FROZEN GROUND The News Bulletin of the International Permafrost Association Number 25, December 2001 International Permafrost Association The International Permafrost Association, founded in 1983, has as its objectives fostering the dissemination of knowledge concerning permafrost and promoting cooperation among persons and national or international or- ganizations engaged in scientific investigation and engineering work on permafrost. Membership is through ad- hering national or multinational organizations or as individuals in countries where no Adhering Body exists. The IPA is governed by its officers and a Council consisting of representatives from 23 Adhering Bodies having inter- ests in some aspect of theoretical, basic and applied frozen ground research, including permafrost, seasonal frost, artificial freezing and periglacial phenomena. Committees, Working Groups, and Task Forces organize and coor- dinate research activities and special projects. The IPA became an Affiliated Organization of the International Union of Geological Sciences in July 1989. The Association’s primary responsibilities are convening International Permafrost Conferences and accomplishing special projects such as preparing maps, bibliographies, and glossaries. The first Conference was held in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, 1963; the second in Yakutsk, Siberia, 1973; the third in Edmonton, Canada, 1978; the fourth in Fairbanks, Alaska, 1983; the fifth in Trondheim, Norway, 1988; the sixth in Beijing, China, 1993; and the seventh in Yellowknife, Canada, 1998. The eighth will be in Zurich, Switzerland in 2003. Field excursions are an integral part of each Conference, and are organized by the host country. Executive Committee 1998–2003 Council Members President Argentina Professor Hugh M. French, Canada Austria Vice Presidents Belgium Dr. Felix E. Are, Russia Professor Wilfried Haeberli, Switzerland Canada China Members Dr. Jerry Brown, U.S.A. Denmark Dr. Truls Mølmann, Norway Finland Professor Zhu Yuanlin, China France International Secretariat Germany Dr. Hanne H. Christiansen, Denmark Italy Japan Standing Committee Kazakhstan Data, Information and Communication Mongolia Working Groups Netherlands Global Change and Permafrost Norway Periglacial Processes and Environments Poland Permafrost Engineering Russia Cryosols Coastal and Offshore Permafrost Southern Africa Southern Hemisphere Permafrost and Periglacial Environments Spain Sweden Task Forces Rock Glacier Dynamics and Permafrost Creep Switzerland Mapping and Distribution Modelling of Mountain Permafrost United Kingdom Isotope/Geochemistry of Permafrost United States of America Frozen Ground FROZEN GROUND The News Bulletin of the International Permafrost Association Number 25, December 2001 Frozen Ground, the News Bulletin of the International Executive Committee Report 2 Permafrost Association, is currently published annually. The IPA is a non-governmental association of 1st European Permafrost Conference 3 national organizations representing 23 countries or groups of countries. The success of the bulletin Third International Conference on Cryopedology 6 depends upon the willingness of IPA participants to supply information for publication. News items from any IPA participant or others are very welcome, as are International Symposium on Mountain and 7 interesting photographs. To submit news items or Arid Land Permafrost and Field Excursions in photos please contact: Mongolia The IPA Secretariat Dr. Hanne H. Christiansen, Report of Working Parties 12 Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen, News from Members 21 Oester Voldgade 10, 1350 Koebenhavn K, Other News 37 DENMARK Publications 41 This issue of Frozen Ground was compiled by Hanne H. Christiansen and Jerry Brown. Forthcoming Meetings 41 The IPA Secretariat will move from 1 February 2002 to the following address: IPA addresses 43 The IPA Secretariat, Dr. Hanne H. Christiansen, The University Courses on Svalbard, UNIS, P.O. Box 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, NORWAY e-mail: [email protected] Cover: Thermokarst site in the broad Chuluut river valley of the Khangei Mountains, Central Mongolia, located at 48°04' N and 100°24' E and at 1860 m asl. The site is described in more detail by Prof. N. Sharkuu from the Institute of Geography of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, who has carried out borehole temperature measurements and thermokarst monitoring since the late sixties. The valley surface is undergoing very active thermokarsting, thermal erosion, thaw settlement and headwall erosion in the upper 5-10 meters of the ice-rich sediments. The thawing of this ice-rich permafrost may be contributing to river and groundwater discharges. The grassland around the numerous thermokarst pits and lakes is used by nomads and their life