[1] We analyze Surface Stereo Imager observations of rocks, sediments, and permafrost-related landforms in the vicinity of the Phoenix lander, comparing the imaged features to analogous examples of physical weathering and periglacial processes observed in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Observations at the Phoenix landing site of pitted rocks, ‘‘puzzle rocks’’ undergoing in-situ breakdown, perched c...

Abstract. Permafrost as a climate-sensitive parameter and its occurrence distribution play an important role in the observation of global warming. However, field-based permafrost data information on subsurface ice content large area southern mountainous Tibetan Plateau (TP) are very sparse. Existing models based boreholes remote sensing approaches suggest probabilities for most mountain ranges....