Apresentação

Permafrost in a changing Earth
Gonçalo Vieira
CEG/IGOT – Universidade de Lisboa
Ahinora Baltakova (BG), Lourenço Bandeira (PT), Vanessa Batista (PT), James Bockheim (US), João Branco (PT), Alberto Caselli (AR),
João Canário (PT), João Catalão (PT), Antonio Correia (PT), Ana David (PT), Ali Faleh (MO), Alice Ferreira (PT), Márcio Francelino (BR),
André Fonseca (PT), Márcio Francelino (BR), Andrew Hodson (UK), Inês Girão (PT), Gabriel Goyanes (AR), Juan Javier Jímenez (ES),
Rositza Kenderova (BG), António Molina (ES), Carla Mora (PT), Mário Neves (PT), Alexandre Nieuwendam (PT), Agnieszka Nowak (UK),
Ana Padeiro (PT), Pedro Pina (PT), Marc Oliva (PT), Miguel Angel de Pablo (ES), Christo Pimpirev (BG), Gonçalo Prates (PT), Miguel
Ramos (ES), Ana Rita Reis (PT), Fernando Santos (PT), Cláudio Sousa (PT), Carlos Schaefer (BR), Felipe Simas (BR), Warwick Vincent (CN)
CEG/IGOT – ULisboa | CERENA /IST – ULisboa | CQE/IST – Ulisboa | IDL – ULisboa | CGE – Universidade de Évora | Centre d’Etudes
Nordiques – U Laval | Bulgarian Antarctic Institute | Universidad de Alcalá | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Universidad de
Buenos Aires | Universidade Federal de Viçosa | University of Sheffield | Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fès
What is permafrost?
PERMAFROST
22.800.000 km2 in the Northern
Hemisphere (20% of the continental
area)
Ferreira (1991), adaptado de Washburn (1979)
Lowland permafrost regions are traditionally divided into several zones based on estimated geographic
continuity in the landscape. A typical classification recognizes continuous permafrost (underlying 90-100% of
the landscape); discontinuous permafrost (50-90%); and sporadic permafrost (0-50%).
Bockheim (1995)
Global Outlook for Ice and Snow (UNEP)
Global Outlook for Ice and
Snow (UNEP)
IPA, 2010
Does permafrost matters?
Permafrost Carbon
Feedback – irreversible at
the human timescale
Schuur et al 2015
Permafrost
Global Carbon
storage in soils (GtC)
Ice- and carbon-rich permafrost
Courtesy Hughes Lantuit and the IPA
Courtesy Hughes Lantuit and the IPA
Courtesy Hughes Lantuit and the IPA
Subsea permafrost
Gas hydrate (methane)
Maps: UNEP, IPA
What about Antarctic permafrost?
King George
Island
Livingston
Island
Deception
Island
Dundee
Island
Cierva
Cove
Anvers
Island
James Ross
Island
Livingston Island
Mean annual air temperatures
0,0
-2,0
-3,0
-4,0
-5,0
-6,0
-7,0
-8,0
-9,0
Faraday/Vernadsky
Bellingshausen
Mean annual ground temperatures
1,0
0,5
0,0
Temperature (ºC)
Temperature (ºC)
-1,0
-0,5
-1,0
-1,5
-2,0
-2,5
-3,0
Cooling in most boreholes
-3,5
-4,0
2002
2003
2004
Papagal 4 m
Reina Sofia 8 m
2005
2006
2007
Reina Sofia 1 25 m
Air (30 m)
2008
2009
2010
CALM 4 m
2011
Reina Sofia Shallow 0.8 m
2012
2013
MeteoSKO 8 m
2014
2015
Deception Island
0,40
0,20
Temperature (ºC)
0,00
-0,20
-0,40
-0,60
-0,80
-1,00
-1,20
S1 - 4 m
S2 - 4 m
S3 - 4.5 m
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
• Permafrost is changing fast
• Permafrost is key in the climate system
• Changes are complex
• Need for improved observations + lab experiences + modelling