Alpine Cryosols - Cryopedology - page 124

10.6 Comparison of Alpine and Arctic Cryosols

Whereas alpine cryosols cover 2.3 million km 2 , arctic cryosols have an area of 10.5
million km 2 (Table 10.4 ). From limited data (Bockheim and Munroe 2014 ), alpine
cryosols contain an organic C density of 3.5-20.6 kg/m 2 to 1 m, where Arctic cryo-
sols commonly have a range between 32 and 70 kg/m 2 . The range in active-layer
depths is similar for the two groups of cryosols. Both groups of cryosols have expe-
rienced increases in air temperature over the past several decades, commonly
between 0.3 and 0.7 °C/decade. This is manifested by an increase in the temperature
at the top of the permafrost table (TTOP) of between 0.1 and 0.7 °C/decade.
Warming of the atmosphere has increased the active-layer depth on the Qinghai-
Tibet Plateau by 1.3 cm/year, but has had no measureable impact on active-layer
depth in the continuous permafrost region of the Arctic.

Table 10.4 A comparison of alpine and arctic cryosols
Parameter Alpine References Polar Reference

Area (10 6 km 2 ) 2.3 This study 10.5 Tarnocai et al. ( 2009 )

SOC density (kg/m 2
to 1 m)

3.5-20.6 This study 32-70 Tarnocai et al. ( 2009 )

and Bockheim and
Munroe ( 2014 )

Patterned ground and/
or cryoturbation (%)

5-19 Johnson and

Billings ( 1962 )
and Feuillet
( 2011 )

10-57 Bockheim et al.

( 1998 ) and Tarnocai
et al. ( 1993 )

Active-layer depth
(m)

0.3-2.0 This study 0.3-2.0 Mazhitova et al.

( 2004 ) and Tarnocai
et al. ( 2004 )

Air temperature
warming (°C/decade)

0.5-0.55
(Altai)

Fukui et al.
( 2007 )

0.6
(arctic-wide)

CRUTEM 3v

0.8 (QTP) Li et al. ( 2012 ) 0.7 (W. Ant.

Pen.)

Turner et al. ( 2009 )

1.0 (Front
Range, CO)

Leopold et al.
( 2010 )

0.06-0.3
(Tien Shan)

Marchenko et al.
( 2007 )

0.6 (Altai) Sharkhuu ( 2003 )

TTOP warming (°C/
decade)

0.1-0.2
(Tien Shan)

Marchenko et al.
( 2007 )

0.3-0.7
(N. Ak)

Osterkamp ( 2007 )

0.1-0.4
(QTP)

Li et al. ( 2012 ) 1.0 (NVL,

Ant.)

Guglielmin and
Cannone ( 2011 )

0.4-0.7
(Svalbard)

Isaksen et al.
( 2007 )

Active-layer depth
(cm/year)

1.3 (QTP) Li et al. ( 2012 ) 0 (NE

Greenland)

Christiansen ( 2004 )

0 (Eur.
Russia)

Mazhitova et al.
( 2004 )

0 (Arctic
Canada)

Tarnocai et al. ( 2004 )