stock. Typical ger tents are shown behind the thermokarst lake. The Central Mongolian mountains are very dry, with warm summers and low precipitation. Therefore, the forest is restricted to north-facing slopes. The photograph also shows some par- ticipants on the six-days-field trip led by Prof. Sharkuu following the International Symposium on Land Permafrost in Mon- golia. Both the symposium and this particular site are addressed in more detail in this issue. Photograph by Bernd Etzelmüller, Department of Physical Geography, University of Oslo, Norway, 11 September, 2001. Frozen Ground 1 Executive Committee Report The past year has been one of the most active in the his- permafrost map of Central Asia. tory of the International Permafrost Association. The Working Group on Periglacial Processes and Committees, working groups and task forces organ- Environments organized several sessions and a post ized and participated in workshops, symposia, con- conference field trip in association with the Fifth Inter- ferences and field trips. Several international coopera- national Conference on Geomorphology held in Japan tive projects, monitoring programmes and climate in August and September. The Southern Hemisphere assessment activities continued. The Executive Com- Working Group met during the IGC conference. Mem- mittee and the newly formed International Confer- bers of the Working Group on Permafrost Engineering ence Advisory Committee met in Rome. Highlights of met at several national and international conferences the year 2001 activities are summarized below. Details in Pushchino and Moscow, Russia, and Canada. Mem- are presented in the following pages. bers of several working groups are participating in the The First European Conference on Permafrost was preparation of the infrastructure report for the first convened in Rome in March with over 120 attende- Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA). es from Europe, Russia, North and South America, The Standing Committee on Data, Information and Japan, China and South Africa. Major emphasis of the Communications began coordination for production conference was on initial results of the Permafrost and of the second CD ROM on Circumpolar Active-layer Climate Change in Europe (PACE) programme and Permafrost System (CAPS). Initial results and site mountain permafrost. The task forces on Permafrost documentation of the Circumpolar Active Layer Creep and Mapping and modelling organised several Monitoring (CALM) programme involving its 15 par- sessions. Special issues of Permafrost and Periglacial ticipating countries were prepared for publication in Processes and the Norwegian Journal of Geography pub- an issue of Polar Geography. The cochairs of the Work- lished a series of conference papers. The working ing Group on Global Change and Climate completed groups on the Southern Hemisphere and the Coastal work on the Arctic and Antarctic chapter of the Third and Offshore Permafrost organized special sessions. Asessment Report (TAR) of the Intergovernmental The six members of the Executive Committee met in Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). open session during the Rome conference and re- Calendar year 2002 will focus on the preparations viewed activities, budgets, plans for the 8th Interna- for the 8th International Conference on Permafrost, in- tional Conference on Permafrost (ICOP) in 2003, and cluding the review of manuscripts and camera copy of appointed the nominating committee for the next accepted papers, preparing for the IPA Executive election. The International Conference Advisory Committee and Council meetings, and continuing ac- Committee held its first meeting with members of the tivities of working parties. Preparation of the CAPS organizing committee of the 8th ICOP. The first circular CD will be continue. was distributed and over 400 abstracts were received. The IPA Secretariat will move to its new location at Several members of Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) the University Course on Svalbard, UNIS, starting in Steering Group attended the Arctic Summit Week in February 2002, but will still be run by Hanne H. April in Iqaluit, Canada. Plans for the ACD were pre- Christiansen. The Executive Committee extends its sented there to the International Arctic Science Com- appreciation to the Institute of Geography, University mittee (IASC). The IASC approved funding for a of Copenhagen, Denmark for hosting the Secretariat second workshop that was held in Potsdam in Novem- since 1999. ber. The Executive Committee notes, with deep regret, The Third International Conference on Cryopedo- the passing of Arturo Corte, former Argentinean logy was held in Copenhagen in August and was co- member of the Council and pioneer in periglacial re- organized by the Cryosol Working Group. Major search. themes