carried out over a number of years and analysis of earlier observations, a series of large – (1:25,000) and medium-scale (1:200,000) permafrost-landscape maps were compiled at different levels of detail. These maps contain a database on the structure of the components of natural-territorial complexes. The GIS analysis indicates spatial differentiation in ground temperature, ice content, moisture content, and active layer thickness for different landscape units identified in the study area.