UAF scientists heading to international permafrost conference
Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
June 13, 2024
91视频 20 University of 91视频 Fairbanks scientists will present research at the quadrennial International Conference on Permafrost, which opens Sunday in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Most UAF presenters are from the Geophysical Institute, which has a Snow, Ice and Permafrost Group of faculty and student researchers. Scientists from UAF鈥檚 Institute of Arctic Biology, International Arctic Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering and College of Natural Science and Mathematics will also show their research.
The weeklong conference is hosted by the .
鈥淕iven the importance of permafrost and its role in Earth鈥檚 climate, there are, unfortunately, not many permafrost-dedicated conferences in the world,鈥 said Dmitry Nicolsky, UAF Geophysical Institute research associate professor.
鈥淕iven the time span of several days, the ICOP provides plenty of opportunities to meet with our colleagues from different countries to gain knowledge about the health of permafrost on the planetary scale,鈥 he said.
The various categories of permafrost 鈥 continuous, discontinuous and sporadic 鈥 underlie approximately 25% of the Northern Hemisphere鈥檚 exposed land surface, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Exposed land is land that is not covered by glaciers.
More than a dozen Geophysical Institute scientists will present work on a variety of permafrost subjects, including the following:
鈥 Integration of remote sensing and field observations to map discontinuous permafrost in McGrath, Interior 91视频, by research associate professor Alexander Kholodov.
鈥 Assessment of permafrost changes in the 21st century in 91视频鈥檚 Arctic, by Nicolsky.
鈥 Estimation rates of permafrost degradation and their impact on ecosystems across 91视频, by research associate professor Sergey Marchenko.
鈥 Observing coastal change and permafrost dynamics in three Arctic communities, by research assistant professor Louise Farquharson.
Christopher Burn, president of the , said it is important for northerners to understand the implications of continued climate heating.
鈥淢any countries in the world will be affected by sea level rise as the Greenland Ice Sheet melts away and the same happens in parts of Antarctica,鈥 said Burn, a geography professor at Carleton University in Ottawa. 鈥淔ewer will have a problem with permafrost, but for northerners and people who live in regions of high mountains, the consequences are already apparent and will only continue in one direction.鈥
Burn said Earth鈥檚 permafrost regions will soon become net sources of greenhouse gases as they switch from being carbon sinks.
Maintaining infrastructure will be difficult as rainfall and snowmelt regimes become magnified with greater amounts of moisture in the atmosphere, Burn said. And contaminants such as mercury that have been frozen in the ground for years will be released as permafrost thaws.
Guy Dor茅, president of the Canadian Permafrost Association, said the conference is the perfect occasion for participants to get updated on permafrost science, engineering and management.
鈥淐ommunity leaders are trying to better understand and manage the risks related to permafrost degradation,鈥 he said. 鈥淪cientists are trying to develop a better understanding of factors contributing to its degradation and on the impact of degrading permafrost.
鈥淎nd engineers are trying to better understand the complex interaction between permafrost and structures and to develop low-impact construction practices and sustainable solutions for degrading foundations,鈥 he said.
The is held every four years, though this will be the first since the 2016 conference in Potsdam, Germany. The 2020 conference in China was canceled because of the COVID pandemic.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Dmitry Nicolsky, djnicolsky@alaska.edu
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