Permafrost Research Priorities Preliminary Demographic Statistics and Submitted Questions 6 October 2014

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06.10.2014 Permafrost Research Priorities Preliminary Demographic Statistics and Submitted Questions 6 October 2014

Below are a few figures describing early results of demographic data from the participants of the PRP Research Questions Survey. A more detailed analysis will be provided with the final research priorities document.

Figure 1. Responses to the question: “Please select your area of primary expertise”. Note that these statistics are preliminary crude results from the survey and have not yet been checked in detail by the core group for any potential errors.

Figure 2. Responses to the question: Figure 3. Responses to the question: “How “What is your age category?” Note that long have you worked on permafrost- these statistics are preliminary crude related issues over the course of your results from the survey and have not yet career?” Note that these statistics are been checked in detail by the core group preliminary crude results from the survey for any potential errors. and have not yet been checked in detail by the core group for any potential errors.

International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 1 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Research question Geographical focus Categories What is the current extent, state, and dynamics of recently-inundated, shallow-shelf, permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geophysics, Subsea permafrost What are the contributions of/implications of permafrost degradation to atmospheric GHGs? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Modeling What processes account for the occurrence of permafrost-associated gas hydrate and what is its likely Arctic Permafrost Geophysics, Modeling, Remote abundance/distribution? Sensing What is the rate of change in areal permafrost extent? All Climate Change, Mapping What is the average change in heterotrophic respiration following permafrost melt? All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Pedology / soils What is the average change in net primary productivity following permafrost melt? All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Ecology Permafrost melting has primarily been in focus due to positive feed back loops in relation to methane release. Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, But permafrost may also be considered as a depot of nutrients such as phosphate and iron. To what extend do Microbiology/Astrobiology, the nutrients upon their release effect the productivity of the adjacent habitats? Modeling

What have been the rates of arctic coastal erosion in permafrost areas since the end of the last ice age? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Paleoenvironments How much carbon, nutrients and sediments are expected to be delivered to the Arctic Ocean due to coastal Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, erosion under different IPCC scenarios? Modeling How can indigenous people living on permafrost adapt to or mitigate the degradation of natural resources, Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Ecology, Engineering & Infra- settlement areas and hunting/fishing grounds due to thermal and mechanical permafrost degradation? Permafrost structure, Land use & community planning Is there a threshold level of atmospheric carbon beyond which annual methane emissions from the permafrost All Carbon cycle, Climate Change will increase significantly? That is, what is the shape of the non-linear relationship between annual release rate and the stock of carbon? What is the feedback effect of large permafrost methane release on triggering further emissions from other All Carbon cycle, Climate Change potentially large methane sources that are terrestrial or oceanic?

What are the engineering options to stall or revert permafrost release (if any) and what are their associated All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, costs? Policy Is deep Arctic permafrost homogeneous enough to allow transmission of acoustic (20 kHz) and radio (200MHz Arctic Permafrost Remote Sensing, Astroparticle signals over km distances.) Physics I have noticed a significant shortage of papaer on the hydrology and hydrogeology of the permafrost. Because Antarctic Permafrost, Hydrology more attention to this aspect is not given? Mountain Permafrost

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 2 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 The papers on permafrost are very classic and that's fine. But it would be more related disciplines (such as Antarctic Permafrost, Geochemistry, Hydrology hydrogeochemical) with a more creative approach? Mountain Permafrost In Antarctica the use of geophysical techniques is scarce. I think it's because few researchers understand both Antarctic Permafrost Geocryology, Geophysics, Hy- things at once. I think it's a very useful tool. Be possible buescar shape improve this? drology

What do we really know about thermal and hydric behavior of permafrost under a controlled climate warming All Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Modeling How do thermal and hydric states of the permafrost affect C fluxes ? All Carbon cycle, Ground thermal regime, Hydrology Does preliminary degradation of permafrost OM on earth and in rivers impact its preservation in seawater? All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geochemistry What are the effects of biotic and abiotic degradation processes on permafrost OM in rivers? All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geochemistry Why photodegradation processes are so exacerbed in Arctic? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geochemistry How has the soil organic carbon pool developed over the Holocene period? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Mapping, Pedol- ogy / soils How can the soil organic carbon pool be directly inferred from remote sensing products? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Mapping, Re- mote Sensing How variable the quantity and quality of the soil organic carbon pool over the entire permafrost region? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geochemistry, Mapping, Pedol- Permafrost, Mountain ogy / soils Permafrost The extent of permafrost - what is it now, how has it changed in the past and what worst and best case Arctic Permafrost, All Climate Change, Ecology, En- predictions can be made for the future? gineering & Infrastructure How will resource usage effect the environment in the Arctic? Increased activity in the NE and NW sea routes as Arctic Permafrost, Planetary Ground thermal regime, Indus- well as Siberia, N Canada and Alaska are bound to have an impact. Permafrost trial development & impacts, Land use & community planning Can frozen ground features on other planets/moons be used as analogues for future development on Earth? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geomorphology, Paleoenvi- Most notably Mars has extensive permafrost regions and hass experienced severe but predictable climate Permafrost, Planetary ronments, Remote Sensing changes in the past. Using the acquired knowledge base will help us better understand terrestrial phenomena. Permafrost

How can satellite data products be adapted to the needs of the permafrost community users via cooperation Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Modeling, Re- across disciplines (modeling, insitu)? Permafrost, Mountain mote Sensing How can we optimize the use of the remote sensing data and find an innovative method for upscaling of point Permafrost measurement of essential information on the aquatic and terrestrial carbon content?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 3 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How can the use of measurements from existing operational networks in high latitudes be improved through Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ground thermal regime, Hy- sharing data and knowledge across disciplines? Can we expand measurements for the purpose of validation of Permafrost, Mountain drology, Remote Sensing satellite data products and where would be the key sites? Permafrost a) How can the permafrost community optimize the use of improved new and future satellite data (e.g. Sentinel- Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ground thermal regime, Hy- 1) that is made available for the scientific community? Permafrost drology, Remote Sensing b) How can finer resolution satellite data (e.g. from Sentinel-1) optimize satellite retrieval of information that is essential for permafrost studies (e.g. surface hydrology)?

To what extend will the wetlands that form as result of thawing permafrost contribute to greenhouse gas Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, emissions, thus providing a positive feedback to global warming Geochemistry What changes in the structure and functioning of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are observed with global All Climate Change, Ecology, Pa- warming in permafrost regions, and how do rates of change compare with earlier periods of climate change? leoenvironments

What are the most effective policy/measures that can be adopted to help/prepare (native) human populations in Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Engineering & Infrastructure, permafrost regions to deal with changes in their lives and subsistence as a result of climate change. Permafrost Land use & community planning, Policy Permafrost can be a "frozen" wetland (with modern microbial methane), or a "frozen" seepage of geologic Arctic Permafrost, Planetary Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, (fossil) gas (thermogenic or microbial). Permafrost petroleum geology What is the global precentage of geologic methane (14C-free) trapped in permafrost? What spatio-temporal dynamics of various essential climate parameters, such as temperature, vegetation, snow, Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Modeling, etc., are observed in the pan-arctic environment during the last decades? Remote Sensing

Earth Observation derived climate related variables, such as vegetation, land surface temperature as well as Arctic Permafrost Remote Sensing snow cover parameters are of high importance for future arctic research. The knowledge of error sources and uncertainties in EO data is essential. How to quantify these errors and uncertainties in EO data?

In the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones, how do variations in the fire regime influence permafrost Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground ther- degradation? mal regime, Hydrology How can proximal sensing technologies (e.g., VisNIR, PXRF, EM) be most appropriately applied to permafrost All Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, soils? How does fusion of those datasets impact predictive model performance? Pedology / soils

A large knowledge and intellectual gap exists between field knowledge of permafrost and the modelling efforts Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geocryology, Mapping, overall of global scale. Cooperative research needs to be undertaken to better map permafrost as a geological Permafrost, Mountain phenomenon in order to match the concerns and the needs of modellers who are trying to analyse and Permafrost document permafrost as a climatic phenomenon. set protocols in order to obtain fiable, standardized , and useful scientific information.

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 4 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 The science community needs to ask itself the following question: what are the needs of arctic communities in Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, regard with permafrost issues. It is not a question of scientists reaching to communities, it is a question of letting Land use & community plan- the communities reach to the scientists. ning, Policy

What is the distribution of permafrost (fine resolution; e.g., <100m)? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Mapping Permafrost, Mountain Permafrost What is the rate of permafrost thaw? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Mapping Permafrost, Mountain Permafrost What areas are most vulnerable to permafrost thaw and why are these areas vulnerable? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Pedology / Permafrost, Mountain soils Permafrost How important is subsurface wash compared to surface wash in continuous permafrost environments? All Geochemistry, Geomorphology, Hydrology To what extent will changes in Arctic permafrost lead to alterations in the hydrologic cycle, specifically changes All Climate Change, Geophysics, in discharge from major rivers? Hydrology How important is the thermal inertia (i.e. heat capacity) of permafrost in mediating climate change impacts? All Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Remote Sensing Following permafrost thaw in peatlands, what are the losses of C from previously stored stocks and to what Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Ecology, Hydrol- degree are such losses offset by new accumulation of C at the surface? ogy

At what rates will thermokarst landforms expand (as a % land cover) in different types of landscapes (lowland Arctic Permafrost Geomorphology, Pedology / peat rich, lowland yedoma, hillslopes with ice-rich soils etc) in response to climate forcings? soils, Remote Sensing

Under what conditions with thawing permafrost increase the costs and challenges of construction and Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, maintenance of infrastructure (roads, pipelines, buildings, runways, bridges, etc.), and under what Land use & community plan- circumstances will thawing permafrost decrease such costs and challenges? ning, Industrial development & impacts What is the spatial distribution of permafrost in Antarctica? Antarctic Permafrost Geomorphology, Ground thermal regime, Mapping How did Antarctic permafrost and terrestrial ecosystems respond to warmer climate conditions in the past? Antarctic Permafrost, All Geomorphology, Ground thermal regime, Paleoenvironments What is the magnitude of temperature increase to generate non-linear environmental responses in permafrost Antarctic Permafrost, All Geomorphology, Ground ther- environments in the Antarctic Peninsula? mal regime, Paleoenvironments Has the spatial distribution of the freshwater fish fauna recently changed? I am especially interested in north Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Russia and Petchora in particular, but am also inerested in changes elsewhere Permafrost

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 5 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 We need to address the variabilty of microbial communities in the ponds that form in Permafrost regions. Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Microbiology/Astrobiology Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

How is the areal extent of ponds changing over time, and how does this influence climate feedback? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost Remote Sensing What is the microbiology of subsurface permafrost? Arctic Permafrost, Planetary Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost Microbiology / Astrobiology How can support a thermoisolated and solaractive exploitable tent the research in cold regions? All Engineering & Infrastructure

Is the organic matter stored in Gelisols sensible to climate change? Whatever the reply, why? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Pedology / soils Permafrost disclosing soil and geomorphologic processes involved in the formation of patterned ground (sorted features) Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Geomorphology, soils will increase the knowledge of soil ecology in cold regions and understanding the formation of these Permafrost, Mountain Pedology / soils surfaces in extraterrestrial planets Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost the study of soils from recently deglaciated area will increse our knowledge on soil formation and on progressive Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Paleoenvironments, landscape transformation Permafrost, Mountain Pedology / soils Permafrost How can we characterize permafrosts, multiphase porous materials, from different climate and geological Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Geomorphology, regions such that we can accurately describe their physical and thermodynamic properties, mechanical Permafrost Ground thermal regime behavior, interactions with troposphere, and loss in models? This is important to do as soon as possible.

