Permafrost observational networks in Russia

Lack of consistent spatially representative and sufficiently long time series characterizing the state of permafrost and its dynamics under changing climatic conditions necessitates improvement and further development of observational networks. The purpose of this section is to provide an insight into the permafrost networks available in the Russian part of the Artic. Data characterizing the state and dynamics of Russian permafrost in the past several decades come from three independent sources. The first source of data is soil temperature observations up to 3.2 m. depth conducted at selected meteorological stations. These conventional measurements are not specifically targeted at studying permafrost parameters. Two other networks, authorized under the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and its associated organizations, have been developed for monitoring permafrost temperature and seasonal thaw depth. Temperature observations in the boreholes are conducted under the framework of the Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP) project. Another source is the data from the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) project. Here we give brief description of these networks and results obtained so far for Russian permafrost regions. Main gaps: Although soil temperatures are measured at many of the Russian stations, observations in permafrost regions are sparse and do not capture the whole range of permafrost variability due to difference in climatic and biophysiographical conditions. • Evaluation of the soil temperature regime and dynamics through correlations with air temperatures is not an option, since only a small part of total variability is explained. • Other networks and measurements are needed to evaluate the dynamics of permafrost.