Frost quakes are cracking events in freezing ground, traditionally linked to rapid freezing of soil without or little snow on the ground. This study shows they can also occur under thick snow cover, driven by quick temperature drops below −20 °C, changes in soil and ice content, and stress buildup. Results suggest multiple interacting processes causing frost quakes, highlighting the need for better models and experiments to assess risks in cold regions.

HydroBlocks, a land surface model, was configured over Finland. Maps and time series of snow water equivalent, soil temperature, soil water content and soil ice content were created. Observational data was used to evaluate the model performance. Based on results, HydroBlocks can generally predict soil conditions in Finland with some uncertainty. The model needs to be calibrated with local soil hydraulic parameters. In the future, the modelling outputs can be used in environmental applications.

In this study, we present an innovative method to study the inner structure of ore deposits using seismic waves produced by earthquakes and production blasts. Results of numerical simulations and field tests show that the proposed method can effectively detect mineralization zones inside orebodies.

In our study, we show the results of a passive seismic interferometry application for mapping the uppermost crust in the area of active mineral exploration in northern Finland. The obtained velocity models agree well with geological data and complement the results of reflection seismic data interpretation.