Recent Degradation of Permafrost in China and the Response to Climatic Warming

The cryosphere in China, composed of glaciers, permafrost and snow-covered ground, is changing under the influence of climatic warming. Although continuous measurement data on changes in permafrost are rare due to cost and lack effective techniques, traces of ongoing changes in permafrost in China have been followed with interest (Wang, 1993; Gu et al., 1993; Ding, 1996). Permafrost in China covers approximately 22% of the total land area and an understanding of the changes in permafrost is therefore important. This paper describes the general conditions of change in permafrost during the past few decades in China. Figure 1 shows the areas of concern and the measurement stations.