Changes of Natural and Engineering Environments of Permafrost Regions Along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway

The permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP) is unstable and sensitive to thermal disturbance due to the combined influences of anthropogenic forcing and global warming on the unique environmental background for permafrost development and preservation. Observations in about 40 years show natural and engineering environments of permafrost region along Qinghai-Tibet Highway(QTH)have changed significantly. The change of permafrost environments on the plateau will result in the remarkable shifts of physical geography and engineering geological environments. In addition, permafrost on the QTP responses actively and feedbacks to global climatic changes significantly. The study of permafrost on the plateau is no less important than the Arctic and Antarctic, and also provide a valuable linkage of climatic and environmental change studies between the other two poles. As the development of the plateau and adjacent areas in large scale is eminent, permafrost as the most important natural environmental factor, its stability and possible changes are extremely important in regional economical development. Therefore, the prediction of these changes and reasonable assessment of permafrost engineering conditions on the plateau based on permafrost monitoring are indispensable for the healthy and sustainable economical development in these regions.