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Permafrost in china: Past and present
Author(s) -
Guoqing Qiu,
Guodong Cheng
Publication year - 1995
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/ppp.3430060103
Subject(s) - permafrost , geology , holocene , pleistocene , plateau (mathematics) , physical geography , glacial period , quaternary , climate change , geomorphology , thermokarst , paleontology , geography , oceanography , mathematical analysis , mathematics
Permafrost regions occupy some 2,150,000 km 2 or 22.4% of the territory of China. The distribution characteristics are closely related to variations in climatic conditions. The permafrost area has changed since the Late Pleistocene. In north‐eastern China, the southern limit of permafrost extended to latitude 41‐42.N during the coldest stage of the Last Glaciation; in the Holocene Megathermal the southern limit retreated northwards. But the ice‐wedges and permafrost that formed in the Late Pleistocene are still present in the northern part of Mt Da‐Hingganling. The finding of inactive ice‐wedges at Yitulihe indicates a colder climate and an enlargement of permafrost during the Late Holocene. With these climate changes, the lower limit of high‐altitude permafrost in the alpine and plateau regions of western China moved up 800‐1000 m, but most of the high mountains and plateaux still remain periglacial.