The Last Permafrost Maximum (LPM) map of the Northern Hemisphere: permafrost extent and mean annual air temperatures, 25-17ka BP

• Published in: Boreas
• Main Authors: Vandenberghe, Jef, French, Hugh M., Gorbunov, Aldar, Marchenko, Sergei, Velichko, Andrey A., Jin, Huijun, Cui, Zhijiu, Zhang, Tingjun, Wan, Xudong
• Other Authors: Vandenberghe, J (reprint author), Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Earth Sci, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands., Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Earth Sci, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands., Univ Ottawa, Dept Earth Sci, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada., Univ Ottawa, Dept Geog, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada., Univ Victoria, Dept Geog, Victoria, BC V8W 3R4, Canada., UAF, Inst Geophys, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA., RAS, Inst Geog, Moscow 110017, Russia., Chinese Acad Sci, State Key Lab Frozen Soils Engn, Cold & Arid Reg Environm & Engn Res Inst, Lanzhou 730000, Peoples R China., Peking Univ, Coll Urban & Environm Sci, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China., Lanzhou Univ, Coll Earth & Environm Sci, Lanzhou 730000, Peoples R China., Univ Colorado, NSIDC, Boulder, CO 80309 USA., Lanzhou Univ, Res Sch Arid Environm & Climate Change, Lanzhou 730000, Peoples R China., Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Earth Sci, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• Format: Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: boreas 2014
• Subjects: SEA-ICE COVER; LATE-PLEISTOCENE PERMAFROST; GLACIAL MAXIMUM; THERMAL-CONTRACTION; NW EUROPE; ATLANTIC; CLIMATE; CHINA; SHEET; PROXY; Ice; permafrost; Sea ice; wedge*
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/211154; https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12070

This paper accompanies a map that shows the extent of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere between 25 and 17 thousand years ago. The map is based upon existing archival data, common throughout the Northern Hemisphere, that include ice-wedge pseudomorphs, sand wedges and large cryoturbations. Where possible, a distinction is made between areas with continuous permafrost and areas where permafrost is either spatially discontinuous or sporadic. The associated mean annual palaeo-temperatures that are inferred on the basis of present-day analogues increase understanding of the possible changes in permafrost extent that might accompany current global warming trends. Areas with relict permafrost and areas that were formerly exposed due to lower sea level (submarine permafrost) are also mapped. Mapping is mostly limited to lowland regions (areas approximately <1000m a.s.l.). Striking features that appear from the map are (i) the narrow permafrost zone in North America, which contrasts with the broader LPM permafrost zone in Eurasia (that may be related to different snow thickness or vegetation cover), (ii) the zonal extent of former LPM permafrost (that may reflect sea-ice distribution), which contrasts with the present-day pattern of permafrost extent (especially in Eurasia) and (iii) the relatively narrow zones of LPM discontinuous permafrost (that may indicate strong temperature gradients). http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000337521200008&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701 Geography, Physical Geosciences, Multidisciplinary SCI(E) 38 REVIEW [e-mail] 3 652-666 43