Mountain Permafrost: A Reflection on the Periglacial Environment in Mongolia

• Published in: Geosciences
• Main Authors: Michael Walther, Ulrich Kamp
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: Mongolia; mountains; periglacial; permafrost; Geology; QE1-996.5
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13090274; https://doaj.org/article/48030388a9cb43c8a9f93a80426624a9

There are different ideas about the classification and distribution of permafrost in Mongolia. Terms such as continuous, discontinuous, sporadic, and isolated permafrost are inconsistently applied; hence, maps of permafrost display different distribution patterns. Particularly, the southern border of the Siberian permafrost in Mongolia is still debated. Furthermore, comparing these maps is challenging when studying impacts of climate change on permafrost. While, without a doubt, Mongolia’s permafrost is in a stage of significant degradation and has receded from vast regions, telling this story is difficult when data are not easily comparable. Today, all permafrost is restricted to Mongolia’s mountains. To better describe permafrost that depends on orography and elevation, we propose to use the more appropriate term ‘mountain permafrost.’ Surprisingly, the term ‘periglacial’ is mostly absent in the literature on Mongolia’s permafrost. We here aim to clarify definitions of terms and hope that future studies will pay attention to both periglacial environments and mountain permafrost.