Active layer thickness variations on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau under the scenarios of climate change

Abstract

Climate change has greatly influenced the permafrost regions on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Most general circulation models (GCMs) project that global warming will continue and the amplitude will amplify during the twenty-first century. Climate change has caused extensive degradation of permafrost, including thickening of the active layer, rising of ground temperature, melting of ground ice, expansion of taliks, and disappearance of sporadic permafrost. The changes in the active layer thickness (ALT) greatly impact the energy balance of the land surface, hydrological cycle, ecosystems and engineering infrastructures in the cold regions. ALT is affected by climatic, geographic and geological factors. A model based on Kudryavtsev’s formulas is used to study the potential changes of ALT in the permafrost regions on the QTP. Maps of ALT for the year 2049 and 2099 on the QTP are projected under GCM scenarios. Results indicate that ALT will increase with the rising air temperature. ALT may increase by 0.1–0.7 m for the year 2049 and 0.3–1.2 m for the year 2099. The average increment of ALT is 0.8 m with the largest increment of 1.2 m under the A1F1 scenario and 0.4 m with the largest increment of 0.6 m under the B1 scenario during the twenty-first century. ALT changes significantly in sporadic permafrost regions, while in the continuous permafrost regions of the inland plateau ALT change is relatively smaller. The largest increment of ALT occurs in the northeastern and southwestern plateaus under both scenarios because of higher ground temperatures and lower soil moisture content in these regions.