The goal of this work was providing experimental data to better constrain the impact of global warming on permafrost. Methodology was based on physical modeling in a cold room. This allows identifying and defining the evolution processes of the experimental permafrost. Experimental permafrost was built-up based on available field data. The lithology of the material used was a mixture of fine sand and loam from the plain of Caen. Ice content is between 30 and 80%. Models are not scaled and dimensional problems are not considered. Indeed, these experiments are a preliminary work. This study on the behaviour of an experimental warming permafrost allows a better understanding of (i) the changes in topography (thaw-settlement), (ii) the changes in the active layer, (iii) the thermal evolution of an experimental permafrost (freezing and thawing fronts monitoring) and (iv) the influence of different parameters (temperature, lithology, water-content, ice-content and icelayer). This work has contributed to the development of new experimental techniques and it will enhance physical modeling databases on permafrost.
