Permafrost degradation and its environmental effects on the Tibetan Plateau: A review of recent research

Abstract

A significant portion of the Tibetan Plateau is underlain by permafrost, and is highly sensitive to climate change. Observational data from recent Chinese investigations on permafrost degradation and its environmental effects in the Tibetan region indicate that a large portion of the Tibetan Plateau has experienced significant warming since the mid-1950s. The air temperature increase is most significant in the central, eastern, and northwestern parts of the Plateau. The warming trend in the cold season was greater than that in the warm season. The duration of seasonal ground freezing has shortened due to the air temperature increase in winter. Numerical simulations indicate that air temperature on the Plateau will continue to increase in the 21st century. Significant warming has resulted in extensive degradation of permafrost. Over the last 30 years, a 25 m increase in the lower altitudinal occurrences of permafrost has taken place in the north. In the south the increase is 50–80 m over the past 20 years. Active-layer thickness and mean annual ground temperature have increased by 0.15–0.50 m during 1996–2001 and by 0.1–0.5 °C during the last 30 years on the Tibetan Plateau, respectively. Widespread permafrost degradation has already caused environmental deterioration. Extensive desertification processes are apparent in the eastern and western portions of the Tibetan Plateau, with the area occupied by desert increasing annually by about 1.8%. With rapid retreat and thinning of permafrost, large carbon pools sequestered in permafrost could be released to increase net sources of atmospheric carbon, creating a positive feedback and accelerated warming. Damage to human infrastructure is also caused by frost heave, thaw settlement, and thaw slumping in the permafrost-affected region. The impact of permafrost degradation on energy and water exchange processes between the ground and atmosphere require further examination. Large-scale intensive monitoring networks, remote sensing investigations, and models for frozen soil are needed to clarify regional details of climate change, permafrost degradation, and their environmental effects.