Independent of climate policy, permafrost thaw will occur on a large scale. Research should be focused on how Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Ecology, Land resilient ecosystems are to permafrost thaw, how they may recover, and how carbon storage function of these Permafrost, Mountain use & community planning ecosystems may be restored. Again, options for mitigation of effects should be considered. Permafrost

Carbon stored in permafrost soils, and its release upon thawing will remain one of the major research topics. For Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, better prediction of future carbon release, models and field studies should focus on spatial variability soils, ice Policy content and vegetation. In addition, research is needed on options to mitigate carbon release.

Increasing human activities in the arctic inevitably will increase anthropogenic disturbance of permafrost soils, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Industrial development which in turn can enhance carbon release from these soils. Mitigation studies will remain highly relevant. Permafrost, Mountain & impacts, Land use & commu- Permafrost nity planning What physical processes (an can we quantify them) dictate the rate of "frost heave" and can the rate of heave Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, be accurately be quantified by a physically based model? Ground thermal regime, Model- ing

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 6 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How rapidly will climate warming manifest itself in the Arctic hydrologic cycle? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Hydrology What will be the future magnitude of coastal erosion due to permafrost warming and sea level rise? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Land use & community planning What are the fundamental consequences of warmer temperatures in regions of continuous and discontinuous Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, permafrost? Ecology Can a change in permafrost temperatures be documented in the coming Century through a network of Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Data Man- distributed monitoring sites in Arctic and boreal ecosystems? Permafrost agement, Ground thermal regime Can airborne and/or satillite remote sensing platforms be developed to assess thermal and hydrualic properties Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Modeling, of active layer and permfrost soils as critical parameteres for models? Permafrost Remote Sensing

How does climate change affect mountain permafrost dynamics/distribution? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy How does mountain permafrost affect the occurrence of natural hazards (e.g. rockfall)? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Geophysics What is the role of (changing) permafrost in vegetation and topography interactions specifically with regards to Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Hy- their coupled impact on hydrological connectivity (activation/deactivation of flow pathways) across the drology landscape? How dense is the concentration of methane hydrate in the surface sediments on the East Siberian Shelf, and Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, how fast is it likely to be released as the offshore permafrost thaws? Subsea permafrost

What is the contribution of freshwater ecosystems (i.e. lakes and rivers) to the carbon balance of the permafrost Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, zone? What are the fluxes of CH4 and CO2 from these objects compared to that from wetlands and other Modeling sources? Will these fluxes increase or decrease during future climate warming? redox status of freezing/thawing soil and soil under frozen layer All Carbon cycle, Hydrology, Mod- eling spatial distribution of soil thawing All Engineering & Infrastructure, Hydrology, Modeling hydraulic and tharmal properties of frozen soil, especially under tharmally non-equilibrium conditions All Climate Change, Hydrology, Modeling stability of steep bedrock permafrost: how do cracks/fissures form? what is their long-term development? what Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- are the contributing factors leading to instabilities? and how can these processes be detected/monitored? ogy, Geophysics

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 7 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 modern experimental technologies (wireless sensors) create huge amounts of data. how can this data be All Climate Change, Data Man- leveraged (for research)? how much data is necessary to answer pertinent questions with their required level of agement, Geomorphology detail? how can data from different experiments/instruments be joined together into one context? how to design and safely operate remote sensors in field experiments, especially in remote and hostile Mountain Permafrost, All Data Management, Geomor- environments. what part of the data is required online, what part can be left offline? how to structure such phology experiments and the data management. What are the major interactions and associated feedbacks between surface-water systems (i.e. rivers and lakes) All Geomorphology, Hydrology and permafrost dynamics? How permafrost degradation in mountain rock walls is acting as a control factor of rockfall occurrence? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Geomorphology How vegetation structure linked to permfrost occurance and methane release? Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Geocryology, Remote Sensing How can we map changes in permafrost occurrence and dynamics over large areas or globally? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Mapping, Re- Permafrost, Mountain mote Sensing Permafrost no further question Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle How can we properly define, describe and quantify permafrost change (aggradation and degradation)? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geophysics, Permafrost, Mountain Ground thermal regime Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost How to make a better and widely accepted use of geomorphological indicators in longterm permafrost All Geomorphology, Mapping, Re- monitoring? mote Sensing How to gain a better understanding of rockglacier dynamics? Mountain Permafrost Geomorphology, Ground thermal regime, Modeling What is the exact distribution of ice wedge polygons on Earth? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geocryology, Mapping, Remote Permafrost Sensing What are carbon contents and quality in deep permafrost soils and sediments? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost Pedology / soils How can historical data on permafrost, ground ice, and soils existing in closed archives of private companies Arctic Permafrost Data Management, Mapping, (especially oil and gas exploration) be made publicly available? Policy

How do potential contaminants move through High Arctic terrain with (well) established permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Ground thermal regime, Hydrology How does permafrost compare between a generally wet environment on Earth and a dry environment on Mars - All Geochemistry, and how does the chemistry of the upper ice layers/the ice-soil boundary change? Microbiology/Astrobiology, Pa- leoenvironments

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 8 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How does vegetation influence the boundary between ice and soil - with an emphasis on chemistry and organic All Geochemistry, Microbiology / preservation? What an we learn from the soil/rock - ice boundary and its chemistry for the search for (extinct) life Astrobiology, Paleoenviron- on Mars and icy Moons? ments What is the impact of urban development on permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, Land use & community planning, Industrial development & impacts What is the interaction between tree growth and permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Ecology What tree species are best suited for urban planting in cities where permafrost occurs? Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Land use & community planning preservation of ancient ice bodies in Antarctica Antarctic Permafrost, Geomorphology, Ground ther- Planetary Permafrost mal regime, Paleoenvironments What is the proportion of the C mobilized by permafrost thawing that is readily available to microbial utilization Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Geo- (cf the lability and age of C stocks) Permafrost chemistry How photolysis in aquatic ecosystems is accelerating the microbial utilization of mobilized carbon stocks (cf the Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Hydrol- degradation rates) Permafrost ogy What are the diffusive and ebullition GHG emission rates from aquatic ecosystems associated to permafrost thaw Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Modeling Permafrost GHG emissions induced by changes in climate, hydrology and vegetation in permafrost areas. Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

What changes have, or are, ocurring in permafrost temperature? This needs long term monitoring at a wide All Climate Change, Data Man- range of sites. agement, Ground thermal regime What is the ice content of permafrost, and thus what impacts will occur if the active layer depth changes All Climate Change, Ground ther- (increases or decreases)? mal regime, Pedology / soils How will changes to organic matter composition in Arctic freshwaters, caused by increasing permafrost thaw, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, influence the biological and photochemical reactivity of C (and nutrients)? Permafrost Hydrology

How can we monitor and subsequently measure changes to permafrost inputs into inland freshwaters (lakes, Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, rivers) Hydrology How can we relate the age of C in Arctic freshwaters to the age of greenhouse gasses released from them, to Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, enable future modelling of potential feedbacks? Hydrology Does the reverse of permafrost active layer exist? The impact of sea water on permafrost regression in a coastal Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geophysics, zone. Permafrost Ground thermal regime

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 9 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How chemistry of the guano deposits from bird/penguin colonies decrease the value of melt/freezing point of Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Geochemistry, Ground active layer ? The impact on dynamics of geomorphological processes. Permafrost thermal regime

The thickness and frequency of icy layers grows as the result of snow cover melting during warm winters. What Arctic Permafrost Geocryology, Geomorphology, is the impact on dynamics of active layer thawing ? Ground thermal regime Find a reliable field criterium to distinguish inherited non functionnal permafrost (for instance in forested areas of Arctic Permafrost Geomorphology, Ground ther- Siberia ) from functionnal present day permafrost in Arctic areas with a true periglacial environment.. mal regime, Paleoenvironments

To assess the average speed of present day northwards moving of the southern limit of continuous permafrost Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- (for instance in Northern Canada), due to the on-going climatic warming. ogy

Modelling the mechanical processes of cryoturbation inside the active layer (mollisol) during the summer. Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology, Geomorphology, Permafrost Ground thermal regime What is the error and uncertainty in our ability to use remote sensing observations (either airborne or space Arctic Permafrost, All Carbon cycle, Mapping, Re- borne) to map active layer depth across various type of permafrost environments? mote Sensing

How accurately can ice content of permafrost regions be estimated using direct (ground penetrating radar, All Climate Change, Engineering & airborne interferometric SAR, lidar) sensing techniques? Infrastructure, Remote Sensing At what depth can volumetric soil moisture be estimated within 20% error across a range of permafrost Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Hydrology, Remote environments (from continuous to sporadic)? Sensing How to reappraise the age of the so-called “periglacial” landforms and deposits, and replace them into the big All Geomorphology picture (i.e. the Cenozoic landform evolution, including both material/form genesis and reworking/reshaping)?

How to develop the use of smallscale periglacial landforms as geoindicators of Past and current climate changes All Climate Change, Geomorphol- (it is important to put into context the current observations)? ogy, Paleoenvironments

How to bridge the gap between laboratory experiments and field studies ? All Geomorphology Peaceful underground nuclear explosions (PUNE) impact into the modern Artctic Permafrost' degradation. Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Geocryology, Geo- Technogenic thawed ground is the heat and radionuclides conducter by scheme “explosion cavity - geological physics environment - the earth's surface”. In 1965-1988 yy. 51 PUNE of a total capacity of 537.4 kT in trinitrotoluol equivalent were carried in Russian territory of Arctic Permafrost, and most of their areas are not studied until nowadays and the research guestion stays gaps in knowledge.

