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PERMAFROSTDISTRIBUTION

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Permafrostisdefinedasground(soilorrockandincludediceororganic
material)thatremainsatorbelow0Cforatleasttwoconsecutiveyears.
Lowlandpermafrostregionsaretraditionallydividedintoseveralzonesbasedon
estimatedgeographiccontinuityinthelandscape.Atypicalclassification
recognizescontinuouspermafrost(underlying90100%ofthelandscape)
discontinuouspermafrost(5090%)andsporadicpermafrost(050%).Inthe
NorthernHemisphere,regionsinwhichpermafrostoccursoccupyapproximately
25%(23millionkm)ofthelandarea.Inthediscontinuousandsporadiczones
permafrostdistributioniscomplexandpatchy,andpermafrostfreeterrainis
common.Thethicknessofpermafrostvariesfromlessthanonemetertomore
than1500meters.
Mostofthepermafrostexistingtodayformedduringcoldglacialperiods,andhas
persistedthroughwarmerinterglacialperiods,includingtheHolocene(last
10,000years).Somerelativelyshallowpermafrost(30to70meters)formedduringthesecondpartoftheHolocene
(last6,000years)andsomeduringtheLittleIceAge(from400to150yearsago).Incontinentalinteriorspermafrost
temperaturesattheboundariesbetweencontinuousanddiscontinuousaregenerallyabout5Ccorresponding
roughlywiththe8Cmeanannualairtemperature.Permafrostinmidandlowlatitudemountainsiswarmandits
distributioniscloselyrelatedtocharacteristicsofthelandsurface,suchslopegradientandorientation,vegetation
patterns,andsnowcover.
Subseapermafrostoccurscloseto0CoverlargeareasoftheArcticcontinentalshelf,whereitformedduringthe
lastglacialperiodontheexposedshelflandscapes.Permafrostisgeographicallycontinuousbeneaththeicefree
regionsoftheAntarcticcontinentandalsooccursbeneathareasinwhichtheicesheetisfrozentoitsbed.

RECENTCHANGES
Permafrostcanbeusedasapaleothermometerfluctuationsofairtemperaturefromthelate19thand20th
centuriescanbeobtainedbymeasuringtemperatureindeeppermafrostboreholes.Warmingsincethelate1960s
hasbeenobservedinpermafrosttemperatureprofilesfrommanylocations.Overthepastseveraldecades,
permafrosttemperaturehavegenerallywarmedinlowlandsandmountainsexceptionsareinsomenewlyexposed
drainedlakebasinsandaggradingshorelineswherepermafrostisforming.Thawingofpermafrosthasbeen
observedinmanylowlandandmountainlocationsinrecentdecadesmuchoftheevidenceisindirect,andisbased
onchangesinforestandtundravegetation,differentialsubsidenceofthegroundsurface,andlossoflakes.
Increasesinactivelayerthicknesshavebeenobservedinwarmsummers(forwesternNorthAmerica1989,1998,
2004),resultinginincreasedslopefailures,groundsubsidenceinicerichterrain,increasedlakedrainage.At
regionalandglobalscales,changesinpermafrostzonalboundariesaredifficulttoidentifydueto3dimensional
irregularitiesinpermafrostdistribution.Degradationofpermafrostandchangesinitsdistributionareassociatedwith
increasedformationoftaliks.Opentalikspenetratethroughthepermafrostandclosedtaliksorthaweddepressions
occurunderdeeplakesandrivers.

21THCENTURYCHANGES
Changesinzonalpermafrostboundariesmodeledusingclimatechangescenariosareusuallybasedonpredictions
ofincreasedactivelayerthicknessandtemperaturechangesatrelativelyshallowpermafrostdepths,notonthe
completedisappearanceofpermafrost.Warmpermafrostdegradesfromboththetopandbottom,increasingthe
extentoftalikformation.Thesouthernlimitofpermafrostmovesnorthwardinanirregularpattern,andisgoverned
bylocalizedfactorsthatincludepeatlanddistribution,soilmoisture,vegetationpatterns,andsnowcover.Movements
oftheboundarybetweenthesporadicanddiscontinuouspermafrostzonesarelargelygovernedbythe
developmentandextentofopentaliks.Inareasoficerichpermafrost,thesouthernboundaryofthecontinuous
permafrostzoneremainsrelativelystableascompletedisappearanceofpermafrostmaytakecenturiestomillennia,
makingitdifficulttodeterminegeographicchangesexceptwherepermafrostisthin.Rapidcoastalerosion,although
sustainedbystormsandrelatedwaveintensity,ishighlydependentontheamountandtypeofgroundice.Changes
inpermafrostdistributionpredictedbymodelsrequireextensivefieldorremotesensedbasedverificationover
extendedtimeperiods(snapshotsofpermafrosttemperatureoverdecadalintervals).Monitoringofthethermalstate
ofpermafrost(TSP)attheglobalscaleisrequiredtounderstandhydrologicconnections,futurechangesin
permafrostdistribution,andtoserveasvalidationglobalandregionalmodels.TheInternationalPolarYear(IPY)can
leavealegacyfortheunderstandingofpermafrostdynamicsthroughtheIPAinternationalobservationalnetworks
(seewww.ipy.organdprojects33,50and90).

MOREREADING
Allaboutfrozenground(NSIDC)
Whatispermafrost?(GeologicalSurveyofCanada)
NSIDC'sPermafrostandFrozenGroundglossary
InternationalPermafrostAssociationNews
UNEP'sGlobalOutlookforIceandSnow(FrozenGroundchapter)

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