Piping causing thermokarst in permafrost, Ungava Peninsula, Quebec, Canada

An unusual piping tunnel some 80 cm in diameter and 2.5 m long 2 m below a terrace surface and a second smaller one formed in an ice wedge are reported from the continuous permafrost region in northernmost Quebec (mean annual temperature about −6°C). The hydrology of permafrost and its importance on thermokarst and gully erosion is discussed.