Dr. Galina Mazhitova, an eminent permafrost scientist passed away recently.
The International Permafrost Association (IPA) wishes to send its deepest sentiments to her family, her friends and to her colleagues at the Institute of Biology.
Galina Mazhitova has been an outstanding scientist. She was always very active in many important international programs and working groups related to soil science and carbon turnover in permafrost regions. As one of the co-chairs of the Cryosol Working Group on (CWG) of the International Permafrost Association, Galina Mazhitova coordinated the worldwide community in cryopedology and motivated many young scientists to study permafrost related topics. She initiated the translation of the American soil taxonomy in Russian and her constructive discussion contribution lead to the better understanding between the different national soil classifications. She was engaged in the review process of the World Reference Data base of Soil Resource (WRB) and with her ideas the cryosol reference unit of WRB could be modified and reviewed with international acceptance. She was also involved in important projects of the International Permafrost Association such as CALM and TSP.
With the death of Dr. Mazhitova, permafrost research and the International Permafrost Association have lost a respected colleague and a good friend.