Evaluation of the permafrost stability degradation from 1980 to 2010 in China

The degradation of permafrost stability in China over the past 30 years is evaluated using a new, high-resolution near-surface air temperature reanalysis dataset. Results show that the permafrost extent clearly decreased by 22% from 1980 to 2010, that is, a loss of 12.68⁴;104 km². The degradation occurred not only in the transition regions between permafrost and seasonally frozen ground, but also and more importantly, in the interior of the permafrost regions. The degradation in the interior of permafrost regions accounted for 87% of the total degraded areas. The degradation occurred mainly during the 1980s to 1990s in the northeast permafrost area and the Qilian Mountains, and during the 1990s to 2000s in most areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). This degradation will have systemic impacts on engineered infrastructures in permafrost regions, the water balance, and the global carbon budget. A more robust physical model should be used to evaluate the permafrost thermal stability at finer resolution in the future.