Permafrost response to land use and land cover change in the last millennium across the Northern Hemisphere
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AbstractLand use and land cover change (LULCC) can alter surface climate through biogeophysical feedbacks including the modification of energy, moisture, and momentum exchanges between the land and atmosphere. Permafrost, a component of the cryosphere, plays an important role in the climate system. However, the role of permafrost in LULCC in cold regions is still not clearly understood. Here, we employ a LULCC sensitivity experiment carried out by the community Earth system model last millennium ensemble project to investigate the effect of LULCC in permafrost regions across the Northern Hemisphere during 8502005. LULCC is associated with statistically significant largescale cooling in permafrost regions. The overall areaaveraged annual surface air temperature decreased 0.37C during 8502005, and soil temperature decreased 0.39C. Active layer thickness declined at a rate of 0.54cm/100year0.023cm, with a net decline of 6.240.26cm during 8502005 in association with LULCC. Soil moisture also showed a decrease, most pronounced in summer and autumn. Seasonally, the greatest surface air temperature decreases occurred in autumn at a rate of 0.042C/100year, and 0.2 m winter soil temperature decreased 0.036C/100year, both with time lags. Comparisons of cooling associated with LULCC demonstrate that permafrost regions are more sensitive to LULCC than the rest of the Northern Hemisphere.
