Articles | Volume 12, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-595-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-595-2018
Research article
 | 
21 Feb 2018
Research article |  | 21 Feb 2018

Climate warming over the past half century has led to thermal degradation of permafrost on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Youhua Ran, Xin Li, and Guodong Cheng

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AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
AR by Youhua Ran on behalf of the Authors (13 Nov 2017)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (29 Nov 2017) by Peter Morse
AR by Youhua Ran on behalf of the Authors (11 Dec 2017)  Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (19 Dec 2017) by Peter Morse
AR by Youhua Ran on behalf of the Authors (27 Dec 2017)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (17 Jan 2018) by Peter Morse
AR by Youhua Ran on behalf of the Authors (18 Jan 2018)  Author's response   Manuscript 
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Short summary
Approximately 88 % of the permafrost area in the 1960s has been thermally degraded in the past half century over the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The mean elevations of the very cold, cold, cool, warm, very warm, and likely thawing permafrost areas increased by 88 m, 97 m, 155 m, 185 m, 161 m, and 250 m, respectively. This degradation may lead to increases in risks to infrastructure, flood, reductions in ecosystem resilience, and positive climate feedback.