Tracking a Thawing World: The new GTN-P (Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost) Data Platform

Permafrost covers nearly one quarter of the Northern Hemisphere’s land surface. As the climate warms, permafrost temperatures are rising globally, destabilizing landscapes and infrastructure and releasing greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Long-term observations are essential to understand permafrost responses to warming and to estimate its future role in global carbon emissions. The Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) is the main international program for sustained permafrost monitoring. Researchers from over 30 countries collect permafrost temperature (PT) and active layer thickness (ALT) data, shared through the GTN-P platform. The original system, launched in 2015, has become outdated, prompting the development of a modernized database. The new system was developed within the Arctic PASSION project in the Alfred Wegener Institute’s Permafrost Research Section in collaboration with the GTN-P Steering Committee. It will serve as the central platform for sharing and accessing permafrost data. It currently supports the Permafrost ECV products Permafrost Temperature and Active Layer Thickness, and is planned to include Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV).