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Description

  • In the past 10–20 years European permafrost has shown a general warming trend, with greatest warming in the cold permafrost in Svalbard and Scandinavia. The depth of seasonal thaw has increased at several European permafrost sites. Some sites show great interannual variability, which reflects the complex interaction between the atmospheric conditions and local snow and ground characteristics.
  • Recent projections agree on substantial near-surface permafrost degradation resulting in thaw depth deepening (i.e. permafrost degeneration) over much of the permafrost area.

  • Warming and thawing of permafrost is expected to increase the risk of rock falls, debris flows and ground subsidence. Thawing of permafrost also affects biodiversity and can contribute to climate change through release of CO2 and CH4 from Arctic permafrost areas.

Reference information

Websites:
https://www.eea.europa.eu/ds_resolveuid/5G0FKBEQDQ
Source:

EEA

Published in Climate-ADAPT: Jun 7, 2016

Date of publication:

2017

Keywords:
CLIM011, mountain, permafrost
Climate impacts:

Ice and Snow

Adaptation Approaches:

Observations and Scenarios

Sectors:

Disaster Risk Reduction

Geographic characterisation:

Europe

Countries:

Norway, Switzerland

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This translation is generated by eTranslation, a machine translation tool provided by the European Commission.