Lena River Basin Soil Moisture for January 1985 - 1999

The lower delta region has high soil moisture levels throughout the year. From May onwards start to see an increase in soil moisture, coinciding with changing runoff estimates. Around 80% of the river basin area is permafrost; however increasing temperatures are expected to lower this amount. Changes in the permafrost not only impact human settlements (who take advantage of permafrost conditions for structural foundation support) but the ecology of the system will also be altered.