What is solifluction?

Answer 1

Solifluction, which is also known as soil fluction, is a geological term for a type of mass wasting. In solifluction, there exists 2 layers: an impermeable lower layer, and a sedimentary upper layer. When these layers exist on a hill and the top layer becomes saturated with water, the sediment begins to slowly slide down the hill over the lower layer.

More often than not, it occurs in periglacial environments, where a bottom layer of ice begins to melt, resulting in water saturation of the upper layer and the formation of a "flow".

Be careful not to get solifluction mixed with gelifluction though - gelifluction has a permanently frozen bottom layer, while solifluction doesn't.

Answer 2

Solifluction is a type of mass wasting or creep that occurs in regions with permafrost or gelisols. It is characterized by the gradual downhill movement of water-saturated soils over impermeable materials due to freeze-thaw cycles, resulting in the slow flow of the soil. This process is common in Arctic and subarctic regions.