Evaluation of the Thermal Erosion of River Banks Based on Laboratory and Numerical Modeling

River bed deformations in the permafrost zone are studied. Modem studies of the deformation processes due to thermal erosion are reviewed. New results of numerical and laboratory modeling based on filling thermally eroded zones with sand are presented. Particular attention is paid to the erosion of curved sections. For quantitative estimation of the dependence of erosion on the type of channel curvature, a shape factor is introduced and substantiated. The dependence of the intensity of channel deformations and melting of bank ice inclusions on the channel shape is established.