The murder of Miss Thecla Gerken remains a mystery to this day. She was buried in the family plot at the Catholic cemetery on the outskirts of Woonsocket, South Dakota. Her gravestone stands next to that of her father, John E. Gerken.
Permafrost is soil, rock or sediment that is frozen more than two consecutive years. In areas not overlain by ice, it exists beneath a layer of soil, rock or sediment, which freezes and thaws annually and is called the active layer.xceptions occur in un-glaciated Siberia and Alaska where the present depth of permafrost is a relic of climatic conditions during glacial ages where winters were up to 11 Â°C (20 Â°F) colder than those of today.
Even at the height of summer, you may only be able to dig down a foot or two before you hit solid, frozen soil known as permafrost. Permafrost is found in places where the average annual temperature is below about 23Â°F (- 5Â° C), including most of the Arctic and all of Antarctica.Land with underlying permafrost is called tundra. The arctic tundra is stark and treeless.Roots canât penetrate the frozen soil, so only moss, lichen, and low shrubs can grow there. In summer, the topmost layer of the permafrost melts, leaving behind soggy ground, marshes, bogs, and lakes.n recent years, however, permafrost has been melting en masse, thanks to increases in global average temperatures. The zones where permafrost can be found year-round are creeping northward, and permafrost coverage, currently 20 percent of the earthâs land surface, is predicted to shrink drastically in coming years.