Radioactive pollution of Arctic Permafrost ecosystems.Special aspects of radionuclides’ migration, accumulation Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Geochemistry, and redistribution in frozen rocks and soils of Arctic Permafrost. Geocryology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 10 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Tritium in Arctic surface water as after-effects of Novaya Zemlya nuclear weapon tests and of peaceful Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Geochemistry, underground nuclear explosions in Arctic Permafrost. Geocryology How labile (decomposable) is permafrost carbon, and how readily might soil/sediment organic matter become Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Climate Change, accessible to decomposer microorganisms (including methanogens) following thaw? Permafrost, Planetary Pedology / soils Permafrost How will permafrost thaw and deepening of the active layer affect water flow-paths and hydrology at hill-slope, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, catchment (watershed), regional and pan-Arctic/circum-polar scales? How will this affect soil and sediment Permafrost, Mountain Hydrology moisture regimes, redox status and biogeochemical processes across the same suite of spatial scales? Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

What will be the interplay between on-going and predicted changes in northern vegetation communities and Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ecology, ground thermal regimes? Permafrost Ground thermal regime Long-term permafrost groundwater balance is not fully understood. More research is needed to understand the Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, Pa- recharge and discharge processes. leoenvironments Long-term permafrost groundwater balance is not fully understood. More research is needed to understand the Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, Pa- recharge and discharge processes. leoenvironments What are the present distributions of permafrost and permafrost-related landscapes on Mars? Planetary Permafrost Geocryology, Geomorphology, Paleoenvironments Where and when did Mars recently experience permafrost thaw, including thermokarst development? Planetary Permafrost Geomorphology, Ground thermal regime, Hydrology How is permafrost stability on Mars related to climate change and regolith geochemistry? Planetary Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, Geomorphology How the liquid water will circulate in the (macro-)porosity around the year ? Mountain Permafrost Geochemistry, Hydrology, natural hazards Which scheme of data fusion processing could be elaborated (standardized), according to the data available All Geocryology, Geophysics, (geophysics, borehole, geological mapping), in order to reconstruct the 3D planes of the underground of Mapping permafrost ? How the geotechnic stability of permafrost could be dynamicly evaluated around the year/decades, by which Mountain Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, methods ? Geocryology, natural hazards There is a need, both from a practical point of view (methods of measuring and modeling) and a theoretical point Planetary Permafrost Hydrology, Modeling, of view (theory of ice lens formation and growth) to get a grip on the HEAT EXTRACTION RATE from the soil Pedology / soils surface. This involves soil properties and surface conditions.

How important are cryospheric features (e.g. permafrost and glaciers) to water supply? Specifically, if alpine and Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, subalpine areas serve as water towers, what is the contribution of frozen soil and ice to stream discharge (and Modeling groundwater storage)?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 11 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How will thawing permafrost impact nutrient (N and P) exports from watersheds? What are the Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Ecology, Hy- consequences/feedbacks to/within ecosystems? Permafrost, Mountain drology Permafrost What is the bioavailability and fate of organic matter released/exposed during permafrost thaw? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Permafrost What is the impact of flowing water (surface and subsurface) on the dynamics of permafrost degradation All Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Hydrology What is the ground ice content of near-surface (0-20m) permafrost? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost Geomorphology What are the mitigation techniques effective to prevent permafrost degradation under transport infrastructure? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Engineering & Permafrost Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime What factors are most important in the evolution of relict submarine permafrost on the cirum-Arctic shelf and Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Mapping, how will climate change impact submarine permafrost and gas hydrate stability? Subsea permafrost

1) Where is the boundary between "geocryology" (considered as the scientific discipline that studies periglacial Mountain Permafrost, Climate Change, Geocryology, features & processes) and "glaciology" (considered as the scientific discipline that studies glacial features & Planetary Permafrost environmental mapping processes) ? 2) Why the definition of Permafrost does not honor its etymological origin (frost, involves always water)? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, Rationale: present day definition of permafrost, liberates many enemies of the environment, like some unethical Permafrost, Mountain Hydrology mining companies operating in the third world where rules are soft and knowledge of periglacial processes are Permafrost, Planetary poor, to destroy many hydrological resources and reserves, Permafrost, All

What is the specific productivity of mountain permafrost under different hydrical conditions? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, Hydrology How will permafrost degradation influence rockwall stability Mountain Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, Geomorphology How is the quality and bioavailability of the organic matter which becomes accessible again due to permafrost Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, degradation in consequence of ongoing global warming? Biogeochemistry How is the impact of old organic carbon becomming accessible again after permafrost degradation on Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, methanogenic communities and with that on the methane cycle and evolution of the global climate? Microbiology / Astrobiology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 12 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What is the range of the permafrost in the world? In the second decade of the twenty-first century, when the All Geocryology, Mapping, Model- technical possibilities allow for remote determination of the Earth's surface with centimeter accuracy, differences ing in determination of the permafrost extend in the world reach millions of square kilometers. Why is that? Without an answer to this fundamental question survey of permafrost is doubtful and questionable.

Is permafrost also includes glaciers and ice sheets? Seemingly the answer seems to be obvious. Today, All Geocryology, Ground thermal however, the need to resolve the question seems to be particularly important, because without it blocking the regime, Mapping interdisciplinary nature of the permafrost research

What are the key processes (e.g. snow accumulation, evapotranspiration, summer albedo, winter albedo, etc.) Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Ecology, Ground thermal regime that determine how the structure and composition of vegetation cover affects the soil thermal properties and Permafrost stability of permafrost? How do different types and intensities of disturbance affect the rate and trajectory of permafrost thaw? For Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ecology, In- example, what is the relative impact of fires of differing severity, or human disturbance that removes or disturbs Permafrost dustrial development & impacts the vegetation to a different degree? Are there thresholds in the response to disturbance that can help inform management policies or to predict irreversible responses of permafrost to disturbance?

Design reliable mitigation for ground thawing beneath linear infrastructure Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Engineering & Permafrost Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime What is the critical condition required for thermokarst initiation Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost, Mountain Ground thermal regime Permafrost How does ground ice and topography control active layer development Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Geomorphol- Permafrost ogy, Ground thermal regime How much of the Arctic has undergone significant permafrost degradation over the period of human records, Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- documented by either remote sensing (photographic or satellite) or detailed ground descriptions of landforms or ogy, Remote Sensing surface topography, where "significant" means a change in hydrology, landform type (e.g. from low-centered polygons to high-centered polygons), or habitat (change in wildlife usage)?

A question related to # 1 would then be, "What is the rate of significant permafrost degradation in the Arctic?" Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- Estimates would have to be extrapolated from specific areas with data, using vegetation and permafrost maps. ogy, Remote Sensing

What is the role of ground ice as potential source of carbon and nutrients upon permafrost degradation? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology Permafrost How much of the Arctic shelf is underlain by subsea permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Ground thermal regime, Pale- oenvironments, Subsea permafrost

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 13 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What is the role of ground ice for the resilience and vulnerability of permafrost against rising air temperatures Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, and thermal degradation Permafrost, Mountain Ground thermal regime Permafrost A big deal of efforts have been payed on studing prokariotic microbes in permafrost at planetary level. Yet Planetary Permafrost Ecology, information of eukariots, and in particular on fungi, remain scant. Can permafrost be a reservoir of ancient Microbiology/Astrobiology, Pa- fungal genotypes? How long fungi may survive in permafrost, and through which strategies? Is fungal leoenvironments biodiversity at different depths a mirror of the one exsisting at time of permafrost formation?

What is the rate of frost heave Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geomorphol- Permafrost, Mountain ogy, Paleoenvironments Permafrost How much carbon dioxide is being relased from melting permafrost All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geomorphology What is the rate of permafrost melting All Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Ground thermal regime Age of glacial deposits, timing of climate change, how environmental changes are recorded in landscapes, rates Antarctic Permafrost, Climate Change, Geomorphol- of geomorphic processes in periglacial environments. Mountain Permafrost ogy, Paleoenvironments With rapidly warming Arctic climate and potential to advance natural resource related economic activities, it is Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & essential that there be good understanding of the current and future variability in permafrost. This is of Infrastructure, Mapping relevance to related transportation, exploration and development activities.

What is the floral response in the Gondwanan Late Palaeozoic glaciation, when there were discrete glacial All Paleoenvironments events separated by warmer climate periods? What (unique) paleoclimatic information is stored in the different kinds of ground ice, how this information can be Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, explored and can it be used to improve the knowledge about past climate changes in spatial, temporal and Paleoenvironments seasonal scales? What controls the role of permafrost as source or sink of carbon over decadal to glacial/interglacial timescales? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change

Permafrost as a thermal condition affects not only Earth, but other planets (e.g., Mars). Do typical permafrost Planetary Permafrost Geomorphology, processes occur on Mars? What is the role of water? Do freeze-thaw cycles affect the Martian surface? Can Microbiology/Astrobiology, Pa- Martian permafrost be a habitat, now or in the past? These questions are highly important for astrobiology and leoenvironments human exploration.

How vulnerable is northern urban infrastructure to permafrost thaw-induced subsidence, and how are these Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & vulnerabilities spatially distributed? Infrastructure, Mapping Parameterization of climate controls and surface covers for permafrost thermal state modeling Arctic Permafrost Geocryology, Ground thermal regime, Modeling

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 14 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Develop methodology to validate remote-sensing products with field data Arctic Permafrost Geocryology, Ground thermal regime, Remote Sensing Monitoring of land surface deformations/cryogenic processes in relation to local climate fluctuations Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Remote Sensing Which infrastructure challenges arise in different Arctic contexts due to permafrost changes? Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, Land use & community planning, Policy Which adaptation measures (to housing, infrastructure etc.) are needed in different Arctic contexts due to Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, thawing permafrost, and which business models can be set up to possible combine this challenge with job Land use & community plan- creation and innovation in northern communities? ning, Policy

What are effects on subsistence activities and, more generally, indigenous peoples’ traditional ways of life due to Arctic Permafrost Land use & community plan- changing permafrost conditions? ning, Policy, Culture This is a land-ocean interactions question, which bears crucially on the Arctic Ocean and its shelf seas. Changes Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, in permafrost will affect the phasing and magnitude of discharge and also the dissolved and suspended burdens oceanography in of the terrestrial discharge. How do these changes affect the biogeochemistry (and physics) of the adjacent continental shelves? This question is submitted by an oceangrapher and not a permafrost expert.

Does no permafrost exist under the large rivers?What is the critical size and discharge for permafrost-free rivers? Arctic Permafrost Ground thermal regime, Hy- drology Impact of Climate Change to the Hydrology/Hydrogeology (discharge pattern, water chemistry) of areas affected Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, by Mountain Permafrost Hydrology Age, ice content and chemistry of ice of active rock glaciers (radiocarbon dating, palynology, isotope studies, Mountain Permafrost Geochemistry, Palynology anions, kations, heavy metals in permafrost ice) based on the study of cores drilled on active rock glaciers

What is the significance of changing ground ice conditions on the mobilization of material and sedimentary Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geomorphol- fluxes? Permafrost, Mountain ogy, Hydrology Permafrost How can periglacial and glacial systems be coupled to establish holistic sedimentary budgets in these areas? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost, Mountain Geomorphology Permafrost Spatio-temporal variations of mountain permafrost creep: Where, how and at which spatial and temporal scales Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- do rockglacier speeds change, and what can that tell about the frozen bodies and the impacts on them? ogy

Spatio-temporal changes in low-land soil motion. How large is and at which temporal and spatial scales does Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, soil turnover change (e.g. in patterned ground, frost-driven soil turnover)? Permafrost Geomorphology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 15 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Large-scale (regional-scale) long-term volume changes of low-land permafrost, e.g. from thaw subsidence. Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Ground thermal regime Investigation of paleoenvironments in arctic and subarctic areas is important for understanding of modern Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Pa- natural processes in this region. Palaeoecological methods are using for investigation of paleoenvironments. leoenvironments Palaeoecological data should be accompanied by precise AMS dating. Question is - where to take funds for these expencive analyses?

