Permafrost is warming at a global scale

Permafrost is warming at a global scale

2019 | Boris K. Biskaborn et al.
A global analysis of permafrost temperature changes from 2007 to 2016 shows warming in all permafrost zones, with the Arctic continuous permafrost zone warming by 0.39 ± 0.15°C, the discontinuous zone by 0.20 ± 0.10°C, mountain permafrost by 0.19 ± 0.05°C, and Antarctica by 0.37 ± 0.10°C. This warming follows the Arctic amplification of air temperature increase and is partly due to increased snow thickness in the discontinuous zone. Permafrost warming has significant implications for ecosystems, hydrology, and infrastructure, as it can release large amounts of carbon stored in frozen organic matter, potentially amplifying global warming by 0.13–0.27°C by 2100. Despite this, permafrost changes are not well represented in most Earth System Models. The study used a global dataset of permafrost temperature time series from the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) to evaluate temperature changes. The data show that ground temperature near the depth of zero annual amplitude increased in all permafrost zones. The study also highlights the importance of improving global permafrost monitoring to better understand and model the impacts of climate change on permafrost and its feedbacks to the climate system.A global analysis of permafrost temperature changes from 2007 to 2016 shows warming in all permafrost zones, with the Arctic continuous permafrost zone warming by 0.39 ± 0.15°C, the discontinuous zone by 0.20 ± 0.10°C, mountain permafrost by 0.19 ± 0.05°C, and Antarctica by 0.37 ± 0.10°C. This warming follows the Arctic amplification of air temperature increase and is partly due to increased snow thickness in the discontinuous zone. Permafrost warming has significant implications for ecosystems, hydrology, and infrastructure, as it can release large amounts of carbon stored in frozen organic matter, potentially amplifying global warming by 0.13–0.27°C by 2100. Despite this, permafrost changes are not well represented in most Earth System Models. The study used a global dataset of permafrost temperature time series from the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) to evaluate temperature changes. The data show that ground temperature near the depth of zero annual amplitude increased in all permafrost zones. The study also highlights the importance of improving global permafrost monitoring to better understand and model the impacts of climate change on permafrost and its feedbacks to the climate system.
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