Permafrost in China includes high latitude permafrost in northeastern China, alpine permafrost in northwestern China and high plateau permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau. The high altitude permafrost is about 92% of the...Permafrost in China includes high latitude permafrost in northeastern China, alpine permafrost in northwestern China and high plateau permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau. The high altitude permafrost is about 92% of the total permafrost area in China. The south boundary or lower limit of the seasonally frozen ground is defined in accordance with the 0 ℃ isothermal line of mean air temperature in January, which is roughly corresponding to the line extending from the Qinling Mountains to the Huaihe River in the east and to the southeast boundary of the Tibetan Plateau in the west. Seasonal frozen ground occurs in large parts of the territory in northern China, including Northeast, North, Northwest China and the Tibetan Plateau except for permafrost regions, and accounting for about 55% of the land area of China. The southern limit of short-term frozen ground generally swings south and north along the 25° northern latitude line, occurring in the wet and warm subtropic monsoon climatic zone. Its area is less than 20% of the land area of China.展开更多
The distribution and variations of permafrost in the Xidatan region, the northern permafrost boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, were examined and analyzed using ground penetrating radar(GPR), borehole drilling, an...The distribution and variations of permafrost in the Xidatan region, the northern permafrost boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, were examined and analyzed using ground penetrating radar(GPR), borehole drilling, and thermal monitoring data. Results from GPR profiles together with borehole verification indicate that the lowest elevation limit of permafrost occurrence is 4369 m above sea level in 2012. Compared to previous studies, the maximal rise of permafrost limit is 28 m from 1975 to 2012. The total area of permafrost in the study region has been decreased by 13.8%. One of the two previously existed permafrost islands has disappeared and second one has reduced by 76% in area during the past ~40 years. In addition, the ground temperature in the Xidatan region has increased from 2012 to 2016, with a mean warming rate of ~0.004℃ a^(-1) and ~0.003℃ a^(-1) at the depths of 6 and 15 m, respectively. The rising of permafrost limit in the Xidatan region is mainly due to globalwarming. However, some non-climatic factors such as hydrologic processes and anthropic disturbances have also induced permafrost degradation. If the air temperature continues to increase, the northern permafrost boundary in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau may continue rising in the future.展开更多
The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially...The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially attempts to assess the ground ice volume in permafrost layers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by considering landform types, the corresponding lithological composition, and the measured water content in various regions. An approximation demonstrating the existence of many similarities in lithological composition and water content within a unified landform was established during the calculations. Considerable knowledge of the case study area, here called the Source Area of the Yellow(Huanghe) River(SAYR) in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has been accumulated related to permafrost and fresh water resources during the past 40 years. Considering the permafrost distribution, extent, spatial distribution of landform types, the ground ice volume at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m below the ground surface was estimated based on the data of 101 boreholes from field observations and geological surveys in different types of landforms in the permafrost region of the SAYR. The total ground ice volume in permafrost layers at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m was approximately(51.68 ± 18.81) km^3, and the ground ice volume per unit volume was(0.31 ± 0.11) m^3/m^3. In the horizontal direction, the ground ice content was higher in the landforms of lacustrine-marshland plains and alluvial-lacustrine plains, and the lower ground ice content was distributed in the erosional platforms and alluvial-proluvial plains. In the vertical direction, the volume of ground ice was relatively high in the top layers(especially near the permafrost table) and at the depths of 7.0–8.0 m. This calculation method will be used in the other areas when the necessary information is available, including landform type, borehole data, and measured water content.展开更多
A type of authigenic pyrites that fully fill or semi-fill the rock fractures of drillholes with gas hydrate anomalies are found in the Qilian Mountain permafrost; this type of pyrite is known as "fracture-filling" p...A type of authigenic pyrites that fully fill or semi-fill the rock fractures of drillholes with gas hydrate anomalies are found in the Qilian Mountain permafrost; this type of pyrite is known as "fracture-filling" pyrite. The occurrence of "fracture-filling" pyrite has a certain similarity with that of the hydrate found in this region, and the pyrite is generally concentrated in the lower part of the hydrate layer or the hydrate anomaly layer. The morphology, trace elements, rare earth elements, and sulfur isotope analyses of samples from drillhole DK-6 indicate that the "fracture-filling" pyrites are dominated by cubic ones mainly aligned in a step-like fashion along the surfaces of rock fractures and are associated with a circular structure, lower Co/Ni and Sr/Ba, lower ZREE, higher LREE, significant Eu negative anomalies, and 634ScDT positive bias. In terms of the pyrites' unique crys- tal morphology and geochemical characteristics and their relationship with the hydrate layers or abnormal layers, they are closely related with the accumulation system of the gas hydrate in the Qilian Mountain permafrost. As climate change is an important factor in affecting the stability of the gas hydrate, formation of fracture-filling pyrites is most likely closely related to the secondary change of the metastable gas hydrate under the regional climate warming. The distribution intensity of these py- rites indicates that when the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) is narrowing, the hydrate decomposition at the bottom of the GHSZ is stronger than that at the top of the GHSZ, whereas the hydrate decomposition within the GHSZ is relatively weak. Thus, the zone between the shallowest and the deepest distribution of the fracture-filling pyrite recorded the largest possible original GHSZ.展开更多