What is the chemical composition of the permafrost NOM, and their role on the GHG production ? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, Permafrost Permafrost chemistry What is the chemical composition of the permafrost NOM, and their role on trace element, partitioning, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Geochemistry speciation and trasport in thermokarst lakes? Permafrost What are the factors controlling the initiation of thermokarst processes and the rates of expansion of thermokarst Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Engineering & In- features? Permafrost frastructure, Geomorphology What is the impact of global warming on vegetation, and how will vegetation changes impact permafrost stability Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Ecology, Engineering & Infra- in the next 50-100 yrs. Permafrost structure, Modeling What are the likely impacts of global change on the hydrological cycle in polar regions over the next 50-100 Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geomorphol- years? Permafrost ogy, Hydrology We know about the deglaciations in Antarctic and Arctic region and therefore exact chronology and climatic Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geomorphol- conditions are required to understand the deglaciation process. Permafrost ogy, Paleoenvironments

The strength of permafrost is temperature dependant. Although there is a lot of data on cold permafrost, All Climate Change, Engineering & research is lacking for permafrost with temperatures warmer than -2 deg C. How does the strength of various Infrastructure, Industrial devel- permafrost soils (clay/silt/sand/gravel) change with warming temperatures (close to thaw), and what proportion opment & impacts of strength, if any, is related to internal friction rather than cohesion. Consider primarily ice-poor (<10% visible ice) soils to minimize the effects of creep.

How much methane is released through thawnin permafrost? Will this methane be found in aqautic or terrestric Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, environments? Can micororganisms reduce the methane input? Microbiology/Astrobiology

How can the development in time of stability conditions in steep perennially frozen slopes and rock walls be Mountain Permafrost Climate Change assessed under conditions of global climate change at local to regional scales?

How can complex patterns of snow cover in high-mountain topography be monitored/modeled and what is their Mountain Permafrost Ground thermal regime influence on thermal conditions of mountain slopes and of steep high-mountain rock faces?

What are the physical conditions and time scales involved with viscous flow features in the permafrost of Mars Planetary Permafrost Geomorphology and how do these features compare with landforms created by cumulative creep deformation of terrestrial permafrost (rock glaciers)?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 16 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How permafrost degradation influences runoff formation and debris-flow triggering in alpine headwaters? (This is Mountain Permafrost Geomorphology, Hydrology not a novel topic, but it still deserves thorough analysis). Landscapes of northerly temperate regions were impacted by degradation of permafrost from the last glaciation, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Hydrology, Paleoenvi- and yet surprisingly little is understood about sedimentary processes that impacted their physical characteristics Permafrost ronments (geometry; variability) and concomitant hydrogeology. New AMS ages of organics produced under tundra will provide a temporal framework for landscape evolution.

Is methane liberation from permafrost melting a trigger to rapid and uncontrolled transition to warmer climate on Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Earth? Permafrost, Mountain Modeling Budzianowski W.M.: Tetra-stable bifurcation structure of the climate system of Earth: Mechanisms triggering Permafrost potential transition to the greenhouse steady state, International Journal of Global Warming 5(2) (2013a) 152- 178 http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/ijgw.2013.053485

What is the subsurface extent of permafrost, and how do the details of its distribution effect hydrologic systems, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geocryology, Geophysics, ecosystems, and infrastructure- both today and with regards to future vulnerability? Permafrost, Mountain Mapping Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

What impacts will climate change and the resulting permafrost degradation have on transportation infrastructure Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & (highways, culverts, bridges, airstrips) and what mitigations are possible from a design, construction, and Infrastructure, Ground thermal operation and maintenance perspective? regime

How much (fossil) carbon in dissolved and particulate form is annually exported from Arctic permafrost regions to Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, the ocean under present and past climate conditions? Geochemistry How much (fossil) carbon in dissolved and particulate form is annually exported from Arctic permafrost regions to Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, the ocean under present and past climate conditions? Geochemistry How could the amounts and spatial distribution of ground ice (of any genesis) be observed using no-penerative All Engineering & Infrastructure, methods at different scales? Geophysics, Remote Sensing How is the effect of biodiversity on permafrost stability? All Ecology, Land use & community planning, Modeling What amounts of methane-hydrates formed in the interporous media of freezing soils are stored in shallow All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, permafrost? Pedology / soils Need to establish baseline frramework for EO driven monitoring porgram. Is there an optimum combination of Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Hydrology, Remote EO data for establishing a permafrost monitoring capability? This could be established with a combined Sensing literature review and a pilot study with 1 or more sites.

Is there an historical record available to establish a baseline or do we starty with current data? Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Hydrology, Remote Sensing

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 17 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What is the recommended temproal and spatial resolution for this mapping activity? Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Hydrology, Remote Sensing Assessment of permafrost resilience to projectet clime change scenarios: Given the projected arctic warming, Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology what are the tipping points or resilience thresholds which should not be passed when it comes to the rate of extent of permafrost melt? Which areas of the Arctic region are most prone to thawing, and which concenequences will it have in ecological Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, and financial terms? - In these areas, which current/planned infrastructes are most at risk from thawing Land use & community plan- permafrost and what can be done to reduce adaptation costs (pipelines, powerplants, rainways, ports, airfields). ning, Mapping

Which monitoring data are missing in order to give more accurate or reliable projections and models for future Arctic Permafrost Data Management, Modeling change in Parmefrost? 1. What is the historical pattern of infrastructure and infrastructure-related thermokarst formation in the regions Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & of industrial development in the Arctic? How do the patterns vary with respect to distance from roads, different Infrastructure types of roads, and in different types of terrain? How can infrastructure-related and climate-change related thermokarst be differentiated?

2. Are the changes in thermokarst affecting local patterns of plant productivity? If so, are the changes Arctic Permafrost Industrial development & im- widespread enough to be detected using time-series of global-scale remote sensing products such as Landsat, pacts, Modeling, Remote Sens- MODIS, and AVHRR? ing How do roads and other infrastructure affect the process of thermokarst. Are the complex interactions between Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Engineering & Infra- thermokarst formation, hydrology, patterned-ground landforms, and vegetation succession modified in structure, Land use & commu- infrastructure-modified environments? nity planning

What is the role of the researcher in understanding climatic changes and permafrost dynamics today to help Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Ecology, Engineering & Infra- educate the public? Permafrost structure, Modeling What will be the the net outcome of thawing permafrost on terrestrial methane emissions? The answer to this Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, question should factor in likely increases in Arctic NPP. Hydrology

What is the quantitative (i.e. probability) risk of subsea methane hydrate destabilization as linked to IPCC-type All Climate Change, Modeling, emission and sea-level rise scenarios? Subsea permafrost What is the quantitative (i.e. probability) risk of terrestrial methane hydrate destabilization? (This question is Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, most globally relevant for the Arctic) Ground thermal regime What changes in potential vegetation and fire regimes can be expected to follow hydrologic changes (such as Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ecology, Hy- infiltration and runoff) resulting from permafrost melt or changes in active layer depth? Permafrost drology

What are the effects of uncharacteristically severe boreal forest and tundra fire on permafrost persistence, and Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ecology, Hy- what changes in coupled hydrologic-ecological system responses occur over time after such fire events? Permafrost drology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 18 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How to carry out a quantitative risk assessment for infrastructure built in permafrost environments considering Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Engineering & climate change and potential changes in use? Permafrost Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime At what rate deep permafrost propagates and vanishes in the ground in different rock types and in different air All Engineering & Infrastructure, teperatures? Could this be demonstrated with laboratory experiments? Ground thermal regime, Pale- oenvironments What is the effect of continental ice to permafrost depth in central parts of glaciated areas? This question is All Ground thermal regime, Pale- related to my first question: "At what rate deep permafrost..." (I have understood that this is poorly known, and oenvironments different estimates exist) Could it be arranged a laboratoty experiments in different parts of present cold regions, where behavior (freezing All Climate Change and thawing) of permafrost could be measured both at the top and at the bottom of deep permafrost? This chould be long-lasting experiment.

How to raise the awareness of local policy makers about the issue of climate change and its effects on the Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Land use & lithosphere (permafrost, natural hazards, etc.) ? Which applied research is the most important item to reach this community planning, Policy result? In other words, which results, evidences or media to communicate these scientific data have a great impact on the governance?

I am interested in microbial ecological processes related with permafrost. Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Microbi- Permafrost ology/Astrobiology My interest is related with climate changes Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Microbi- Permafrost ology / Astrobiology How does climate change affect the stability of permafrost affected slopes? All Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Ground thermal regime How much water is in the permafrost layers, especially in the mountain area, like seasonal permafrost over Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, Tibetan Plateau, that is important for the mid-latitude water bodies (river, lake in the high mountains). Remote Sensing

Fro the lack of observations, the relationship between snow depth and permafrost (frost depth) is unclear, Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Mapping, Re- questions are raised for the statistic understanding on the mapping of snow/permafrost depth mid-latitude, like mote Sensing Mongolia area, Northern China and CA.

Are impending consequences due to climate change in Himalayan region are adequately understood ? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Data Man- agement, inadequate research center Whether or not funding available for poor Himalayan region is sufficient and equally distributed throughout the Mountain Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, region ? Industrial development & impacts Are local people in Himalayan regions aware of climate consequences i.e. are they sufficiently capable of Mountain Permafrost Land use & community plan- tackling their problems in local scale ? ning, Policy, capacity building

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 19 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Is melting alpine permafrost partly responsible for sediment mobilization in the case of a rain-induced debris flow Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- in a periglacial setting. ogy What is the total rate of emission of methane from Arctic shelves and is it increasing? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Policy Exchange between deep and shallow groundwaters via talik. Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, Active layer dynamics and transport of matters in and between ecosystems via the active layer. Modeling

How will aquatic habitats (i.e. water chemistry, suspended matter) be modified and aquatic communities be Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Ecology, Geo- affected by permafrost degradation? Permafrost, Mountain chemistry Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

How will important ecological processes, both in soils and freshwaters, be affected by permafrost degradation? All Carbon cycle, Ecology, Pedol- ogy / soils What tools are available to monitor the ongoing change in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (i.e. freshwater, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Mapping, Remote Sensing, coastal)? Permafrost, Mountain Monitoring Permafrost Where is permafrost in the Alps? Define criteria and standards to collect permafrost evidence and data to guide Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Data Man- permafrost modelling evaluation and monitoring activities agement, Land use & community planning How can we measure permafrost degradation in boreholes? As temperature approaches 0°C, energy is used to Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, melt ice. Thus borehole temperature data are no more useful to monitor permafrost degradation. we need to Land use & community planning develop technologies to monitor ice content - soil moisture evolution in boreholes and related impacts on surface phenomena (hydrology, topography, ...)

