International Permafrost Association Research Articles

First insights into global permafrost-agroecosystems and recommendations for policymakers

First insights into global permafrost-agroecosystems and recommendations for policymakers Melissa Ward Jones discusses a recent paper published in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research of the first global study on permafrost-agroecosystems, published by members of the International Permafrost Association Permafrost-agroecosystem Action Group. When one thinks of high-latitude and mountainous regions, one usually thinks of cold and snow, not agriculture. But agriculture does occur in these areas. The climate of these regions limits the options for which crops to grow, and chosen animal species, such as yaks and reindeer, are adapted to cold. These regions also contain permafrost, or perennially frozen ground, a unique feature of these regions. The response to thawing permafrost, caused either by climate warming or land use change for cultivation, is varied (Ward Jones, 2024). These responses range from simple increases in ground temperatures to ground surface collapse when permafrost is ice-rich. The presence of permafrost and its response to thaw can add additional challenges to agricultural activities.

Discriminating viscous-creep features (rock glaciers) in mountain permafrost from debris-covered glaciers – a commented test at the Gruben and Yerba Loca sites, Swiss Alps and Chilean Andes

Abstract. Viscous-flow features in perennially frozen talus/debris called rock glaciers are being systematically inventoried as part of the global climate-related monitoring of mountain permafrost. In order to avoid duplication and confusion, guidelines were developed by the International Permafrost Association to discriminate between the permafrost-related landform “rock glacier” and the glacier-related landform “debris-covered glacier”. In two regions covered by detailed field measurements, the corresponding data- and physics-based concepts are tested and shown to be adequate. Key physical aspects which cause the striking morphological and dynamic differences between the two phenomena/landforms concern the following: tight mechanical coupling of the surface material to the frozen rock–ice mixture in the case of rock glaciers, contrasting with essential non-coupling of debris to the glaciers they cover; talus-type advancing fronts of rock glaciers exposing fresh debris material from inside the moving frozen bodies, as opposed to massive surface ice exposed by increasingly rare advancing fronts of debris-covered glaciers; and increasing creep rates and continued advance of rock glaciers as convex landforms with structured surfaces versus predominant slowing down and disintegration of debris-covered glaciers as often concave landforms with primarily chaotic surface structure. Where debris-covered surface ice is or has recently been in contact with thermally controlled subsurface ice in permafrost, complex conditions and interactions can develop morphologies beyond simple either–or-type landform classification. In such cases, the remains of buried surface ice mostly tend to be smaller than the lower size limit of “glaciers” as the term is applied in glacier inventories and to be far thinner than the permafrost in which they are embedded.

Academician Guodong Cheng's Contributions to Permafrost Science

ABSTRACTPermafrost is strongly associated with human well‐being and has become a frontier of cryospheric science. Professor Guodong Cheng is one of the most outstanding geocryologists in China. He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993 and served as the president of the International Permafrost Association from 1993–1998. In the early 1980s, Professor Cheng proposed the hypothesis of the repeated‐segregation mechanism for the formation of thick‐layered ground ice near the permafrost table. Subsequently, in the early 2000s, he proposed the “proactive roadbed cooling” concept and led the successful development of a series of specific engineering measures that were fully applied in the Qinghai–Tibet Railway Project. Furthermore, he developed a conceptual model to describe the influences of changing permafrost on the groundwater system and discovered the “sink‐holing effect” (channeling with improved hydraulic conductivity of warming permafrost). Professor Cheng has also developed theories on the three‐dimensional zonation and proposed a classification system and an altitude model for high‐altitude permafrost distribution. On this special occasion of Professor Cheng's 80th birthday, this paper summarizes his outstanding achievements on permafrost science, hoping the permafrost research community will carry forward the momentum to further advance permafrost science worldwide.

Early-career researchers at the 6th European Conference on Permafrost

Abstract. The 6th European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP), hosted by the International Permafrost Association (IPA), brought together researchers from all over the world in Puigcerdà, Spain, on 18–22 June 2023. The conference covered relevant aspects of permafrost research, from analysing and modelling the highly dynamic permafrost environment to the assessment of climatic and societal impacts. Approaches and methods were discussed during 3 intensive days of oral presentations and poster sessions, topped with local field trips across the eastern Pyrenees. For the recipients of funding by the German Society for Polar Research (DGP), EUCOP 2023 served as a platform for them to present their research to the international permafrost community, gain insights into current research trends, and establish valuable connections within the field.