文摘Permafrost in China includes high latitude permafrost in northeastern China, alpine permafrost in northwestern China and high plateau permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau. The high altitude permafrost is about 92% of the total permafrost area in China. The south boundary or lower limit of the seasonally frozen ground is defined in accordance with the 0 ℃ isothermal line of mean air temperature in January, which is roughly corresponding to the line extending from the Qinling Mountains to the Huaihe River in the east and to the southeast boundary of the Tibetan Plateau in the west. Seasonal frozen ground occurs in large parts of the territory in northern China, including Northeast, North, Northwest China and the Tibetan Plateau except for permafrost regions, and accounting for about 55% of the land area of China. The southern limit of short-term frozen ground generally swings south and north along the 25° northern latitude line, occurring in the wet and warm subtropic monsoon climatic zone. Its area is less than 20% of the land area of China.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 41601069) the State Key Program of National Natural Science of China (Grant No. 41730640)the Independent Project of the State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soils Engineering (SKLFSEZT-32 and SKLFSE-ZQ-37)
文摘The distribution and variations of permafrost in the Xidatan region, the northern permafrost boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, were examined and analyzed using ground penetrating radar(GPR), borehole drilling, and thermal monitoring data. Results from GPR profiles together with borehole verification indicate that the lowest elevation limit of permafrost occurrence is 4369 m above sea level in 2012. Compared to previous studies, the maximal rise of permafrost limit is 28 m from 1975 to 2012. The total area of permafrost in the study region has been decreased by 13.8%. One of the two previously existed permafrost islands has disappeared and second one has reduced by 76% in area during the past ~40 years. In addition, the ground temperature in the Xidatan region has increased from 2012 to 2016, with a mean warming rate of ~0.004℃ a^(-1) and ~0.003℃ a^(-1) at the depths of 6 and 15 m, respectively. The rising of permafrost limit in the Xidatan region is mainly due to globalwarming. However, some non-climatic factors such as hydrologic processes and anthropic disturbances have also induced permafrost degradation. If the air temperature continues to increase, the northern permafrost boundary in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau may continue rising in the future.
基金Under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)Key Research Program(No.KZZD-EW-13)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.91647103)
文摘The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially attempts to assess the ground ice volume in permafrost layers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by considering landform types, the corresponding lithological composition, and the measured water content in various regions. An approximation demonstrating the existence of many similarities in lithological composition and water content within a unified landform was established during the calculations. Considerable knowledge of the case study area, here called the Source Area of the Yellow(Huanghe) River(SAYR) in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has been accumulated related to permafrost and fresh water resources during the past 40 years. Considering the permafrost distribution, extent, spatial distribution of landform types, the ground ice volume at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m below the ground surface was estimated based on the data of 101 boreholes from field observations and geological surveys in different types of landforms in the permafrost region of the SAYR. The total ground ice volume in permafrost layers at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m was approximately(51.68 ± 18.81) km^3, and the ground ice volume per unit volume was(0.31 ± 0.11) m^3/m^3. In the horizontal direction, the ground ice content was higher in the landforms of lacustrine-marshland plains and alluvial-lacustrine plains, and the lower ground ice content was distributed in the erosional platforms and alluvial-proluvial plains. In the vertical direction, the volume of ground ice was relatively high in the top layers(especially near the permafrost table) and at the depths of 7.0–8.0 m. This calculation method will be used in the other areas when the necessary information is available, including landform type, borehole data, and measured water content.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41102021,41202099)National Special Research Fund(Grant No.GZHL20110308)
文摘A type of authigenic pyrites that fully fill or semi-fill the rock fractures of drillholes with gas hydrate anomalies are found in the Qilian Mountain permafrost; this type of pyrite is known as "fracture-filling" pyrite. The occurrence of "fracture-filling" pyrite has a certain similarity with that of the hydrate found in this region, and the pyrite is generally concentrated in the lower part of the hydrate layer or the hydrate anomaly layer. The morphology, trace elements, rare earth elements, and sulfur isotope analyses of samples from drillhole DK-6 indicate that the "fracture-filling" pyrites are dominated by cubic ones mainly aligned in a step-like fashion along the surfaces of rock fractures and are associated with a circular structure, lower Co/Ni and Sr/Ba, lower ZREE, higher LREE, significant Eu negative anomalies, and 634ScDT positive bias. In terms of the pyrites' unique crys- tal morphology and geochemical characteristics and their relationship with the hydrate layers or abnormal layers, they are closely related with the accumulation system of the gas hydrate in the Qilian Mountain permafrost. As climate change is an important factor in affecting the stability of the gas hydrate, formation of fracture-filling pyrites is most likely closely related to the secondary change of the metastable gas hydrate under the regional climate warming. The distribution intensity of these py- rites indicates that when the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) is narrowing, the hydrate decomposition at the bottom of the GHSZ is stronger than that at the top of the GHSZ, whereas the hydrate decomposition within the GHSZ is relatively weak. Thus, the zone between the shallowest and the deepest distribution of the fracture-filling pyrite recorded the largest possible original GHSZ.