The Signs and the Role of Structures of Subsurface Flow in Permafrost Zone

The subsurface runoff in the permafrost zone shows considerable structural and seasonal specifics. The structural features are due, on the one hand, to the lithologically determined permeable zones of rock massifs and, on the other hand, the permeability governed by lithology. This permeability is a seasonal factor of water flow from the territory, and now it is the focus of studies in various aspects. The structural character is determined by the history of its geological and geocryological development: the runoff structures are most often inherited by the position of rocks of coarser lithological composition or features associated with former geocryological processes (fracturing, formation of cryogenic textures, local thermokarst, etc.). The spatial heterogeneity of the above-permafrost runoff was studied in the European North and in the mountains of the Northern Transbaikalia.