Yin et al. (2025) Widespread weakening of soil-atmosphere thermal coupling and its response to climate warming on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-18
• Authors: Guoan Yin, Xin Ju, Fujun Niu, Zhanju Lin, Jing Luo, Zeyong Gao, Hao Yan, Y. F. Wang, Wei-Heng Ni
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110925

Research Groups

• State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Yangtze River Delta Urban Wetland Ecosystem National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, Shanghai Normal University
• China Academy of Railway Sciences Corporation Limited
• Xining Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Center, China Geological Survey
• University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Short Summary

This study quantifies the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil-atmosphere thermal coupling (β) at 0.1 m depth on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) from 1980 to 2020, revealing a widespread weakening of coupling, particularly in seasonal frost zones, driven by a complex interplay of atmospheric warming and soil moisture changes.

Objective

• To quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil-atmosphere thermal coupling (β) at the critical 0.1 m root-zone depth on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and understand its response to accelerated climate warming.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), utilizing data from 99 in-situ sites.
• Temporal Scale: 1980–2020 (41 years).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Machine learning framework.
• Data sources: In-situ observational data from 99 sites across the QTP.

Main Results

• Thermal coupling (β) is significantly weaker in permafrost (PF) zones (mean β = 0.42) compared to seasonal frost (SF) zones (mean β = 0.50), indicating the strong thermal buffering capacity of permafrost.
• A widespread trend of weakening coupling (decreasing β) was observed at 66.7 % of the study sites, with this phenomenon being most pronounced in SF zones.
• Spatial patterns of β are primarily controlled by surface insulation provided by summer rainfall and soil moisture.
• Temporal trends are driven by a complex interplay: rapid atmospheric warming paradoxically strengthens coupling (likely due to loss of insulative snow cover), while trends toward wetter conditions drive a weakening of coupling by enhancing surface insulation.
• Spatially explicit maps identify hotspots of accelerated decoupling in the eastern and southern QTP.
• High-elevation permafrost regions show strengthening coupling, signaling a loss of protective insulation and increased vulnerability to degradation.

Contributions

• Provides the first comprehensive quantification of soil-atmosphere thermal coupling dynamics across the QTP at a critical root-zone depth.
• Reveals a widespread and non-uniform weakening of thermal coupling, highlighting the complex and counter-intuitive drivers of these changes under climate warming.
• Offers spatially explicit insights into areas of accelerated decoupling and increased permafrost vulnerability, with significant implications for the QTP’s cryosphere, hydrology, and ecosystems.

Funding

• Not available in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Yin2025Widespread,
  author = {Yin, Guoan and Ju, Xin and Niu, Fujun and Lin, Zhanju and Luo, Jing and Gao, Zeyong and Yan, Hao and Wang, Y. F. and Ni, Wei-Heng},
  title = {Widespread weakening of soil-atmosphere thermal coupling and its response to climate warming on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau},
  journal = {Agricultural and Forest Meteorology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110925},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110925}
}