UH Researcher Examines How a Single Freeze-Thaw Cycle Weakens Arctic Soils
Baker-Stahl’s Work Provides Experimental Insight into How Freeze-Thaw Cycles Alter Sediment Strength, with Implications for Arctic Landscape Change Under Warming Conditions
University of Houston graduate researcher Lucille Baker-Stahl is investigating how rapidly changing Arctic conditions are altering the behavior of near-surface soils and how those changes may have far-reaching implications, including for communities as far south as Houston.
Greenland Soil Study Reveals Rapid Weakening with Global Implications
The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences graduate student conducted this study as part of a broader research program led by UH faculty member Brandee Carlson, in collaboration with Behrooz Ferdowsi of the UH Cullen College of Engineering. The project builds on fieldwork and sediment collection carried out by Carlson’s lab in Greenland, which provided the material and scientific framework for the experimental work.
The team examined how a single freeze-thaw cycle affects freshly exposed soils collected from Greenland.
The team compared baseline samples that were extracted and kept unfrozen with otherwise identical samples that underwent a freeze-thaw treatment prior to testing. The results showed a clear pattern: the freeze-thaw process weakens these soils, making them more susceptible to erosion and movement.
Baker-Stahl notes the findings are especially important for Arctic residents and policymakers. As erosion accelerates across the region, new layers of soil are being exposed to freezing temperatures for the first time, heightening the risk of landslides and threatening critical infrastructure.
During a recent field season in a small Greenlandic community, Baker-Stahl witnessed one of these landslides cover a pipeline carrying fuel from the port into town—an event that underscores the urgency of understanding soil instability. “These communities are at risk right now due to these kinds of hazards,” said Baker-Stahl.
While the research centers on Arctic environments, Baker-Stahl emphasized that the impacts extend beyond the polar region. “This is becoming a global problem. Trying to understand changes in the Arctic matters even when we’re down here in Houston,” she said. As weakened soils are transported through river systems to coastal environments, they can influence water chemistry and circulation patterns that ultimately affect regions such as the Gulf Coast. Recent abnormal freeze events in Houston further highlight the relevance of freeze-thaw soil behavior.
Building on these findings, Baker-Stahl and her collaborators are now focusing on modeling active-layer detachments—a type of Arctic landslide in which the seasonally thawed surface layer slides off underlying permafrost. The team aims to evaluate whether current predictive models adequately capture the newly documented soil behavior.
The project marks Baker-Stahl’s first scientific publication, which appeared in Geophysical Research Letters, a leading journal in the field. The work was supported by a National Science Foundation grant awarded to Brandee Carlson (PI), along with UH start-up funding awarded to both Brandee Carlson and Behrooz Ferdowsi, and contributions from undergraduate researchers.
Baker-Stahl hopes the research not only advances scientific understanding of rapidly changing Arctic landscapes but also encourages new approaches to studying soil behavior in a warming world. “I hope this research pushes people forward to consider new avenues, because this kind of work is important and not a lot of it is being done.”