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active layer

American  

noun

  1. (in Arctic or subarctic regions) the layer of soil, above the permafrost, that thaws during the summer.


Example Sentences

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"If the semiconductor industry wants to succeed with 2D materials, the active layer and the insulating layer must be designed together from the very beginning," emphasizes Mahdi Pourfath.

From Science Daily May 9, 2026

The ground contains a layer known as the "active layer," which freezes and thaws each year.

From Science Daily Apr. 4, 2026

Permafrost still covers 85 percent of the state, but “almost everywhere, the depth of the active layer is increasing over the last few decades,” said Thoman.

From Slate Mar. 11, 2015

This sequence of steps is affected by the morphology of the active layer.

From Nature Aug. 15, 2012

Because the frozen permafrost was just a half meter beneath the active layer of soil, all the water on the tundra stayed near the surface.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

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