What is the extent, temperature and ice content of global submarine permafrost and how is are these variables Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Mapping, changing? Permafrost Subsea permafrost To what degree do these changes mitigate or control greenhouse gas exchange between the cryosphere, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Mapping, hydrosphere and atmosphere? Permafrost Subsea permafrost Development of novel technolgies for the observation and monitoring of submarine permafrost. Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Mapping, Permafrost Subsea permafrost What is the likely hood of emission of such substantial quantities of CO₂ and CH4 that a positive climate Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, feedback will originate from Arctic permafrost Geochemistry What are the exact relations between the ecological changes, the sedimentary processes and microbiology that Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, will generate a substantial carbon climate feedback in the Arctic. In other words what mitigation measures can Ecology be developed?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 20 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How are the main climatic and edaphic factors driving the spatial and temporal active layer changes? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Ecology, Until now, not many studies focussed on monitoring the spatial and temporal changes of snow cover and Permafrost, Mountain Ground thermal regime vegetation cover that can change rapidly and induce large spatial varibility in the active layer thickness. So a Permafrost better standardized approach also to monitor these categories is required to assess which are the main driver of the active layer dynamics.

How active layer dynamics can influence the vegetation evolution and biodiversity? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Ecology, Hy- The problem of the interactions between the disturbance induced by the active layer changes to slope stability or Permafrost, Mountain drology to the variations of the runoff with the vegetation evolution and biodiversity changes is too far from the solution Permafrost so this problem can be real important both for the social and economical feedbacks in many parts of the world.

Are the rock glacier really the best permafrost indicators in the mountain environment? Antarctic Permafrost, Geomorphology, Geophysics, Rock glaciers were considered the main permafrost indicators in mountain environment. Only a few cores were Mountain Permafrost Modeling carried out and in some of them was clear that ice was a buried glacier ice. In addition, the influence of the occurrence of open work texture on the surface create microclimatic conditions favourable to permafrost conditions that are not really linked with regional and local climate.

How does permafrost induce damage in rocks Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Geomorphology Are there active or geologically recent periglacial environments on Mars? If so, are they environmental outliers Planetary Permafrost Geomorphology, Remote Sens- or typical of broad spatial and temporal zones? ing, Planetary Geomorphology i.e. is there (or has there been recently) geomorphologically significant melt of ground-ice?

How can we quantify the skill of spatially explicit permafrost models (presence/absence, thaw, carbon release,...) All Epistemology and, as a consequence, the reliability of the products or conclusions we derive from their results?

What are local and regional mean permafrost temperatures at 5 or 10 m depth (and, obviously, how will they Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, change). This applies to areas of continuous permafrost. It requires simple installation of worldwide Permafrost, Planetary Ground thermal regime temperature probes in thin holes. Permafrost What is the extent of massive ice worldwide? Massive ice needs a definition regarding thickness and extent. It Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, could be monitored by helicopter EM resistivity surveys. It is of particular interest beneath the Antarctic Dry Permafrost, Planetary Paleoenvironments Valleys floors and buried in moraines such as in Alaska. Permafrost

Many north facing slopes in interior Alaska are covered with permafrost, which I know are undergoing Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, solifluction. How fast is it moving and is it speeding up with global warming. These areas need LiDAR and Geomorphology highly accurate GPS surveys to monitor their movement and changing geomorphology.

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 21 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Large scale coupling between permafrost and groundwater flow. All Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Hydrology Long-term mountain permafrost monitoring (including kinematics) Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Data Man- agement, Ground thermal regime Assessment and monitoring of the sediment cascade connectivity associated to mountain slopes underlain by Mountain Permafrost Geomorphology, Land use & permafrost community planning Natural hazards related to mountain permafrost Mountain Permafrost Geomorphology, Land use & community planning, Policy Subsea permafrost is thawing! In order to get a real estimate on the amount of carbon and methane liberated by Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Ground thermal thawing subsea permafrost, there is an urgent need to mesasure the hermal state of subsea permafrost by regime, Subsea permafrost drilling boreholes on the Arctic Shelf iand to instrument these bore holes. The gashydrate stability related to the thermal state should be calculated and the potential of greenhouse gas emission through the water column to the atmosphere should be modelled.

How much old carbon is stored in arctic permafrost. What will happen to the permafrost carbon under the future Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, warming condition. Modeling How describe the natural spatial variability of permafrost conditions? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geocryology, Ground thermal It is important for correct extrapolation of ground temperature and cryostratigraphic data and for mapping the Permafrost, Mountain regime, Mapping permafrost zones with different state of permafrost. Permafrost Developing the diagnostics of signs of cryogenic processes’ recurrence/reiteration and cryogenic phenomena Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Engineering & evolution’s stage. Permafrost, Mountain Infrastructure, Geocryology The most perspective phenomena are polygonal structures, thermokarst and ice blisters. Permafrost

Drawing-up the unification of permafrost state terminology. All Geocryology, Geophysics, Ground thermal regime How wide spread is atmospheric CH4 uptake in permafrost soils, particularly mineral cryosols, in the Arctic and Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Antarctic? Permafrost Ecology What is the biodiversity of atmospheric CH4 utilizers and how does this relate to environment and climate warming? Are we ready to invest in permanent plot systematic inventories of permafrost extent and active layer depth? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Mapping, Re- How can such inventories support remote sensing-based mapping and monitoring? mote Sensing

Are the current remote sensing products (e.g. Landsat, MODIS, etc) adequate for mapping permafrost extent? If Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Mapping, Re- not, what new technologies and satellites might we propose as a community for permafrost mapping and Permafrost, Mountain mote Sensing monitoring? Permafrost How does permafrost affect groundwater movement and connection to surface water bodies? All Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Hydrology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 22 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How do cryogenic processes affect formation of low temperature minerals and formation of potential micro- All Geochemistry, Microbiology / habitats for extremophiles? Astrobiology What is the fate of palsa mires in northern Finland in a warming climate? Are new palsas being initiated in palsa Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Ge- mires in this region at present or has the dynamics of the palsa mires changed so that only stable and decaying omorphology palsas now occur? How have the hydraulic pingos of east Greenland changed since they were last subject to a detailed survey in Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- the early 1990s? Are new pingos currently forming in this region of continuous permafrost despite the climate ogy, Ground thermal regime warming experienced? As glaciers retreat in the Himalaya of Nepal, is permafrost aggrading in the glacier forelands? What role does Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- permafrost play in the stability of ice-cored glacial moraines which dam proglacial lakes and where failure could ogy, hazards lead to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) which threaten downstream communities?

How do soil microbial communities respond to climate change (in particular, permafrost thaw) in terms of their Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, species composition, metabolic pathways, and resulting rates of CO2 and CH4 emissions to the atmosphere? Microbiology/Astrobiology

How will wetland plant species communities change in response to climate change (in particular as permafrost Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, thaws), and what will the effect be on greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands? Ecology

How is the relationship between climate/permafrost and plant communities in the highlands of the Andes? Mountain Permafrost Ecology

How we can improve the uncertainty in quantification of the permafrost carbon feedback? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Ground thermal regime What are key factors affecting permafrost thermal regime? All Geocryology, Ground thermal regime, Modeling How to build a permafrost prediction system that could benefit local communities, who live on permafrost, and Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, help to better sustain current and future infrastructure? Geophysics, Modeling What are the factors associated with variation in the nature of ground ice at local to regional spatial scales? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Geomorphology What are the processes and feedbacks that lead to acceleration of various types of thermokarst? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Geomorphology How do thermokarst and ecological processes interact (in shaping a changing Arctic)? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Ge- omorphology What microbial processes are favored and in what order as permafrost degrades Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Microbiology/Astrobiology Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 23 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 do microbial processes differ among the major types of permafrost All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Microbiology / Astrobiology How the seasonal thaw of active-layer impacts C cycling in permafrost domain? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Modeling How erosion and deposition is impacting lateral movement of C? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Modeling, Pedol- ogy / soils How does permafrost degradation affect landscape dynamics at different spatio-temporal scales, and which Arctic Permafrost Geochemistry, Geomorphology, processes are the most important? Hydrology no comment All Climate Change, Ecology, Ge- omorphology Response of trees growing on permafrost in Subarctic Eurasia to recent and past climatic changes Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost Ecology What are the lithologic and thermal characteristics of cliffs and steep slopes most likely to fail as permafrost Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Engineering & degrades through climate warming? Permafrost, All Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime We need intensive monitoring of changing permafrost conditions at the edges of the continuous, discontinuous Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology, Ground thermal and sporadic permafrost areas to answer the question "How rapidly is permafrost thaw occurring?" Permafrost regime, Land use & community planning We need intensive monitoring of the smallest glaciers and glacierets to be able to answer the question "How Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- rapidly is glacier cover being reduced?" ogy, Hydrology Modelling of lake ice and river ice behaviour is needed to assess vulnerability of communities to flood hazard. Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Engineering & Infrastructure, Where are the most vulnerable communities and what mitigation and adaptation strategies are needed? Permafrost Hydrology, Modeling

Bacterial diversity in Siberian and Mongolian lakes of soda, salt and cold lakes. We invented new techniques for All Ecology, cultivation of unculturable bacteria for expanding knowledge of bacterial diveristy. Microbiology/Astrobiology

How do climate-driven changes in disturbance regimes, such as increased fire severity, affect the stability of Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, permfarost and the carbon balance of permafrost ecosystems? Ecology

How does the release of nutrients from thawing permafrost organic matter affect the carbon balance of warming Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, ecosystems? Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Permafrost, All

How the climate change and industrial can impact on lichen flora and plants which grow on permafrost soils? All Climate Change, Ecology, In- dustrial development & impacts Relationship between plateau permafrost with infrastrutures Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Remote Sensing

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 24 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Combining remote sensing measurements with pattern recognition efforts and field measurements to link Arctic Permafrost Geomorphology, Mapping, Re- vegetation spectral signals with permafrost soil and vegetation composition and geomorphologic characteristics mote Sensing

The permafrost is a crucial factor in Siberia limiting the forest existence and growth and controlling the forest Planetary Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, per- structure . Northward forest progressions under climate change will be controlled by natural disturbances of mafrost effects on forest vege- which melting permafrost is one of the most powerful. With the retreat of permafrost, forests may decline in tation extent due to lack of moisture in interior Siberia

What is the water balance alteration in the permafrost area due to climate change? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost Hydrology How does the riverine dissolved solids behavior in the permafrost area when and where the permafrost melts? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Ecology, Geocryology, Hydrol- Permafrost ogy How do surface water and groundwater interact by the permafrost border? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology, Hydrology Permafrost Element transport processes affected by climate change All Ecology, Hydrology, Element Ecosystem and landscape mass balances (accumulation and transport) mass balance Implications of thawing permafrost on accumulation/release of elements Change in ecosystem functional groups due to climate change Hydrological processes related to permafrost/active layer/talik Aeolian processes and element transport Gas flux across the permafrost atmosphere boundary: Is the methane coming from near-surface biogenic Arctic Permafrost, Planetary Carbon cycle, Climate Change, sources or emanating from deep sources, possibly from melting methane hydrates? The latter is evidently "more Permafrost Geochemistry fossil". Is the estimated methane emission budget geographically representative, does it include methane isotope composition.

