A climatic variation observed in permafrost temperature at Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec

Permafrost temperatures from the surface down to about 9 m from 3 bore holes distributed around Kangiqsualujjuaq village on the coast of Hudson Strait were recorded and analyzed for the period 1989-1998. The results indicate that the permafrost is getting warm along the southern shore of Hudson Strait from 1993 to 1998 though it became cooling for the past 40 a or more. The observed trend in the order of 0. 098℃/a at the 9 m depth is consistent with the long-term regional warming observed in air temperatures. It also coincides with that all the global circulation models predict an enhanced warming in polar regions associated with the increase in concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.