Researchers evaluated the current network of hydrometeorological observation across the permafrost. They wanted to find out how to improve statistical approaches for modelling engineering design and hydrological impact from melting permafrost such as increased flooding. They reviewed the distribution of ground temperature stations and hydrological gauges that currently measure streamflow discharge, where permafrost is covering…
Category: Permafrost
Salt on the move in the permafrost
Researchers at Skoltech wanted to understand more about the effect of pressure and temperature on salt distribution in permafrost that contains hydrates and permafrost that doesn’t. Existing research does not model salt diffusion and transportation in permafrost thawing. They simulated experiments reproducing the degrading permafrost in laboratory conditions by changing the temperature and pressure whilst…
Siberian trees are telling the humans it’s too hot !
Increases in sea ice melt, permafrost melt and wildfires are observed whilst Siberian temperatures continue to escalate beyond previous records, for example 38°C last year inside the Arctic Circle. To understand the changes, researchers looked at proxy records. Historically in the Siberian Arctic they have mostly included low-resolution pollen records and laminated lake sediments. They…
Mounds of mires
Researchers from Tuvan and Tomsk universities wanted to understand the impact of climate change on palsa mires which are frozen mounds of peat bogs found in the highlands of southern Siberia. They are caused by permafrost and can be several metres high and up to several hundred km2 in area. When reading existing research they…
Permafrost and cryogenic monitoring in the western Russian Arctic.
Permafrost is currently analysed by reviewing temperatures at different layers compared with air and ground surface temperatures, depth of freezing and thawing, as well as overall coverage including snow and vegetation. Mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and mean annual ground temperatures (MAGT) are a widely used source of analysis with the practical measurements being completed…
Green canopies in the urban Russian Arctic
The majority of residents in cities in the Russian Arctic are not indigenous to the area (approx 95%), mostly migrating from the south and west. They are not used to Arctic ecosystems and the Arctic climate with lower temperatures, permafrost, less rich soil and having to adapt to differing light with polar days and nights….
Building a national permafrost picture benefits everyone
Up until now, multiple institutions across Russia monitor permafrost and focus on local results. Oil and gas industries do not share their permafrost results with each other. Human impact from energy industries has cumulatively increased permafrost temperature which further affects their infrastructure. The researchers recommend a new state monitoring system which can be linked to…
Reading the future in an Arctic iced tea
Mironov, Klyachkin and Yulin from Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, have suggested new computer-based method of long-term ice forecasting for the Arctic Seas. These methods are currently tested by an experimental hardware-software complex called “Ice”. The year-round ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is one of the main features of the Arctic climate system, and the…
Melting permafrost, melting budgets – the wear and tear of Arctic infrastructure
Scientists from George Washington University and Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences have recently estimated the future costs of infrastructure affected by climate change in the Arctic region, specifically by the impacts of permafrost thaw. The research covers the countries with the biggest areas of permafrost, namely, Alaska, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia….
Climate change is a positive change for the Arctic birds. #Russia #climate
Researchers from the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences analyse the formation of modern Arctic mammals and discuss their future changes caused by climate change. They observed regional climate warming since the 1990s with visible effects such as rain- and snowfall increase, a decrease of Arctic glaciers, much warmer winters, etc. They found that…
Russian Climate Research 