1. How much carbon was accumulated during glacial times in permafrost soils? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Modeling, Pale- oenvironments Better understanding of permafrost-vegetation interaction! Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Modeling Does the degradation of permafrost influence on ecosystem functions and services? All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Ecology 1. Ice in caves in temperate environments is a type of permafrost, however it is induced by the properties of the Mountain Permafrost, Geomorphology, Paleoenvi- cave air circulation. Besides permanent ice there is variety of periglacial phenomena in the entrance zones of Planetary Permafrost ronments, karst permafrost large caves. It is important to understand the phenomena for better understanding the formation entrance facies of of cave sediments for speleogenetic archaeological and other studies. 2. Periglacial in karst areas where underground discharge of precipitations.

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 25 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How and to what extent have indigenuous people actively shaped and influenced permafrost dynamics in the Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Geomorphology, Land past by making use of Arctic and Subarctic permafrost landscapes? use & community planning

How and to what extent are indigenous people currently using and actively shaping Arctic and Subarctic Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Land permafrost landscapes in the context of the contemporary environmental changes and how has climate change use & community planning to date and is likely into the future change permafrost dynamics and indigenous land use.

Which environmental parameters are directly or indirectly related to the formation, appearance, and future Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Geomorphology change of permafrost degradation landforms and how they are mainly differentiated between the Arctic and Subarctic permafrost zones. Geological and geomorphological maps are needed for useful permafrost investigations in mountain areas Mountain Permafrost Geomorphology, Mapping understanding the, during the Quaternary, unique and massive loss of biodiversity related to the restructuring of Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Pa- terrestrial ecosystems in the Arctic at the transition to the Holocene leoenvironments

When did permafrost form for the first time in the Arctic and which consequences had its formation for northern Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Pa- ecosystems? leoenvironments Which impact had prehistoric humans on Northern ecosystems? Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Industrial development & impacts, Paleoenvironments I do not approve of controlling research priorities => it is misguided All Politics & Control Single investigator projects should form basis of excellent research programmes Our national Sci & Tech Cncl has this view I will interact with our Nat Sci Fdn to share mine I believe strongly that such representations should not be given credibility when reviewing investigator-led proposals I also consider the group’s formation to be flawed - having again ignored engineering leadership

How does thermokarst develop spatially and temporally and what are the driving factors? All Climate Change, Geocryology, Paleoenvironments What causes permafrost degradation and aggradation in the process of time? All Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Paleoenvironments Permafrost as an invaluable archive for paleo climate and vegetation information All Climate Change, Geochemistry, Paleoenvironments How can submarine permafrost help elucidating paleoclimate both with regards to terrestrial and oceanographic Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Paleoenvi- variability, in particular during the Holocene? ronments, Subsea permafrost

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 26 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How will permafrost melt affect the volume and rate of release of sequestered contaminants, particularly Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Geochemistry, Hydrol- mercury, to overlying ecosystems? Permafrost, Mountain ogy Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

How, and to what extent, is water from permafrost thaw used by plants? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Geochemistry, Permafrost Hydrology How will permafrost melt change the hydrology and morphology of tundra lakes in relation to habitat Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Hydrology requirements for Arctic-breeding birds? How is the thermal state and moisture state of Antarctica and circum-Antarctic permafrost changing? Antarctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Hydrology What is the ice content and distribution of permafrost on Mars (and/or permanently shadowed regions on the Planetary Permafrost Remote Sensing Moon and Mercury)? How will ground ice melt change our ability to interpret the geological record of climate change? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Ground ther- Permafrost, Mountain mal regime Permafrost What is the amount and spatial distribution of excess ground ice? This is a key unknown for many questions Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geophysics, about permafrost dynamics, hydrology, and ecology, but current global maps are very out-of-date. We need to Permafrost Modeling update these maps with more observations and better models.

How much carbon is frozen in permafrost and what is its vertical and spatial distribution? Answering this Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, involves more field observations and better statistical models to upscale them. However, we cannot drill cores Mapping everywhere, so we also need theoretical and prognostic models of carbon burial, models of cryoturbation, etc.

How do we improve the representation of permafrost dynamics in global models? Global climate models do a All Modeling terrible job of simulating permafrost dynamics. This is more than telling modeling teams to ‘add an organic layer.’ We must set up the model infrastructure, gather validation datasets, set benchmarks, and evaluate models. How the climate change and industrial can impact on lichen flora and plants which grow on permafrost soils? All Climate Change, Ecology, In- dustrial development & impacts How much carbon will thawing permafrost contribute to the atmosphere? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Permafrost, All

What will be the impact of thawing permafrost on terrain with excess ground ice? How extensive will this issue Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geomorphol- be on a global scale? Permafrost, Mountain ogy, Hydrology Permafrost

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 27 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What is the distribution (spatially and with depth) of excess ice? How old is it and how susceptible is it to climate Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geomorphol- warming? Permafrost, Mountain ogy, Hydrology Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost How the climate change and industrial can impact on lichen flora and plants which grow on permafrost soils? All Climate Change, Ecology, In- dustrial development & impacts Is the Arctic wetting or drying? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, Remote Sensing Will arctic and antarctic permafrost diazotrophs (nitrogen-fixing microorganisms) exhibit the same psychrophilic Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, adaptations in the nitrogenase protein apparatus, mainly in the genetic coding region ? Permafrost Microbiology/Astrobiology, Modeling How many permafrost microorganisms possess potential or active nitrogen fixation capabilities ? All Ecology, Geochemistry, Micro- biology / Astrobiology Do permafrost microorganisms share the same psychrophilic adaptations in the nitrogenase protein coding All Climate Change, Ecology, Mi- genome and its structure? How quickly will these adaptations modify as permafrost microorganisms are crobiology / Astrobiology exposed to higher temperatures ?

The fundamental problem for deep geological storage facilities are to account for long term climatic changes. All Hydrology, Nuclear waste stor- Permafrost is of key importance and understanding the physics and developmemt of deep regional groundwater age flow in permafrost area, especially in the vicinity of ice sheets, are crusial for understanding the risks imposed by a storage facility.

Recharge and discharge of shallow waters into the deep groundwater system is important for understanding the All Geochemistry, Hydrology, Nu- regional flow and local pattern within the regional flow of deep groundwater systems in permafrost areas. clear waste storage

How do permafrost affect the cryosphere? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ecology Permafrost Is seismoelectrics an appropriate tool to investigate the permafrost active zone? All Geophysics, Hydrology

Can it be used to find the base of a glacier? Understanding the role between permafrost geology (depositional and cryogenic) to it physical response when Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Engineering & acted upon by changing variables such as temperature (warming), stress, and thaw. Permafrost Infrastructure, Geomorphology

Continued efforts to understand undisturbed soils and their engineering behavior as permafrost soils approach Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Engineering & temperatures close to their thawing point (i.e. 0C to -5C). At some point it will be increasingly important to Permafrost Infrastructure, Industrial devel- understand how to respond to changing conditions, not just predict climate change. opment & impacts

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 28 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Where is there ground ice, which is susceptible to degradation or melting? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Geomorphol- Permafrost, Planetary ogy, Remote Sensing Permafrost How does ground ice located in permafrost degrade under the influence climate change? All Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Modeling How can we characterize the pore structure (ice and air) in permafrost using applied mathematics, and can we All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, describe pore structure - perhaps as a function of soil type and temperature and other factors - in a way that is Engineering & Infrastructure useful for those studying mechanical properties and melt?

Considering frozen soil with little water content has larger strength than it is at thawed state, failure by stress is Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, usually not a concern in practice. Still, is there a need to identify an optimal load range (or surcharge) below Ground thermal regime, Model- which frozen soil grains would not de-bonded so as to minimize freeze-thaw damage? ing

Discrepancies in physical and mechanical behaviour have been observed in numerous soil freeze-thaw Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, experiments. For thawed soil after subjected to several freeze-thaw cycles, could the Mohr-Columbus type Ground thermal regime, Model- constitutive relations be used to unify the various models used to describe its mechanical behaviour? ing

Freeze-thaw of soil is basically a thermodynamic process. Is it needed or necessary to use a full scale Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, thermodynamic method to describe the detailed freeze-thaw process under thermal and mechanical loadings? Ground thermal regime, Model- ing What are the bio (plant-, microbe-) available carbon and nutrient values for different types of currently thawing Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Microbi- permafrost soils? In order to start measuring these values, a clear definition of 'bioavailable', and measurement Permafrost, Mountain ology/Astrobiology options, should be determined by the community. Permafrost

Which soil variables should be/can be measured in order to correctly predict microbial responses to permafrost Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, thawing? Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Permafrost How will the hydrology in currently permafrost-affected areas change? How much % of current permafrost soils Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Hydrol- will become waterlogged; which types of organic rich permafrost (e.g. Yedoma, peatlands, cryoturbated) will Permafrost, Mountain ogy undergo which hydrological changes? Permafrost

What is the dynamic and the scale of contemporary permafrost melting in alpine areas Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Geophysics In case climate change proceeds, how do we estimate geohazards in cold regions such as slope failure and Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ground ther- ground erosion, which we have not experienced so far, based on our present knowledge and experience? Permafrost mal regime, Modeling

Mineral wethering in relation to biolimitants movility and bioavailability Mountain Permafrost Geochemistry, Pedology / soils

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 29 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How will climate warming change the global pattern of permafrost temperature and active layer thickness? Planetary Permafrost Climate Change, Data Man- agement, Ground thermal regime How will future permafrost degradation influence the global climate? Planetary Permafrost Climate Change, Data Man- agement, Pedology / soils How will future permafrost degradation influence the northern social and economical infrastructures? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Data Man- agement, Engineering & Infra- structure How will react ice-rich mountain permafrost to future climatic condition? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy Paleocryogenic environments in postglacial and periglacial areas of the Northern Hemisphere Planetary Permafrost Paleoenvironments

It will take decades or more likely centuries for all permafrost at a site to thaw, however we know that even Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, partial thawing can cause surface expressions. So, how much does permafrost need to thaw before there will Permafrost, Mountain Ground thermal regime be measurable impacts to surface ecosystems and surface energy balance (with significant climate Permafrost consequences).

The amount of carbon in permafrost may play an important role in modifying climate. What was the maximum Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, permafrost extent following the last five ice ages? Permafrost, Mountain Modeling Permafrost Is the rate of thermokarsting and landslides above permafrost increasing in this century and how is that Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Engineering & projected to continue in the future? Permafrost Infrastructure, Land use & community planning 1, How to measure soil ice water content directly? Planetary Permafrost Hydrology, Modeling, Pedology / soils 2, How to measured unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of partial frozen soil? Planetary Permafrost Hydrology, Modeling, Pedology / soils How can we upscale results from small study sites to the whole permafros Areas as accurately as possible? Arctic Permafrost Data Management

Does permafrost have a pronounced influence upon long-term landscape development? All Geomorphology, Ground thermal regime, Modeling Remains of which plants and animals, associated with large mammals of "the mammoth fauna", could be used Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Paleoenvironments in palaeoecological reconstructions and how? What is the relationship of climate change to Himalayan permafrost and periglacial processes and the socio- Mountain Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, ecological consequences for the upland pastures of Nepal: Ecology Is permafrsot retreat in the Himalayas increasing rates of sediment transfer and if so by how much? Mountain Permafrost Geomorphology, Hydrology, Mapping

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 30 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 In terms of permafrost retreat, how might be the terms of a Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework be Mountain Permafrost Ecology, Land use & community developed to deal with aspects of ecological change upon livelihgood?. planning, Policy

Natural resource development is proceeding into areas where we have limited information on permafrost. How Arctic Permafrost Geocryology, Land use & com- do we map and characterize permafrost and its attributes (temperature, ground ice content) over large areas munity planning, Modeling where limited in situ information is available?

