Changes in the extent of permafrost during the late quaternary period in the territory of the former Soviet Union

• Published in: Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
• Main Authors: Kondratjeva, Kalerija A., Khrutzky, Stanislav F., Romanovsky, Nikolai N.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1993
• Subjects: Ice; permafrost; Permafrost and Periglacial Processes; Thermokarst; Siberia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ppp.3430040204; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fppp.3430040204; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppp.3430040204

Abstract The cryolithozone occupies a considerable part of the territory of the former Soviet Union. During the Zyriansk (50,000–60,000 years BP) and Sartansk (15,000–27,000 years BP) cold periods of the late Pleistocene, permafrost developed to its maximum thickness and spread as far south as 48–49°N on the Russian plain. In western Siberia and the European north‐east, relict Pleistocene permafrost is separated at depth from late Pleistocene permafrost by a thaw layer; in middle and eastern Siberia where no ice sheets developed, the permafrost is continuous and thick. During the late Glacial to early Holocene warming, the extent of the cryolithozone diminished and thermokarst processes intensified. Using geothermal data from deep boreholes, the approximate rock palaeotemperatures for the last 12,000 years are described for the Russian plain, western Siberia and eastern Siberia.