News

It is a great honor to announce that our colleague Kenji Yoshikawa was awarded with the 2012 Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching, Research and Public Service Awards due to its great efforts in education and outreach for permafrost issues. The award is the the highest honor that the university bestows upon the outstanding faculty. One of Kenji's most popular initiatices is its creation of the 'permafrost-hero' tunnelman. Episode 1-4 can be viewed at http://ine.uaf.edu/werc/projects/permafrost/.        

There is a new article in Nature Geosciences published in May 2012 about 'Geologic methane seeps along boundaries of Arctic permafrost thaw and melting glaciers'by Katey M. Walter Anthony, Peter Anthony, Guido Grosse and Jeffrey Chanton The full article can be found at http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo1480.html The picture shows slow bubbling from superficial seeps that produces distinctbubble patterns and occasionally small holes (0.01–0.3 m2) that remainice-free for sever…

There is a Global Permafrost Zonation Index at 30 arc-second (

Satellites are seeing land surface variations in high detail in Northern latitudes that are subject to changing temperatures. Thawing permafrost is releasing greenhouse gases into parts of the Arctic, exacerbating the effects of climate change.

The International Conference on Permafrost is the premier event for permafrost research, organized by the International Permafrost Association every four years. The Tenth International Conference will take place in Salekhard, located on the Arctic Circle on the east bank of the Ob River, 25-29 June 2012. The deadline for extended abstracts has been extended to the 10th of February, 2012. Authors who submit an abstract will be eligible for an oral presentation or a poster. You can submit your extended a…

The International Conference on Permafrost is the premier event for permafrost research, organized by the International Permafrost Association every four years. The Tenth International Conference will take place in Salekhard, located on the Arctic Circle on the east bank of the Ob River, 25-29 June 2012. The deadline for extended abstracts has been extended to the 10th of February, 2012. Authors who submit an abstract will be eligible for an oral presentation or a poster. You can submit your extended a…

Researchers from eleven countries met in Potsdam on 7-9 of November to launch a new, four-year EU project. What happens when the vast amounts of carbon in Arctic soils are released to the atmosphere? This is the central question field-researchers, operators of long term observatories and modellers from 18 partner institutions in the EU intend to answer with the PAGE21 project. "I'm looking forward to close co-operation between the leading scientists in European permafrost research in the Arctic" said P…

Steven Mark Solomon1950-2011 In the early hours of August 20, 2011, the Arctic science community lost Steve Solomon, a valued colleague, an inspired and passionate northern scientist, and a dear friend to many in the circumpolar world. After an eclectic and varied early career (as lab tech, bicycle courier, farmer, maple-syrup producer, salmon fisherman, mud-logger, lecturer and exploration geologist, among other pursuits nowhere near the Arctic), Steve Solomon joined the Geological Survey of Canada (G…

As the active layer cools in the northern hemisphere, the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) organizes the Discipline of the Month: Permafrost If you understood the first sentence, or especially if you didn’t, this is the month for you. Check out and contribute to the Permafrost Page (http://apecs.is/research-fields/cryosphere/permafrost), and regularly visit again for updates. In the second half of the month, present at or attend a Permafrost Virtual Poster Session. Please load you…

The IPA regrets to communicate that Enrique Mario Buk died on May, 24 after a short illness in the city of Mendoza, Argentina. Enrique was born on May 27, 1939 in Comodoro Rivadavia, Patagonia, Argentina. As Geologist of the Universidad del Sur, Bahía Blanca, he was an active member of the South American and Argentine Permafrost Association. He was a close collaborator of Arturo Corte and contributed to all periglacial and geocryological conferences in Argentina. He was particularly dedicated to hydro…