Accelerating permafrost collapse on the eastern Tibetan Plateau

• Published in: Environmental Research Letters
• Main Authors: Tanguang Gao, Yulan Zhang, Shichang Kang, Benjamin W Abbott, Xiaoming Wang, Tingjun Zhang, Shuhua Yi, Örjan Gustafsson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 2021
• Subjects: permafrost; climate change; soil organic carbon; Tibetan Plateau; Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering; TD1-1066; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Science; Q; Physics; QC1-999
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abf7f0; https://doaj.org/article/586d65f9fa994dfbbb870ace1eefcf27

Permafrost collapse can rapidly change regional soil-thermal and hydrological conditions, potentially stimulating production of climate-warming gases. Here, we report on rate and extent of permafrost collapse on the extensive Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Asian Water Tower and the Third Pole. Combined data from in situ measurements, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), manned aerial photographs, and satellite images suggest that permafrost collapse was accelerating across the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. From 1969 to 2017, the area of collapsed permafrost has increased by approximately a factor of 40, with 70% of the collapsed area forming since 2004. These widespread perturbations to the Tibetan Plateau permafrost could trigger changes in local ecosystem state and amplify large-scale permafrost climate feedbacks.