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Climatic warming and the degradation of warm permafrost
Author(s) -
Lunardini V. J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
permafrost and periglacial processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-1530
pISSN - 1045-6740
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1530(199610)7:4<311::aid-ppp234>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - permafrost , geothermal gradient , heat flow , global warming , geology , climate change , heat transfer , active layer , environmental science , earth science , climatology , thermal , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , meteorology , geophysics , thermodynamics , materials science , oceanography , geography , layer (electronics) , physics , composite material , thin film transistor
Permafrost—a widespread constituent of the terrestrial environment—by definition is dependent upon the ambient temperature for its existence and properties. Thus, it is very sensitive to climatic changes. Simple relations based upon conductive heat transfer, with thawing and geothermal heat flow, are presented to predict the transient effects of surface temperature increases on the thermal state of permafrost. The results indicate that, based on the usual global warming scenarios, relatively small amounts of permafrost will disappear within 50–100 years. This is specifically shown for the most thermally sensitive cases, that is, warm or relict permafrost. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.