Glaciology Permafrost temperatures in European mountains on the rise
Permafrost temperatures in European mountain regions are on the rise. In the last ten years, temperatures at a depth of ten meters have risen by more than one degree in some cases, as a study by the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research shows.
10.12.2024, 12:12
SDA
The researchers observed the greatest warming at the highest and northernmost stations. The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) announced on Tuesday that the increase in permafrost temperatures in the mountain regions of Europe was in some cases similar to that in the Arctic.
The warming of the permafrost at a depth of ten meters is stronger than deep in the ground, it added. Further down in the ground, temperatures react to climate change with an increasing delay. The observed warming will continue to penetrate to greater depths in the coming decades.
As part of the study, researchers collected and analyzed 64 series of measurements on temperatures in the permafrost in Europe's mountains. The data set includes values from nine European countries, from Svalbard in Norway to the Alps and the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain.
