Changes in the active layer of the permafrost region in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) can trigger the redistribution of energy and water between the soil and the atmosphere, thus considerably affect the energy balance of the land surface, the hydrological cycle, ecosystems, and engineering infrastructures.  

In order to investigate the heat transfer rate and changes in the active layer thickness during the freeze-thaw cycle period in the permafrost region of the QTP, scientists introduced the notion of soil thermal conductivity to describe the ability of the soil thermal conduction and understand the thermal regime of ground surfaces. 

Recently, scientists from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed the variation characteristics of the soil thermal conductivity during the freeze-thaw cycle period and evaluated 11 soil thermal conductivity schemes for the permafrost region of the central QTP. 

They investigated the characteristics of soil thermal conductivity within the active layer during the freeze-thaw cycle period, evaluated the accuracy and applicability of 11 schemes for the prediction of soil thermal conductivity in different soil layers during the freeze-thaw cycle period, and analyzed the reasons for the calculation errors associated with different schemes. 

The study results revealed that the soil thermal conductivity had a remarkable seasonal variation, due to the significant effects of soil moisture content and ice-water phase changes as temperature changed during the freeze-thaw cycle period. 

Overall, this research provides insights for the development of a soil thermal conductivity scheme for the permafrost region of the central QTP, and this study has been published in the CATENA in an article entitled “Evaluation of 11 soil thermal conductivity schemes for the permafrost region of the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau”. 

Contact: 

LI Ren 

E-mail: liren@lzb.ac.cn 

Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.