Supplementary material to "Brief Communication: Evaluation and comparisons of permafrost map over Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on inventory of in-situ evidence"

Author(s):  
Bin Cao ◽  
Tingjun Zhang ◽  
Qinghai Wu ◽  
Yu Sheng ◽  
Lin Zhao ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Cao ◽  
Tingjun Zhang ◽  
Qinghai Wu ◽  
Yu Sheng ◽  
Lin Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract. Many maps have been produced to estimate permafrost distribution over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, however, the evaluation and comparisons of them are poorly understood due to limited evidence. Using a large number data from various sources, we present the inventory of permafrost presence/absence with 1475 sites/plots over the QTP. Based on the in-situ measurements, our evaluation results showed a wide range of map performance with the overall accuracy of about 59–82 %, and the estimated permafrost region (1.42–1.84 × 106 km2) and area (0.76–1.25 × 106 km2) are extremely large. The low agreement in areas near permafrost boundary and fragile landscapes require improved method considering more controlling factors at both medium-large and local scales.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Cao ◽  
Tingjun Zhang ◽  
Qingbai Wu ◽  
Yu Sheng ◽  
Lin Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract. Many maps have been produced to estimate permafrost distribution over the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), but the errors and biases among them are poorly understood due to limited field evidence. Here we evaluate and inter-compare the results of six different QTP permafrost maps with a new inventory of permafrost presence or absence comprising 1475 field sites compiled from various sources. Based on the in situ measurements, our evaluation results showed a wide range of map performance, with Cohen's kappa coefficient from 0.21 to 0.58 and an overall accuracy between about 55 % and 83 %. The low agreement in areas near the boundary between permafrost and non-permafrost and in spatially highly variable landscapes highlights the need for improved mapping methods that consider more controlling factors at both medium–large and local scales.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (25) ◽  
pp. e2025321118
Author(s):  
Ming-Hui Wu ◽  
Sheng-Yun Chen ◽  
Jian-Wei Chen ◽  
Kai Xue ◽  
Shi-Long Chen ◽  
...  

Permafrost degradation may induce soil carbon (C) loss, critical for global C cycling, and be mediated by microbes. Despite larger C stored within the active layer of permafrost regions, which are more affected by warming, and the critical roles of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in C cycling, most previous studies focused on the permafrost layer and in high-latitude areas. We demonstrate in situ that permafrost degradation alters the diversity and potentially decreases the stability of active layer microbial communities. These changes are associated with soil C loss and potentially a positive C feedback. This study provides insights into microbial-mediated mechanisms responsible for C loss within the active layer in degraded permafrost, aiding in the modeling of C emission under future scenarios.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Liu ◽  
Linna Chai ◽  
Zheng Lu ◽  
Shaomin Liu ◽  
Yuquan Qu ◽  
...  

High-quality and long time-series soil moisture (SM) data are increasingly required for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) to more accurately and effectively assess climate change. In this study, to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of SM data, five passive microwave remotely sensed SM products are collected over the QTP, including those from the soil moisture active passive (SMAP), soil moisture and ocean salinity INRA-CESBIO (SMOS-IC), Fengyun-3B microwave radiation image (FY3B), and two SM products derived from the advanced microwave scanning radiometer 2 (AMSR2). The two AMSR2 products are generated by the land parameter retrieval model (LPRM) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) algorithm, respectively. The SM products are evaluated through a two-stage data comparison method. The first stage is direct validation at the grid scale. Five SM products are compared with corresponding in situ measurements at five in situ networks, including Heihe, Naqu, Pali, Maqu, and Ngari. Another stage is indirect validation at the regional scale, where the uncertainties of the data are quantified by using a three-cornered hat (TCH) method. The results at the regional scale indicate that soil moisture is underestimated by JAXA and overestimated by LPRM, some noise is contained in temporal variations in SMOS-IC, and FY3B has relatively low absolute accuracy. The uncertainty of SMAP is the lowest among the five products over the entire QTP. In the SM map composed by five SM products with the lowest pixel-level uncertainty, 66.64% of the area is covered by SMAP (JAXA: 19.39%, FY3B: 10.83%, LPRM: 2.11%, and SMOS-IC: 1.03%). This study reveals some of the reasons for the different performances of these five SM products, mainly from the perspective of the parameterization schemes of their corresponding retrieval algorithms. Specifically, the parameterization configurations and corresponding input datasets, including the land-surface temperature, the vegetation optical depth, and the soil dielectric mixing model are analyzed and discussed. This study provides quantitative evidence to better understand the uncertainties of SM products and explain errors that originate from the retrieval algorithms.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document