The influence of seasonal climatic parameters on the permafrost thermal regime, West Siberia, Russia

Abstract

Statistical correlations between seasonal air temperatures and snow depths and active layer depths and permafrost temperatures were analysed for tundra (Marre‐Salle) and northern taiga (Nadym) sites in Western Siberia. Interannual variations in active layer depth in the tundra zone correlated with the average air temperature of the current summer, and in peatland and humid tundra, also with summer temperatures of the preceding 1–2 years. In the northern taiga zone, the active layer depth related to current summer air temperature and to a lesser extent, to spring and/or winter air temperatures. Variations in summer permafrost temperatures at 5–10 m depth were correlated with spring air temperatures in the current and preceding 1–2 years. The weather regime during the preceding 1–2 years, therefore, reinforced or weakened ground temperature variations in a given year. Overall, the most important factors influencing the permafrost regime were spring and summer air temperatures, and in one case snow depth. However, statistical links between meteorological and permafrost parameters varied between the tundra and northern taiga zones and among landscape types within each zone, emphasising the importance of analyses at short temporal scales and for individual terrain units. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Permafrost Warming in a Subarctic Peatland – Which Meteorological Controls are Most Important?

“…The investigated parameters include MAAT, mean summer temperature, mean winter temperature, annual TDD and winter season FDD, summer precipitation and snow depth/winter precipitation. For all parameters, the regression analyses were performed for the same year and for the preceding year, because Popova and Schmakin () found the best correlation with active‐layer depths in tundra peatlands with summer air temperatures of the preceding 1–2 years. The regressions were considered statistically significant if p ≤ 0.05.…”

“…Few studies have explored the influence of meteorological parameters on the thermal regime in peatlands. In West Siberian tundra peatlands, Popova and Schmakin () concluded that seasonal air temperatures explain more of the active‐layer depth variability than do mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and annual thawing degree‐days (TDD – the cumulative sum of mean daily air temperatures for days when temperatures are above 0 °C) or freezing degree‐days (FDD – the cumulative sum of mean daily air temperatures for days when temperatures are below 0 °C). These authors found that summer air temperatures of the preceding 1–2 years have the greatest impact on active‐layer depths.…”

“…Active‐layer depth is also positively correlated to snow depth (Åkerman and Johansson, ; Johansson et al ., ). An increase in snow depth will also result in increased winter ground temperatures (Seppälä, ; Johansson et al ., ; Jean and Payette, ), and increased mean annual ground temperatures (MAGTs) at shallow depths, indicating that snow cover is important for heat exchange in the upper parts of the soil (Popova and Schmakin, ).…”

A reconstruction of the thawing of the permafrost during the last 170years on the Taimyr Peninsula (East Siberia, Russia)

“…Increasing active-layer thicknesses over the past few decades have been reported from elsewhere in the Arctic, including Russia (Mazhitova et al, 2004;Popova and Shmakin, 2009), Iceland (Kneisel et al, 2007), Sweden (Akerman and Johansson, 2008), and North America (Zhang and Stamnes, 1998;Osterkamp, 2005;Burn and Kokelj, 2009). Notably, since 1950, the Arctic Oscillation has shown a statistically significant trend towards a positive phase (Balzter et al, 2007), which is thought to indicate global climate change.…”

Geochemistry and extractable Fe and Al in cold‐temperature soils of northwestern Siberia

“…; numerous rivers have incised the coastal plain to depths of 15 m a.s.l. Massive ground ice bodies, which are believed to have an origin either as segregated ice or glacier ice (Trofimov et al, 1975;Astakhov, 2006), have been significantly affected by thermokarst processes due to human impact and global warming (Popova and Shmakin, 2009). The mean annual air temperature (MAAT) over Russia has risen by $18C in the last 20 years (Shmakin and Popova, 2006).…”