How Much of the Earth's Surface is Underlain by Permafrost?

2021/04/23 by Jaroslav Obu · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Climate change and permafrost #Cryospheric studies and observations #Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics #Permafrost #Geology #Northern Hemisphere #Earth science #Physical geography #Climatology #Geography #Oceanography

paper · doi:10.1029/2021jf006123

openalex publication_date 2021/04/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Abstract More than 80% of studies reporting the area on Earth underlain by permafrost refer to the extent of the permafrost region , which accounts for around 21 million km 2 (22% of the Northern Hemisphere's exposed land surface). Since each permafrost zone (continuous, discontinuous, sporadic, and isolated, which combined represent the permafrost region) is not entirely underlain by permafrost, the actual area underlain by permafrost ( permafrost area ) accounts for approximately 14 million km 2 (15% of the exposed land surface area in the Northern Hemisphere). Such overstatements create a general impression that there is 6 million km 2 more permafrost than currently estimated. I highlight the known differences between the terms permafrost region and permafrost area, along with explaining the possible reasons leading to these overstatements. Recent studies estimating permafrost area extent are summarized to provide a baseline for the geoscientific community and general public about the actual area underlain by permafrost for different parts of the globe.

Citations

• Circum-Arctic map of permafrost and ground-ice conditions
• Soil organic carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region
• Thermal state of permafrost and active‐layer monitoring in the antarctic: Advances during the international polar year 2007–2009
• Submarine Permafrost Map in the Arctic Modeled Using 1‐D Transient Heat Flux (SuPerMAP)

Cited by

• Rising Arctic seas and thawing permafrost: uncovering the carbon cycle impact in a thermokarst lagoon system in the outer Mackenzie Delta, Canada
• Permafrost [wikipedia]

Related

• Permafrost distribution in the southern circumpolar region and its relation to the environment: A review and recommendations for further research
• Climate and the limits of permafrost: a zonal analysis
• Near‐surface permafrost degradation: How severe during the 21st century?
• Permafrost distribution and active‐layer depths in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
• A projection of permafrost degradation on the Tibetan Plateau during the 21st century