Incorporating InSAR kinematics into rock glacier inventories: insights from 11 regions worldwide

Abstract. Rock glaciers are landforms related to permafrost creep that are sensitive to climate variability and change. Their spatial distribution and kinematic behaviour can be critical for managing water resources and geohazards in periglacial areas. Rock glaciers have been inventoried for decades worldwide, often without assessment of their kinematics. The availability of remote sensing data however makes the inclusion of kinematic information potentially feasible, but requires a common methodology in order to create homogeneous inventories. In this context, the International Permafrost Association (IPA) Action Group on rock glacier inventories and kinematics (2018–2023), with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) Permafrost Climate Change Initiative (CCI) project, is defining standard guidelines for the inclusion of kinematic information within inventories. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying common rules proposed by the Action Group in 11 regions worldwide. Spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) was used to characterise identifiable moving areas related to rock glaciers, applying a manual and a semi-automated approach. Subsequently, these areas were used to assign kinematic information to rock glaciers in existing or newly compiled inventories. More than 5000 moving areas and more than 3600 rock glaciers were classified according to their kinematics. The method and the preliminary results were analysed. We identified drawbacks related to the intrinsic limitations of InSAR and to various applied strategies regarding the integration of non-moving rock glaciers in some investigated regions. This is the first internationally coordinated work that incorporates kinematic attributes within rock glacier inventories at a global scale. The results show the value of designing standardised inventorying procedures for periglacial geomorphology.

Report from the International Permafrost Association: First Regional Conference on Permafrost in the Southern Hemisphere and future activities

Report from the International Permafrost Association: First Regional Conference on Permafrost in the Southern Hemisphere and future activities

Frozen ground and snow cover monitoring in Livingston and Deception islands, Antarctica: preliminary results of the 2015-2019 PERMASNOW project

Since 2006, our research team has been establishing in the islands of Livingston and Deception, (South Shetland archipelago, Antarctica) several monitoring stations of the active layer thickness within the international network Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM), and the ground thermal regime for the Ground Terrestrial Network-Permafrost (GTN-P). Both networks were developed within the International Permafrost Association (IPA). In the GTN-P stations, in addition to the temperature of the air, soil, and terrain at different depths, the snow thickness is also monitored by snow poles. Since 2006, a delay in the disappearance of the snow layer has been observed, which could explain the variations we observed in the active layer thickness and permafrost temperatures. Therefore, in late 2015 our research group started the PERMASNOW project (2015-2019) to pay attention to the effect of snow cover on ground thermal This project had two different ways to study the snow cover. On the first hand, in early 2017 we deployed new instrumentation, including new time lapse cameras, snow poles with high number of sensors and a complete and complex set of instruments and sensors to configure a snow pack analyzer station providing 32 environmental and snow parameters. We used the data acquired along 2017 and 2018 years with the new instruments, together with the available from all our already existing sensors, to study in detail the snow cover. On the other hand, remote sensing data were used to try to map the snow cover, not only at our monitoring stations but the entire islands in order to map and study the snow cover distribution, as well as to start the way for future permafrost mapping in the entire islands. MODIS-derived surface temperatures and albedo products were used to detect the snow cover and to test the surface temperature. Since cloud presence limited the acquisition of valid observations of MODIS sensor, we also analyzed Terrasar X data to overcome this limitation. Remote sensing data validation required the acquirement of in situ ground-true data, consisting on data from our permanent instruments, as well as ad hoc measurements in the field (snow cover mapping, snow pits, albedo characterization, etc.). Although the project is finished, the data analysis is still ongoing. We present here the different research tasks we are developing as well as the most important results we already obtained about the snow cover. These results confirm how the snow cover duration has been changing in the last years, affecting the ground thermal behavior.

