The erosional process includes the thawing of ice sediments by a strong water flow and once the surface is unfrozen, mechanical erosion occurs only if hydraulic forces are powerful enough to incise the riverbank material.
[2] The Yakutia region in Central Siberia, where the Lena River is located, is an exceptional point of interest to study this type of erosion based on its record low temperatures and extreme thickness of permafrost.
Seasonal floods caused by rapid snowmelt and irregular storms then break the ice apart in the summer, exposing the banks of the river to the power of erosion.
[3] However, as the flood continues, the warmth and mechanical energy from the water melts the ice barrier, giving way for the fluvio-thermal erosion of the frozen riverbanks.
[4] During the melting period of a periglacial river in the summer, due to a relatively high water discharge, the unfrozen sediments are weathered away.