Stone circles: form and soil kinematics

by Bernard Hallet

Philosophical Transactions AVolume 371(2004):20120357

December 13, 2013

©2013 by The Royal Society

Sorted circles 2–3 m in diameter with gravel borders about 0.25 m high, Broggerhalvoya, NW Spitsbergen.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

Exceptionally well-developed patterned ground.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

(a) Vertical photograph showing the geometric diversity of stone patterns on Kvadehuksletta, Spitsbergen; they range from nearly circular patterns 2–4 m in diameter, defined by raised rings

of light-coloured gravel to irregular forms bordered by long sinuou...

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

(a) Sequential topographic profiles across a stone circle show that the microrelief is persistent over a decadal time scale.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

(a) Highly idealized long-term soil motion inferred from measured surface soil displacements.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

(a) Radial outward tilt of soil displacement markers across a fine-grained domain 2 m in diameter.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

(a) The displacement marker in the interior side of the gravel border (left centre of image) leans steeply toward the circle centre, in contrast to those in the fine-grained centres, reflecting

circulation within the border and strong convergence at the gra...

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

(a) Vertical section across a sorted circle showing the microrelief and textural domains.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

Frost heaving (see heavy lines and left vertical axis) and temperature (light lines, right axis) field in upper decimetres of soil through one representative freeze-up period.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

Temperature (thin upper curves, right vertical axis) and tilt of three sensors over nearly 1 year.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

Overall negative trend reveals a residual clockwise rotation of tilt sensor, T1,1, viewing it as shown in figure 8.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society

Three-dimensional perspective view of numerically simulated sorted patterned ground after 500 iterations representing freeze–thaw cycles.

Bernard Hallet Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2013;371:20120357

©2013 by The Royal Society