What is the combined effect of multiple environmental forcings (climate, vegetation changes, hydrological Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, In- changes, human activity and associated surface disturbance) on permafrost conditions and what are the dustrial development & impacts consequent effects on ecosystems? (i.e. what are the key interrelationships between the biophysical components of the environment and permafrost conditions).

What are the key attributes that should be utilized to define reference sites to ensure that our permafrost Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Ground ther- monitoring networks are representative of the diversity of permafrost conditions and their response to a Permafrost mal regime, Modeling changing climate. Permafrost Performance Impact: What are the expected outcomes for permafrost performance (i.e. stabilization, Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Engineering & Infrastructure, degradation) from natural (including local and global) processes and anthropogenic activities in the natural and Permafrost Land use & community plan- built environment? What are the expected impacts in terms of environmental, economic and social aspects? ning, Remote Sensing What is the expected significance? What are the possible mitigation strategies?

How has the regional median depth to ground ice varied relative to annually averaged CO2 concentration in the Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, troposphere? Permafrost Hydrology How has the annual rate of CH4 release from permafrost regions changed since 1950? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Planetary Ecology Permafrost Which microbial species in permafrost locations successfully apply dissimilatory redox pathways with of Fe2+/3+ All Geochemistry, Microbiology / sulfates substrates? Astrobiology What is the structural and dynamical characteristics of the "atmosphere-permafrost-snow-biomas" sub-system in Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, the eco-climate system of the Earth, and which interaction(s) (or feedback) is/are essential to Permafrost, Mountain Modeling stabilize/unstabilize the sub-system under what typical temporal and spatial scales? Permafrost

Physiological, biochemical and genetic bases of the life strategy of microorganisms under stress conditions of Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, permafrost. Permafrost Microbiology/Astrobiology Which factors (e.g. slope angle, exposure, solifluction) influence the development of micropatterns (small-scale Planetary Permafrost Geomorphology, Modeling, Pa- ice-wedges, regular shallow depressions) in loess sediments under periglacial conditions? Such micropatterns leoenvironments are observed on archaeological sites where anthropogenic inclusions enhance their visibility, and detailed excavation documents not only sections but also top views of sediment units.

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 31 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Which factors determine diversity and productivity of mid-latitude ecosystems under the permafrost conditions of Planetary Permafrost Modeling, Paleoenvironments, MIS3 and MIS2 (so-called “mammoth steppe” environments contemporaneous to the appearance of Early Palaeontology Modern Humans), and how can these be modelled?

Can human adaptation/subsistence patterns in mid-latitude permafrost environments (MIS3-2) be assessed by Planetary Permafrost Geochemistry, Paleoenviron- isotope tracking of individual specimens (human and animal hard tissues and which geo-factors need to be ments, Palaeolithic archaeology considered when constructing palaeo-isoscapes?

For engineering design purposes, what is a practical and economical method of categorizing terrain with respect Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, to containing frozen vs non frozen ground within 10 m of ground surface using a minimum of ground proofing Ground thermal regime, Re- and within a 10 m horizontal accuracy. mote Sensing

Based on uncovered evidences What would be the cycle and frequency of Paleoenvironment (paleopermofrost)? All Engineering & Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime, Pale- oenvironments How sensitive are the climate projections to ground ice content, that can be quite high in some permafrost Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, regions and should delay permafrost thermal (and then biological) response ? Ground thermal regime

Justification, validation, and implication of paleoclimate proxies based on Rare earth element geochemistry, Arctic Permafrost Geochemistry, Paleoenviron- especially in the polar lithogenesis processes ments Stratigrafical interpretation of rare earth element signatures in fossil bones from Arctic Pleistocene sites for Arctic Permafrost Data Management testing stratigraphic provenance and the stratigraphic integrity of a site

What are mitigation measures of infrastructure on degrading permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure What percentage of the Arctic Permafrost Zone is affected by thermokarst and thermal erosional features? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Remote Sensing What is the spatial extend in each permafrost zone that gets wetter with permafrost thaw and what is the spatial Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, extend in each permafrost zone that gets drier with permafrost thaw due to better run off? Hydrology

Effect of climate warming on long term performance of shallow foundations supporting elevated structures in Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Engineering & Infrastructure, permafrost terrain. Does the foundation system impact the performance in light of climate warming? Permafrost Ground thermal regime, Land use & community planning How much the permafrost deglaciation migth impact in ecospace and ecological behavior? All Climate Change, Ecology, Pa- leoenvironments Which sort of sedimentary structures (at any scale) can reveal the existence of permafrost? All Paleoenvironments, Pedology / soils, Sedimentology Can microbial mats remain alive during permafrost establishment? All Ecology, Microbiology / Astrobi- ology, Paleoenvironments

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 32 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What is the carbon balance trajectories (net C sink or source in decades or centuries), especially in Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, wetlands/peatlands, following permafrost degradation in a warming climate? Pedology / soils

How would permafrost dynamics (including active layer thickening or permafrost disappearance) in the Antarctic Antarctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, affect the dynamics (expansion or contraction) of carbon-rich peat-forming ecosystems? Ecology

A re-investigation of current design approaches for foundation of buildings, bridges, pipelines, and other Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure infrastructures in arctic regions. What is the total pool size of subsea permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, Subsea permafrost How much organic carbon from thawing permafrost is being reburied in lake, river and ocean sediments (i.e. and Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, not destined to be converted into greenhouse gases)? Hydrology How much organic carbon from thawing permafrost is released into aquatic systems and here transferred into Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, greenhouse gases? Hydrology Permafrozen archaeological sites are extremely important due to their excellent preservation of e.g. organic Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Paleoenvi- materials, but what is happening to the sites these years in terms of degradation/thawing/erosion/changed Permafrost ronments, Archaeology vegetation? What can be done to mitigate changes to and degradation of permafrozen archaeological sites in a time of Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Land use & climate change? Permafrost community planning, archaeology Deep-seated relic weichselian permafrost on a rim of the Fennoscandian ice sheet - analysis of geophysical, All Climate Change, Geophysics, hydrogeological and geological data as a indicators of present occurrences of relict paleopermafrost on area of Ground thermal regime Central and North-Eastern Europe.

Detailed evaluation of deep-seated remnant permafrost in the Suwalki region (NE Poland) - present and past All Climate Change, Geophysics, (LGM) geometry ice body , its petrophysical and hydrological properties and origin of paleopemafrost with Ground thermal regime numerical modeling its development and degradation.

What are the main hydrological changes in permafrost regions in the frame of climate change? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost, Mountain Hydrology Permafrost Can the recent change in Arctic permafrost regions still be explained by past environmental changes? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, Paleoenvironments Thoroughly investigate total annual ghg fluxes, also including full winter and shoulder seasons. All Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, Microbiology/Astrobiology Full global permafrost inventory to analyze where we have gaps in our data. E.g. today most permafrost All Climate Change, Geochemistry, research is conducted at a handful of sites. The urge for larger scale inventories are big, not only modelling. Mapping

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 33 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What are appropriate model representations at a given scale and for a given problem, and what information Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Hydrology, (data) is required in order to produce quantifiable results? Permafrost, Mountain Modeling Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

What data are available, and how can the data be transformed to a different scale (if necessary)? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Data Management, Hydrology, Permafrost, Mountain Remote Sensing Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

What are the optimal ways to finally aggregate all the information and understanding into a coherent, Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Hydrology, Modeling quantitative, and uncertainty-controlled representation? Permafrost, Mountain Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost, All

How will climate-induced changes in snow physical properties (albedo, density, thermal conductivity) feed back All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, on the permafrost thermal regime and therefore on soil carbon mineralization? Ground thermal regime

How will warming-induced vegetation growth impact snow physical properties and how will these modified Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Ecology, Ground properties feed back on vegetation growth and on ground thermal regime ? Permafrost thermal regime

Carbon cycle in permafrost-affected soils. Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Pedology / soils At local and regional scales, permafrost stabilities (structural, thermal and/or ecological) is a key concept to All Ecology, Geocryology, Land bridge knowledge and land-use planning; should we build a user friendly and region oriented framework to use & community planning integrate/build knowledge about permafrost quality, most influential drivers and their thresholds?

What are the physiographic and ecological settings that are often linked to permafrost vulnerability or resiliency, All Climate Change, Geophysics, and how can these regions be identified over large areas and at depths beyond the reach of remote sensing? Ground thermal regime

How changes in climate (especially changes in air temperature and precipitation) are and will affect permafrost All Climate Change, Ground ther- (especially permafrost temperature, active layer thickness, and permafrost distribution)? mal regime, Modeling

How changes in permafrost are and will affect regional and global climate? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Permafrost How changes in permafrost are and will affect the infrastructure, ecosystems, and local communities? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Ecology, Engineering & Infra- Permafrost, Mountain structure, Land use & commu- Permafrost nity planning

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 34 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What are the guidelines for geotechnical engineering design of infrastructures and facilities in permafrost Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Engineering & regions? Permafrost, Mountain Infrastructure, Ground thermal Permafrost regime With continued warming during this century, what is the rate at which the discontinuous/continuous permafrost Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & boundary is migrating poleward and what are the potential consequences of this migration? Can we reasonably Infrastructure, Hydrology project the location of this boundary over the next century?

