Thermal hazards zonation and permafrost change over the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Zhang, Zhongqiong; Wu, Qingbai

doi:10.1007/s11069-011-9923-4

Cited by 52 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Permafrost degradation is also linked to shrinking wetlands, release of soil carbon, desertification, worsening of ecological environment, and increased incidence of natural hazard Hinzman et al, 2005;Jin et al, 2009;Z. Yang et al, 2010;Zhang and Wu, 2012;Hayes et al, 2014].…”

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confidence: 99%

Frozen soil degradation and its effects on surface hydrology in the northern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2015

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Frozen soil was simulated at six seasonally frozen and seven permafrost stations over the northern Tibetan Plateau using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model for the period of 1962-2009. The VIC model resolved the seasonal cycle and temporal evolution of the observed soil temperatures and liquid soil moisture well. The simulated long-term changes during 1962-2009 indicated mostly positive trends for both soil temperature and soil moisture, and negative trends for soil ice content at annual and monthly time scales, although differences existed among the stations, soil layers, and seasons. Increases in soil temperature were due mainly to increases in daily air temperature maxima and internal soil heat conduction, while decreases in soil ice content were related to the warming of frozen soil. For liquid soil moisture, increases in the cold months can be attributed to increases in soil temperature and enhanced soil ice melt while changes in the warm months were the results of competition between positive precipitation and negative soil temperature effects. Precipitation and liquid soil moisture were strongly correlated with evapotranspiration and runoff but had various degrees of correlations with base flow during May-September. Seasonally frozen stations displayed longer and more active hydrological processes than permafrost stations. Slight enhancement of the surface hydrological processes at the study stations was indicated, due to the combined effects of precipitation changes, which were dominant, and frozen soil degradation.

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confidence: 99%

Frozen soil degradation and its effects on surface hydrology in the northern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2015

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“…The monitoring results show that the cryosphere in China is experiencing predominant changes [35] and permafrost degradation, which lead to environmental problems [9,36]. Permafrost degradation and spatial as well as temporal change in permafrost temperature and ALT under the scenario of climate change have a predominant trend and result in thermal hazards [37][38][39][40][41]. The lower limit's northern boundary of permafrost distribution is seriously degraded in QXP [42] and the permafrost thickness greatly decreased [43,44].…”

Section: Permafrost Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Permafrost changes and engineering stability in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

Niu

2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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113

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Climate change and engineering activities are the leading causes of permafrost temperature increase, active layer thickening, and ground-ice thaw, which trigger changes in the engineering stability of embankments. Based on the important research advances on permafrost changes and frozen soil engineering in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, the changes in permafrost temperature and active layer thickness, their relationships with climate factors, the response process of engineering activities on permafrost, dynamic change of engineering stability of Qinghai-Xizang Railway, and the cooling mechanism and process of crushed-rock layers are discussed using the monitoring data of permafrost and embankment deformation. Finally, solutions to the key scientific problems of frozen soil engineering under climate change are proposed.

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“…The main characteristics of elevational permafrost on the QTP have been categorized within a three‐dimensional zonation; furthermore, a Gaussian distribution of the lower limits of permafrost has been formulated . These investigations and the empirical relationships between permafrost temperatures and elevation, primarily along the Qinghai–Tibet Engineering Corridor, have provided the basis for permafrost mapping and modeling on the QTP, although these models are generally coarse but still of high reliability at various scales . However, there have been few investigations of permafrost on other parts of the plateau, such as the north‐eastern QTP, which is thermally unstable due to its location at the fringes of predominantly continuous permafrost regions .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…24 These investigations and the empirical relationships between permafrost temperatures and elevation, primarily along the Qinghai-Tibet Engineering Corridor, have provided the basis for permafrost mapping and modeling on the QTP, although these models are generally coarse but still of high reliability at various scales. [25][26][27][28] However, there have been few investigations of permafrost on other parts of the plateau, such as the north-eastern QTP, which is thermally unstable due to its location at the fringes of predominantly continuous permafrost regions. 29,30 The few investigations on periglacial environments and geomorphology 8,31 are insufficient to characterize the permafrost distribution and dynamics in this monsoonal climate region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevation‐dependent thermal regime and dynamics of frozen ground in the Bayan Har Mountains, northeastern Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, southwest China

Luo

Jin

et al. 2018

Permafrost & Periglacial

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To investigate and monitor permafrost in the Bayan Har Mountains (BHM), north‐eastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, southwest China, 19 boreholes ranging from 20 to 100 m in depth were drilled along an elevational transect (4,221–4,833 m a.s.l.) from July to September 2010. Measurements from these boreholes demonstrate that ground temperatures at the depth of zero annual amplitude (TZAA) are generally higher than −2.0°C. The lapse rates of TZAA are 4 and 6 °C km−1, and the lower limits of permafrost with TZAA < −1°C are approximately 4,650 and 4,750 m a.s.l. on the northern (near Yeniugou) and southern (near Qingshui'he) slopes, respectively. TZAA changes abruptly within short distances from −0.2 to +1.2°C near the northern lower limits of permafrost and from about +0.5 to +1.5°C near the southern lower limits of permafrost. Thawing and freezing on the ground surface at Qingshui'he (4,413 m a. s. l.) are 13.3 d earlier and 26 d later than that at Chalaping (4,724 m a. s. l.), respectively. The temperature gradient at Qingshui'he is clearly larger than that at Chalaping. The changes of permafrost TZAA ranged from 0.03°C to 0.2°C from 2010 to 2017. A 3.5‐m‐thick permafrost near Qingshui'he was observed to disappear in summer 2013. There is no significant correlation between elevation and permafrost temperature changes in the study area, whereas the changes of very warm (close to 0°C) permafrost seem to be slow in the intermontane basins.

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Thermal hazards zonation and permafrost change over the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Cited by 52 publications

References 35 publications

Frozen soil degradation and its effects on surface hydrology in the northern Tibetan Plateau

Frozen soil degradation and its effects on surface hydrology in the northern Tibetan Plateau

Permafrost changes and engineering stability in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

Elevation‐dependent thermal regime and dynamics of frozen ground in the Bayan Har Mountains, northeastern Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, southwest China

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