Which mechanism primarily maintains permafrost within a cirque's north-facing alcove at high latitudes?

💡 Explanation

When a cirque faces north at high latitudes, limited direct solar radiation exposure occurs because the alcove is shielded from the sun's rays for large parts of the year, reducing incident energy and promoting permafrost stability. Therefore permafrost is maintained by limited solar radiation, rather than albedo reduction, orographic warming or geothermal dissipation which have opposite net effects.

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