Social network analysis in Geosciences: scientific collaboration between periglacial scholars in the Iberian Peninsula

This research examines the collaboration relationships between those authors affiliated to Iberian institutions and involved in periglacial studies between 2000 and 2017. The data has been extracted from the Google Scholar database and processed using Social Network Analysis (SNA) techniques. A total of 230 scientific publications have been selected, involving 198 researchers of which 113 belong to Spanish institutions, 38 to Portuguese institutions and 47 to foreign institutions. The work carried out by the Iberian community (assembled through national groups linked to the International Permafrost Association) has considerably improved its possibilities of dissemination and citation in this period: There has been an increase in the number of publications per year, in the number of authors per publication, and in the number of publications with international collaboration. Nowadays there is a group of very productive and well-connected authors, who play an important role as intermediaries, and future prospects are good. However, 50% of the authors have a low capacity for interaction, and there is a low presence of women in the network: These imbalances should constitute the main challenges to be faced by the Iberian community in the next decade. Beyond the Iberian community of periglacial scholars, this study provides an example of methodology to be applied in other co-authorship networks in subdisciplines of the Earth Sciences, and its results are discussed in this sense. The results of this research offer valuable information for the management of scientific collaboration programs, the selection of representatives and to weigh the possibilities and needs of the Iberian network. But, especially, it presents a socioscientific framework of reference for early career scientists and makes them aware of the need to integrate themselves into a booming scientific community.

Report from the first workshop of International Permafrost Association Action Group Rock glaciers inventories and kinematics

Report from the first workshop of International Permafrost Association Action Group Rock glaciers inventories and kinematics

Permafrost and periglacial processes in mid‐ and low‐latitude mountain regions

AbstractThe Special Issue that justifies this Editorial has been designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first Spanish scientific meeting of the International Permafrost Association organized in 1994 in Madrid. This Special Issue, entitled “Permafrost and periglacial processes in mid‐ and low‐latitude mountains regions,” includes nine papers from various mountain regions around the world, such as the Pyrenees, Sierra Nevada, Galician and Cantabrian Mountains in the Iberian Peninsula, Atacama and Central Andes in South America, Absaroka ranges in North America, and Seckauer Tauern Range in the European Alps. These articles provide new methodologies and approaches focusing on a wide range of periglacial phenomena, such as past cryogenic environments, active periglacial processes, permafrost and ground thermal regime, as well as rock glaciers. As a result of this Special Issue, we have detected several knowledge gaps that should be addressed in the future by the scientific community studying permafrost and periglacial processes in mid‐ and low‐latitude mountains regions, namely: (a) improving the geochronology of past periglacial environments and associated paleoclimatic implications; (b) the study of periglacial features existing in low‐altitude mountain environments and/or in the lowlands; (c) improve our current knowledge of active periglacial processes, permafrost distribution and ground thermal regime in mid‐altitude mountains; (d) the monitoring of periglacial mass wasting processes and mechanisms of sediment transfer; (e) the interaction between glaciers and periglacial processes; and (f) geoecological dynamics in response to climate scenarios anticipating significant changes of temperature and moisture in periglacial regions.

Report from the International Permafrost Association: Increasing regional activities on a global scale

Permafrost and Periglacial ProcessesVolume 30, Issue 2 p. 121-125 IPA REPORT Report from the International Permafrost Association: Increasing regional activities on a global scale Sarah M. Strand, Corresponding Author Sarah M. Strand sarahmarie.strand@unis.no Arctic Geology Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway Correspondence Sarah M. Strand, Arctic Geology Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, UNIS, PO Box 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway Email: sarahmarie.strand@unis.noSearch for more papers by this authorHanne H. Christiansen, Hanne H. Christiansen Arctic Geology Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, NorwaySearch for more papers by this author Sarah M. Strand, Corresponding Author Sarah M. Strand sarahmarie.strand@unis.no Arctic Geology Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway Correspondence Sarah M. Strand, Arctic Geology Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, UNIS, PO Box 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway Email: sarahmarie.strand@unis.noSearch for more papers by this authorHanne H. Christiansen, Hanne H. Christiansen Arctic Geology Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, NorwaySearch for more papers by this author First published: 25 April 2019 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2000Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume30, Issue2April/June 2019Pages 121-125 RelatedInformation

