Atmospheric temperatures in the arctic are increasing at a much faster rate than the global mean which will likely result in a higher rate of permafrost degradation. Permafrost is an essential climate variable (ECV) with relevance for climate feedbacks with water, energy, and carbon cycles. It is a subsurface phenomenon which cannot be directly measured with remotely sensed data. However, many land-surface parameters which influence the ground thermal regime can be captured and used for indirectly inferring permafrost conditions or modeling of permafrost characteristics. There is also an urgent need to enhance our understanding on permafrost thawing processes as well as the influences of permafrost degradation on permafrost carbon dynamics.

This session focuses on remote sensing applications of permafrost regions as well as on observational and modeling approaches centering on changes in the current and future state of permafrost and permafrost carbon dynamics.