“…Permafrost, defined as ground that remains below 0°C for at least two consecutive years, is a product of cold climates (Osterkamp & Romanovsky, ). Permafrost is considered as one of the major components of the cryosphere due to its wide extent (T. Zhang et al, ) and strong influence on the environment, such as surface energy balance (Boike et al, ; D. Guo et al, ; Ling & Zhang, ; Westermann et al, ), hydrological processes (Karlsson et al, ; Ling et al, ; Walvoord & Kurylyk, ), biogeochemical processes (Mu et al, ; Schuur et al, ), and engineering activities (Gruber & Haeberli, ; Q. Wu et al, ).…”