A New Frozen Soil Parameterization Including Frost and Thaw Fronts in the Community Land Model

AbstractFreeze–thaw processes in soils, including changes in frost and thaw fronts (FTFs), are very sensitive to warming. However, the latest climate models do not predict changes in FTFs directly. In this study, a new frozen soil parameterization including changes in FTFs was incorporated into the Community Land Model version 4.5 for climate modeling, which we denote CLM4.5_FTF. A set of numerical experiments including single points, regions in China, and a global scale were conducted using the model to validate its performance. The simulated FTF depths compare well with observed data from both the D66 station (permafrost) and Hulugou station (seasonally frozen ground). The simulated active layer thickness, defined as the maximum thaw front depth in permafrost, is in general agreement but slightly greater than observations from the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring program. The simulated distributions of different types of frozen soil in China and permafrost in the northern hemisphere are in agreement with the frozen soil map of China and the International Permafrost Association map, respectively. The results confirm that the model performs well for FTF simulations. The model was also used for year‐long simulations of soil temperature and freeze–thaw processes to check its applicability in continuous simulation. The results show that CLM4.5_FTF performed better than the original model, and the improvement was better for lower levels than for the upper level. Finally, we give simulated latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and 10‐cm soil temperature deviations determined via the couple model with and without the new scheme.

The Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN) is getting older: The past, present, and future of our evolving community

AbstractA lasting legacy of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008 was the promotion of the Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN), initially an IPY outreach and education activity by the International Permafrost Association (IPA). With the momentum of IPY, PYRN developed into a thriving network that still connects young permafrost scientists, engineers, and researchers from other disciplines. This research note summarises (1) PYRN’s development since 2005 and the IPY’s role, (2) the first 2015 PYRN census and survey results, and (3) PYRN’s future plans to improve international and interdisciplinary exchange between young researchers. The review concludes that PYRN is an established network within the polar research community that has continually developed since 2005. PYRN’s successful activities were largely fostered by IPY. With >200 of the 1200 registered members active and engaged, PYRN is capitalising on the availability of social media tools and rising to meet environmental challenges while maintaining its role as a successful network honouring the legacy of IPY.

Frozen ground and snow cover monitoring in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica: Instrumentation, effects on ground thermal behaviour and future research

The study of the thermal behavior of permafrost and active layer on the South Shetland Islands, in the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula (Antarctica), has been our research topic since 1991, especially after 2006 when we established different active layer thickness and ground thermal monitoring sites of the CALM and GTN-P international networks of the International Permafrost Association. Along this period, the snow cover thickness did not change at those sites, but since 2010, we observed an elongation on the snow cover duration, with similar snow onset, but a delay on the snow offset. Due to the important effects of snow cover on the ground thermal behavior, we started in late 2015 a new research project (PERMASNOW) focused on the accurate monitoring of the snow cover (duration, density, snow water equivalent and distribution), from very different approaches, including new instrumentation, pictures analysis and remote sensing on optical and radar bands. Also, this interdisciplinary and international research team intends to compare the snow cover and ground thermal behavior with other monitoring sites in the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula where the snow cover is minimum and remains approximately constant.

The research station “Vaskiny Dachi”, Central Yamal, West Siberia, Russia – a review of 25 years of permafrost studies

The research station Vaskiny Dachi on the Yamal Peninsula was established in 1988. Activities aimed at monitoring of permafrost and related environmental features under a relatively low level of nature disturbances caused by gas field development. Cryogenic processes that may affect the environment and their structures have been of primary interest. Landslides are the most common cryogenic processes in Central Yamal in general and also in the proximity of the station. Field surveys of numerous landslides, analysis of their dependence on climatic parameters and their fluctuations resulted in novel classification of cryogenic landslides based on mechanisms of their development. Dating by radiocarbon and dendrochronology allows the separation of cycles of landslide activation. Cryogenic landslides control the development of other processes, such as thermal erosion, river channel erosion and thermokarst. It also affects topography, vegetation pattern, geochemistry of vegetation, ground water and soils. As a result, permafrost parameters, specifically active layer depth and ground temperature, moisture and ice content in the active layer, depend indirectly on landsliding. Monitoring within the framework of the main programs of the International Permafrost Association, such as Circumarctic Active Layer Monitoring (CALM, since 1993) and Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP, since 2011), play an important role among the research activities. From the collected data one can conclude that ground temperature increased on average by about 1 °C since the 1990s. At the same time, active layer fluctuations do not exactly follow the air temperature changes. Spatial changes in ground temperature are controlled by the redistribution of snow which is resulting from strong winds characteristic for tundra environments and the highly dissected relief of Central Yamal. Temporal variations rather depend on air temperature fluctuations but the rate differs in various landscape (environmental) units. While the spatial distribution of active layer depth depends on lithology and surface covers, temporal fluctuations are controlled by ground temperature, summer air temperature, summer precipitation, and in general may contravene climate warming due to specific combination of all factors.

