permafrost
noun
per·ma·frost ˈpər-mə-ˌfrȯst 
: a permanently frozen layer at variable depth below the surface in frigid regions of a planet (such as earth)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Bethel sits in a corner of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, a vast wetland pockmarked with thousands of lakes formed when permafrost thaws — a terrain know as thermokarst. 
Will Mccarthy, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Warming temperatures are already starting to cause the destruction of coral reefs, thawing of high-latitude permafrost, and collapse of massive ice sheets. Tristan Bove, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2022 In Utqiaġvik, where the coast is eroding at some of the fastest rates in the nation, storms, flooding and thawing permafrost damage houses, roads and cultural sites. Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 17 July 2022 As extreme temperatures bake the carbon-rich permafrost of northern landscapes, the thawing earth releases carbon dioxide gas. Chris Mooney, Brady Dennis And Sarah Kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2022 In the Arctic Circle, for instance, ancient pathogens in the bodies of animals frozen beneath permafrost have begun to re-emerge with some nasty effects. Evan Bush, NBC News, 8 Aug. 2022 Mora includes the 2016 case in Siberia when a decades-old reindeer carcass, dead from anthrax, was unearthed when the permafrost thawed from warming. Seth Borenstein, ajc, 8 Aug. 2022 The government said miners working at Eureka Creek uncovered the mammoth while excavating through the permafrost. Rachel Paik, Fox News, 28 June 2022 Now the permafrost is only down to 3.5 inches, and the soil is muddier. Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Mar. 2022 See More
Will Mccarthy, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Warming temperatures are already starting to cause the destruction of coral reefs, thawing of high-latitude permafrost, and collapse of massive ice sheets. Tristan Bove, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2022 In Utqiaġvik, where the coast is eroding at some of the fastest rates in the nation, storms, flooding and thawing permafrost damage houses, roads and cultural sites. Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 17 July 2022 As extreme temperatures bake the carbon-rich permafrost of northern landscapes, the thawing earth releases carbon dioxide gas. Chris Mooney, Brady Dennis And Sarah Kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2022 In the Arctic Circle, for instance, ancient pathogens in the bodies of animals frozen beneath permafrost have begun to re-emerge with some nasty effects. Evan Bush, NBC News, 8 Aug. 2022 Mora includes the 2016 case in Siberia when a decades-old reindeer carcass, dead from anthrax, was unearthed when the permafrost thawed from warming. Seth Borenstein, ajc, 8 Aug. 2022 The government said miners working at Eureka Creek uncovered the mammoth while excavating through the permafrost. Rachel Paik, Fox News, 28 June 2022 Now the permafrost is only down to 3.5 inches, and the soil is muddier. Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
permanent + frost
First Known Use
1943, in the meaning defined above