The research will experimentally test the ice-segregation model of rock fracture in the context of near-surface bedrock. Experiments at the Caen Cold Laboratories will monitor the effects of different thermal regimes, moisture conditions and material properties on rock fracture, ice segregation and frost heave in large blocks of limestone and sandstone. Experimentally-formed fractures and segregated ice will be compared with predictions from two theoretical models of rock fracture and frost heave, and the observed rock fractures compared with contemporary and relict weathering profiles. By integrating curiosity-driven research on important Earth-surface processes (rock fracture, ice segregation) with their practical consequences (rock heave/settlement), the study will have international significance to cold-regions Earth science and engineering.