Report from the International Permafrost Association: Fourth European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP4)

Report from the International Permafrost Association: Fourth European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP4)

Report from the International Permafrost Association: High level of permafrost interdisciplinary research activity

Report from the International Permafrost Association : High level of permafrost interdisciplinary research activity

Transactions of the International Permafrost Association

Permafrost and Periglacial ProcessesVolume 24, Issue 2 p. 96-98 Editorial Transactions of the International Permafrost Association Christopher R. Burn, Christopher R. Burn Carleton University, Ottawa, CanadaSearch for more papers by this author Christopher R. Burn, Christopher R. Burn Carleton University, Ottawa, CanadaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 12 June 2013 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1780Citations: 4Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume24, Issue2Special Issue: Transactions of the International Permafrost AssociationApril 2013Pages 96-98 RelatedInformation

The International Permafrost Association’s contribution to the International Polar Year

other permafrost activities include regional mapping projects in central Asia and the Nordic region, education, outreach and data management activities (brown and christiansen 200 ). The permafrost young Researchers Network (pyRN) with over 500 members in 40 countries, encourages the development of a new generation of permafrost researchers. A catalogue of International university courses on permafrost (Iucp) list over 135 courses in 17 countries (christiansen et al., 2007). our collective permafrost legacy for Ipy is to develop an international network of permanent permafrost observatories, establish a sustainable data system, and help develop the next generation of permafrost researchers. The International permafrost Association (IpA), with its 2 national members, has taken the lead in organizing regional and bipolar programs to improve our current understanding of the state and fate of permafrost, soils, and periglacial processes throughout the polar and high elevation regions of planet Earth. Although permafrost temperature observations were made throughout the last century and continue to the present, many locations with excellent past records have been abandoned and some regions are under represented. Warming since the late 1970s has been observed in permafrost temperature profiles from many locations in the Northern hemisphere; parts of Alaska, canada, central Asia, northern Russia, and midand low-latitude mountain regions (brown and Romanovsky 2008, Romanovsky et al. 2008). The anniversary for International polar year (Ipy) provided an opportunity for development and implementation of a broad range of permafrost research and monitor-

The Permafrost Young Researchers Network

The permafrost young Researchers Network (pyRN) is an international organization officially created in the end of 2005, during the International conference on Arctic planning. Established under the patronage of the International permafrost Association (IpA) and acting as one of its activities for the International polar year (Ipy), the importance of this network has been rapidly increasing and, in mid 2007, there were more than 500 members from 43 different countries all over the world. The main objective of this network is to create a space where all the information regarding permafrost can be gathered and where young researchers, with multi-disciplinary talents, can establish contact among them, promoting the creation of new collaborations and ideas. It is also a matter of creating a future generation of permafrost researchers, directed to the knowledge and response of permafrost-related challenges in a changing climate, as well as gaining the public’s attention to the importance of permafrost research and its relation with some environmental outstanding issues. pyRN’s management is led by an Executive committee which consists on a coordinator, a newsletter officer, a financial and fundraising officer, a project coordinator and a communication officer. The network is organized in National committees led by National Representatives, who are the point of reference in their own country and serve as a link between the Executive committee and the pyRN members. The accomplishment of these goals started with the pyRN’s website, recently improved with resources and activities, in collaboration with the World Association of young Scientists (WAyS). At pyRN’s website the information is organized by themes, field-sites and countries.