New permafrost products available

Recently, we have developed new products at cryo.met.no that show real-time permafrost temperature data from operational monitoring sites in Svalbard and Norway. 

The latest permafrost temperatures are compared to the climatology generated from the station's data record, providing median, confidence intervals, extremes and trends (see figure below for an example). There are additional operating weather stations with extended measurement programs at these locations. The collocated monitoring provides daily updated data to study and monitor the current state, trends and the effects of e.g. extreme climate events on permafrost temperatures.

 

The most direct indicators of changes related to permafrost are the two essential climate variables (ECVs) for permafrost; permafrost temperature and active-layer thickness (the thickness of the layer that freezes and thaws annually over the permafrost). The operational monitoring provides information more rapidly than at any time in the past and may contribute to early detection of e.g. record-high active layer thickness, pronounced permafrost temperature increases and early warning systems for natural hazards associated with permafrost warming and degradation.

Here is where you can find the locations of the permafrost stations and the new permafrost products.

Ground temperature data from the permafrost stations can be downloaded from frost.met.no.

 

Fact box

Permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, is made up of soil or rock including ice and organic material that has remained at or below 0 °C for at least two consecutive years. In Norway, permafrost is widespread in the higher mountains. In northern Norway, some of the permafrost is located in mires, often producing palsas and peat plateaus. Measurements show that the permafrost in Norway is relatively warm ranging typically between -3 and 0 °C.

Svalbard lies in the zone of continuous permafrost with depths varying between 200 to 450 m in the interior of the islands. In general, permafrost temperatures are highest at coastal sites or where there is a thick snow cover throughout the winter. A rather warm permafrost can be found in large parts of Svalbard, particularly in the lowlands, which are especially sensitive to warming and which is where the population lives.