An Assessment of Climate Change Impact on Snow Cover, Glacier and Permafrost in China
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by
Bolch F04008, T Marchenko
2006 Volume 109
Abstract
Permafrost temperatures in mid-latitudinal mountain ranges are predominantly warm and therefore susceptible to climate change. But only little information exists concerning the distribution and thermal state of the permafrost in Chinese part of the Central Tian Shan. In this study a dense network of 69 temperature logger was installed in the 130 km² Gukur catchment to monitor Ground Surface Temperatures (GST) over two consecutive years and assess the thermal state of the permafrost underneath. Results therefore improve the scientific knowledge on spatial and temporal variation of Mean Annual Ground Surface Temperatures (MAGST) as an indicator for permafrost. Besides topographic parameters like altitude (r=-0.68, p < 0.001 first year; r=-0.76, p < 0.001 second year), snow cover emerged as the dominant factor for spatial variability of MAGST. Thus variations of more than 4°C are common within short distances (< 350 m) and on same altitudinal levels. The insulating effect of snow shields the ground from cold air temperatures during winter. Furthermore, inter annual variations of MAGST correlate significantly (r= 0.72, p < 0.001) with variations in duration of the insulating snow cover. Thus, snow distribution could be identified as the main factor for inter annual variations of MAGST temperaturerecord of climate change".
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