The PACE monitoring strategy: A concept for permafrost research in Qinghai-Tibet

Permafrost has been identified as one of six cryospheric indicators for global climate change within the monitoring framework of the World Meteorological Organisations Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). Vast areas of the Tibetan Plateau are underlain by predominantly warm permafrost, which is actually degrading due to a rise in mean surface temperatures caused by global warming. Because of the important role of surface temperature variations on the Tibetan Plateau for the onset and characteristic of the monsoon circulation over south-east Asia, it becomes evident that a consistent climate monitoring strategy in the region is urgently required. As permafrost reacts sensitively to changes in surface temperature, it is considered as a key variable in such a regional climate monitoring system. The Permafrost and Climate in Europe (PACE) project developed standardised methods for the monitoring of permafrost temperatures and distribution in European mountains, which are in good agreement with the site selection criteria of the GCOS Global Terrestrial Network-Permafrost (GTN-P). Following the PACE monitoring strategy, an international project “Permafrost and Climate in Tibet” is proposed.