Some aspects of the impact of climate on the development of thermokarst in the low‐temperature cryolithozone of northern Yakutia

Abstract

Abstract The authors argue that the main cause for the initiation of thermokarst is local changes in the conditions of heat exchange between ground and atmosphere, e.g., changes in vegetation cover (natural or man‐induced), in snow depth, or in moisture conditions. Climate change is not the immediate initiator of thermokarst but simply provides the background against which these other local changes occur. This thesis is demonstrated with reference to temperature data for Cherskiy in the Kolyma Lowland, taking into consideration increases of varying magnitude in mean annual air temperature, mean summer air temperature, variations in snow depth and varying thermal resistivities of the moss and snow covers. It is further argued that even the Holocene Climatic Optimum could not have induced the development of thermokarst.