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Indicator Assessment
Observed permafrost temperatures from selected boreholes in European mountains
Note: The figure shows observed permafrost temperatures from 10 m (left) and 20 m (right) depth and their evolution for selected boreholes in European mountains: the sites of the PACE transect and two additional sites in Switzerland (Matterhorn and M.d. Barba Peider) and one in Norway (Dovrefjell).
Comparison of active layer thickness from boreholes in the Alps, Norway and Svalbard
Note: The figure shows the comparison of the active layer thickness from boreholes in the Alps, Norway and Svalbard.
Past trends
Permafrost data is collected through national networks as well as globally through the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P). This information shows regional and seasonal variations as well as longer-term trends in permafrost temperatures. Changes in ground temperatures can be influenced as much by temporal variations of snow cover or surface and subsurface characteristics of the site as by changes in the near-surface air temperature. It has also become evident that the effects of climate change on permafrost depend on factors such as elevation, topography, surface cover and soil type. Partly different processes act between the atmosphere and the ground for bedrock, debris slopes, and rock glaciers.
Data from various boreholes, to a depth of 100 m or more, extending from Svalbard to the Alps indicate a regional warming of permafrost of 0.5–1.0 °C during the recent decade [i] (Figure 1). Continuous monitoring over 5–7 years shows warming down to 60 m depth and current warming rates at the permafrost surface of 0.04–0.07 °C/year, with greatest warming in Svalbard and northern Sweden [ii]. In Switzerland, some warming and increasing depth of the active layer (the top layer of the ground that thaws during the summer) have been observed, particularly in the past 5 years, but results vary between borehole locations and site characteristics with different snow cover, surface cover, subsurface material, ice content in the underground and temperature conditions [iii].
In Europe data series with a length of more than 15 years are available from Greenland, Svalbard, northern Sweden and Switzerland. Active layer thickness (i.e. thawing depth) has generally increased during the period of observation, but there is also significant variation due to site characteristics (Figure 2).
Projections
Permafrost areas are affected by the rate of warming and will very likely continue to thaw across Europe, with the possible exception of Svalbard, where permafrost thaw can mainly be expected at low elevations close to the coast [iv]. Projections for near-surface permafrost degradation continue to vary widely, but virtually all of them indicate substantial near-surface permafrost degradation and thaw depth deepening over much of the permafrost area. Projections based on the ensemble of CMIP5 climate models yield a reduction of near-surface permafrost area (continuous plus discontinuous near-surface permafrost) in the Northern Hemisphere between 37 ± 11% for RCP2.6 and 81±12% for RCP8.5 over the 21st century (Figure 3) [v].
Projections have also shown that the palsa mires in Fennoscandia represent a special case of arctic permafrost where rapid responses can be expected. The probability of a complete loss of palsas in northern Fennoscandia during the 21st century is sensitive to the emissions scenario [vi].
[i] Charles Harris et al., “Permafrost and Climate in Europe: Monitoring and Modelling Thermal, Geomorphological and Geotechnical Responses,” Earth-Science Reviews 92, no. 3–4 (February 2009): 117–171, doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.12.002; D. G. Vaughan and Josefino C. Comiso, “Observations: Cryosphere (Final Draft Underlying Scientific-Technical Assessment),” in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2013), Chapter 4, http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/uploads/WGIAR5_WGI-12Doc2b_FinalDraft_Chapter04.pdf.
[ii] Ketil Isaksen et al., “Recent Warming of Mountain Permafrost in Svalbard and Scandinavia,” Journal of Geophysical Research 112 (February 8, 2007): F02S04, doi:10.1029/2006JF000522.
[iii] Jeannette Noetzli and Daniel Vonder Muehll, Permafrost in Switzerland 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, Glaciological Report Permafrost (Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences, 2010), http://www.institut-montagne.org/ori-oai-search/notice.html?id=institut-montagne-ori-wf-1-76787&format=dc_id.
[iv] Thomas Voigt et al., Impacts of Climate Change on Snow, Ice, and Permafrost in Europe: Observed Trends, Future Projections, and Socioeconomic Relevance, ETC/ACC Technical Paper 2010/13 (Copenhagen: European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC), 2010), http://acm.eionet.europa.eu/reports/docs/ETCACC_TP_2010_13_Cryosphere_CC_impacts.pdf; B. Etzelmüller et al., “Modeling the Temperature Evolution of Svalbard Permafrost during the 20th and 21st Century,” The Cryosphere 5, no. 1 (helmikuu 2011): 67–79, doi:10.5194/tc-5-67-2011.
[v] M. Collins and R. Knutti, “Long-Term Climate Change: Projections, Commitments and Irreversibility (Final Draft Underlying Scientific-Technical Assessment),” in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2013), Chapter 12; Charles D. Koven, William J. Riley, and Alex Stern, “Analysis of Permafrost Thermal Dynamics and Response to Climate Change in the CMIP5 Earth System Models,” Journal of Climate 26, no. 6 (March 2013): 1877–1900, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00228.1.
[vi] Voigt et al., Impacts of Climate Change on Snow, Ice, and Permafrost in Europe: Observed Trends, Future Projections, and Socioeconomic Relevance.
In April 2013 the European Commission presented the EU Adaptation Strategy Package (http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation/what/documentation_en.htm). This package consists of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change /* COM/2013/0216 final */ and a number of supporting documents. One of the objectives of the EU Adaptation Strategy is Better informed decision-making, which should occur through Bridging the knowledge gap and Further developing Climate-ADAPT as the ‘one-stop shop’ for adaptation information in Europe. Further objectives include Promoting action by Member States and Climate-proofing EU action: promoting adaptation in key vulnerable sectors. Many EU Member States have already taken action, such as by adopting national adaptation strategies, and several have also prepared action plans on climate change adaptation.
The European Commission and the European Environment Agency have developed the European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT, http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/) to share knowledge on observed and projected climate change and its impacts on environmental and social systems and on human health; on relevant research; on EU, national and subnational adaptation strategies and plans; and on adaptation case studies.
No targets have been specified.
Permafrost temperatures from 10 m and 20 m depth and their evolution for selected boreholes in European mountains and active-layer depths (top layer of the soil that thaws during the summer) have been observed.
Projections for Northern Hemisphere permafrost have been derived from the CMIP5 model ensemble.
Not applicable
No methodology references available.
Not applicable
Data on the cryosphere vary significantly with regard to availability and quality. Data on permafrost are generally restricted to the last 15-25 years.
Further information on uncertainties is provided in Section 1.7 of the EEA report on Climate change, impacts, and vulnerability in Europe 2012 (http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/climate-impacts-and-vulnerability-2012/)
No uncertainty has been specified
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/mountain-permafrost-1/assessment or scan the QR code.
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