Permafrost covers nearly 50 % of Canada, co-located with intense climate warming occurring four times the global average. These factors have led to a significant increase in geohazards, including landslides, thawing glaciers, mass wasting, and instability in ice-rich soils. Retrogressive thaw slumps have increased by 60 % in recent decades raising concerns for linear infrastructure, built environment, community, and the environment. Previous research includes both site-specific and remote studies seeking to understand controlling factors of thaw slumps and triggering mechanisms that lead to a range of potential outcomes from significant retrogression, slumping, or self-stabilization. Recently physical modelling in a geotechnical centrifuge has shown that the thaw slump outcome (retrogression through self-stabilization) occurs at temperatures near 0 °C and that ice content plays a significant role. Shear failures observed during physical models give motivation to complete limit equilibrium analysis, however, the shear strength relationship is unknown and difficult to accurately measure in warm frozen ground (between −1 and 0 °C). In this paper, the shear strength-temperature-moisture content relationship of warm frozen ground is reported and used in stability analysis of shear failure thaw slumps. Results showed that shear strength significantly decreases between −1 and 0 °C and then remains constant at positive temperatures. Shear strength is very sensitive to changes in both temperature below zero and moisture content at positive and negative temperatures. Results were implemented in slope stability analyses to illustrate the high sensitivity of factor of safety to temperature and ice/moisture content in thawing fine-grained materials.
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