What is the current status of sub-sea permafrost around Antarctica and how will that change in the future? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Subsea per- contribution the global cycle? mafrost What is the current status of the active soil layer in the Antarctic? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime How will changes in snow fall affect permafrost and the active layer in the Antarctic Peninsula? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Remote Sensing What is the the maximum permafrost age in Arctic and Antarctic areas? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Permafrost Microbiology/Astrobiology, Pa- leoenvironments How permafrost can be preserved under the fresh lava flows? Mountain Permafrost, Geocryology, Ground thermal Planetary Permafrost regime, Mapping How permafrost is distributed ander the Antarctic ice shit? Antarctic Permafrost Geophysics, Mapping, Modeling How does climate change/permafrost degradation affect the hydrology (or water resources) of arctic and Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ground ther- mountainous permafrost regions? Permafrost mal regime, Hydrology How does climate change/permafrost degradation affect the terrestrial carbon cycle? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Ground thermal regime Permafrost What will the impact of melting permafrost be on groundwater resources and what will be the impact changing Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & groundwater flow dynamics? Infrastructure, Hydrology Recommended foundation design criteria for maintaining permafrost supported structures Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime Are there annual indicators that small communities can use to proactively prevent infrastructure collapse due to Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & surficial settlement caused by climate change? Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime How does melting permafrost impact communities ability to adapt in-situ? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Land use & community planning If melting permafrost forces communities to consider relocation, what are options for community-led relocation? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Land use & community planning

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 35 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Which remote sensing platforms are best suited for quantifying changes to ice-rich permafrost landscapes in the Arctic Permafrost Geomorphology, Mapping, Re- Arctic? mote Sensing What is the most cost-effective and reliable technique for small-scale mapping of permafrost focusing on ground Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, ice-content and temperature? Ground thermal regime, Map- ping What is the most cost-effective and reliable technique for small-scale mapping of permafrost focusing on ground Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, ice-content and temperature? Ground thermal regime, Map- ping What is the spatial extension of a river talik and what is its genesis and future evolution ? All Climate Change, Hydrology, Modeling What is the impact of climate change on underground water systems and the drinking water availability and Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Geochemistry, quality? Permafrost Modeling How can we build a community of modelers that would relate and integrate small scale process based All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, approaches and large scale "climatic" approaches? Modeling Influence of ice-free areas onto climate change and ice sheet volume change in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground ther- Antarctica mal regime, Paleoenvironments Mapping of amount and age pattern of ground ice in ice-free/deglaciated areas ("oases") of East Antarctica. Antarctic Permafrost, Mapping, Paleoenvironments, Mountain Permafrost Remote Sensing What is the importance of microbial community structure to elemental cycles including greenhouse gas All Carbon cycle, Ecology, Microbi- production in permafrost soils? ology/Astrobiology How does process-associated microbial communit structure and activity change with increasing temperature? All Climate Change, Microbiology / Astrobiology, Nitrogen Cycle How are carbon and nitrogen storage affected by hitherto unknown microbes? All Carbon cycle, Microbiology / As- trobiology, nitrogen cycle In comparison to other parts of the cryosphere- glaciers, sea ice, we know comparatively little about the past Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, response of permafrost to warmer climates of the past. This is both a difficult problem, but should be a priority to Permafrost, Mountain Paleoenvironments provide context for recent changes. Permafrost, Planetary Permafrost Field studies of permafrost have done a very good job of local scale processes and physics of frozen ground. All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, We are still significantly challenged in moving between scales to that required for ES-GCM coupled models. Ecology

What part of the carbon stock in permafrost is truly labile and by what pathway? All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geochemistry How have rates of permafrost thaw and organic carbon release varied in the past in response to past changes in Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, climate and soil/vegetation cover Paleoenvironments What will be the change in DOC concentrations in arctic river following permafrost thawing ? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Hydrology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 36 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 More important, what is the quality/source of DOC in arctic rivers ? How this quality/source will evolve in the next Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, future ? Hydrology This question is crucial in order to know the reactivity of this DOC. Non-invasive portable technology to measure active layer thickness and depth to permafrost, and permafrost Arctic Permafrost, All Climate Change, Ground ther- temperature over large areas at higher spatial resolution. Because we will never have enough people on the mal regime, Mapping ground measuring and monitoring permafrost thermal regime and its response to changing climate and surface conditions.

Non-invasive portable technology to measure water and ice content and their distribution in the active layer and All Climate Change, Ground ther- permafrost over large areas at higher spatial resolution. So that thermal and mechanical response of permafrost mal regime, Modeling to changing climate and surface conditions can be realistically modeled.

Non-invasive portable technology to measure carbon content in the permafrost soil over large areas at higher All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, spatial resolution. How much of that carbon could turn into greenhouse gases when permafrost temperature Microbiology / Astrobiology exceed 0 C threshold and at what rate?

What effect has permafrost on hydrological drainage and under which conditions does breakthrough to deeper Mountain Permafrost Ground thermal regime, Hy- aquifers occur? drology, Paleoenvironments How did the spatial distribution of Permafrost evolve during the Holocene, resp. Late Pleistocene? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Modeling, Pa- Permafrost leoenvironments Assessment of existing infrastructure foundation performance Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Data Man- agement, Engineering & Infra- structure To which extend the convective heat transfer induced by surface drainage and groundwater flow is involved in Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, permafrost degradation and how these processes impact the long term changes of permafrost conditions? Ground thermal regime, Model- ing To what degree technologies such as airborne geophysical surveys and remote sensing (e.g InSAR) can be Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, applied to characterization of permafrost conditions and processes at a level of detail and reliability suitable for Geophysics, Mapping infrastructure development and how these data best integrated with traditional permafrost observations?

How will ground thermal regimes and vulnerability of permafrost to thaw respond to climate-induced changes in Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, ecosystem structure? Ecology How will changes in plant and ecosystem hydrological function influence active layer dynamics via influences on Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Hy- soil moisture? drology How will regional changes in surface energy dynamics associated with changes in ecosystem and structure and Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground ther- snow season length impact ground thermal regimes via impacts on regional climate? mal regime, Remote Sensing

How will climate-induced changes in hydrology and vegetation affect subsurface carbon inputs and through Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Hydrology, Mi- which processes ? crobiology/Astrobiology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 37 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How to built an advanced global monitoring and processing system involving below- and above- ground data All Geochemistry, Geophysics, Hy- that can provide estimates of subsurface properties (e.g., soil organic content, hydraulic parameters, redox drology potential, soil moisture) at high enough temporal and spatial resolution to improve subsurface processes modelling in climate models ?

How to upscale core-based biogeochemical measurements and modelling at relevant scales for climate models All Geochemistry, Geophysics, using remote sensing and geophysical techniques ? Remote Sensing How will permafrost thaw alter groundwater flow? This will vary depending on ice content and soil All Carbon cycle, Geomorphology, type/coarseness, and has major implications for the movement of water, heat, and solutes (carbon, nutrients and Hydrology contaminants). What are the implications of permafrost thaw on river biogeochemistry and export to marine environments? All Carbon cycle, Ecology, Geo- chemistry What is the vulnerability of Arctic permafrost soil carbon under specific changes in environmental conditions - Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Ecology, Pedol- single or in combination, e.g. warming, summer drying/wetting, disturbance regime (e.g. removal of moss or litter ogy / soils layer). What are the pace and impacts of erosion of permafrost coasts? Arctic Permafrost Geomorphology, Land use & community planning, Subsea permafrost How much organic carbon and nutrients are released by eroding permafrost coasts? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geochemistry How many boreholes and active layer depth monitoring sites are required to capture current and future warming All Climate Change, Ground ther- and/or cooling trends? mal regime, Policy What is the fate of freeze-locked carbon and nitrogen in a future warming Arctic? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geochemistry How does deep permafrost response to climate change? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Data Man- Active layer is frequently monitored. However, shallow and deep systems are thermally inseparable. Continuous Permafrost, Mountain agement, Ground thermal temperature monitoring of deep permafrost is rarely reported. Generation of monitoring network through Arctic Permafrost regime applying deep boreholes and e.g. fiber optical techniques and satellite links should be considered.

Existence of subglacial permafrost in areas where ice margin has oscillated? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Engineering & Infrastructure, How permafrost interacts with a dynamic ice-sheet and how this affects hydrological pathways in a periglacial Permafrost Hydrology, Paleoenvironments foreground. Stability of ground at retreating ice margin may be linked to slow-melting permafrost. Geophysics and monitoring boreholes through ice into bedrock would be required.

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 38 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Hydrogeology of taliks? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology, Ground thermal Need for a better understanding of the role of taliks in a hydrogeological system. Information could be acquired Permafrost regime, Hydrology through instrumented boreholes which monitor e.g. hydrogeochemical properties, hydraulic pressure and temperature variation. Both spatial and temporal trends should be observed within each talik (recharge/discharge, annual changes etc.).

Distribution of network of permafrost observations (representatives) All Climate Change, Data Man- agement, Ground thermal regime How do increasing air temperatures influence the surface and subsurface hydrology in permafrost regions Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, Hydrology Impacts of climate changes in populated/urban areas on permafrost Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Industrial development & impacts How will global warming effect organic matter composition and dynamics in the deeper part of the thickening Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Climate Change, active layer? Permafrost Pedology / soils How will global warming effect carbon release from the active layer and permafrost and in which form (dissolved Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, organic carbon, particular organic carbon, CO2 or CH4) will it be released and in which quantities? Pedology / soils

Increased understanding of what permafrost consist off and how it forms, to be studied using a combination of Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, cryostratigraphy, sedimentology, GHG contents quantification and various types of chronology. Perform high Permafrost, Mountain Mapping resolution (preferably continuous) permafrost core studies from different landforms using new technology. Permafrost

Build on the IPY TSP legacy of boreholes to analyse consistently what controls the permafrost thermal state in Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Data Man- different permafrost regions and landforms, combined with cryostratigraphical knowledge (which was not Permafrost, Mountain agement, Ground thermal obtained during IPY), for improved understanding of future landscape changes at different scales. This should Permafrost regime include detailed analyses of long-term permafrost thermal records.

Study the climate archives of permafrost for improved palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Primarily study Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geomorphol- lowland aggrading permafrost landforms which have potential as very high resolution climate archives, but also Permafrost ogy, Paleoenvironments study some of the oldest permafrost in where these exist on Earth both in the Arctic and Antarctic.

How can we categorize the major permafrost terrain types in order to recognize the differences in sensitivity to Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geomorphology, Hydrology, climate change? Permafrost, Mountain Mapping Permafrost How do changing active layer dynamics (e.g., greater or more rapid thaw depth) alter subsurface water flow Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Hydrology, Pedology / soils paths and water quality in permafrost soils? Permafrost, Mountain Permafrost

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 39 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What combination of climatic and geomorphic controls affects the spatial pattern and occurrence of permafrost Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Engineering & Infrastructure, disturbance? Permafrost, Mountain Geomorphology, Mapping Permafrost How will the degradation of subsea permafrost affects the stability of arctic coasts/shelves, the geochemistry of Arctic Permafrost Geochemistry, Geophysics, the ocean and to what extent does it influence the climate. Subsea permafrost

What impact does the degradation of mountain permafrost along the arctic coasts have on the landscape Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Ge- development and sedimentation processes. omorphology How will Arctic coasts be affected by a changing climate? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy How can existing coastal erosion models be improved in order to better simulate coastline dynamics in Arctic Permafrost Mapping, Modeling permafrost regions? What is the magnitude, timing, and form of permafrost carbon release to the atmosphere in a warmer world? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Pedology / soils What is the spatial distribution and total pool size of organic carbon stored in soils of the permafrost zone, and Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, how has this changed through geologic time? Pedology / soils What controls the spatial distribution and amount of ground ice within permafrost, and how might this change Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground ther- with climate warming? mal regime, Pedology / soils How can researchers best biogeochemically characterize, or “fingerprint”, permafrost in order to serve as a All Climate Change, Geochemistry, reliable and conservative indicator of the local or regional source of substances released to the atmosphere, Modeling terrestrial and aquatic/marine systems following permafrost thaw?

Is there a standard set of metrics/parameters that could be developed to best characterize permafrost All Climate Change, Geochemistry, biogeochemically, with the aim of facilitating local, regional and even global source identification for substances Modeling released to the environment following thaw?

Patterned ground, frost weathering and mass movement in alpine and subalpine regions Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, Geomorphology How can we develop a global network of ground-based ice- and water content measurements in permafrost All Climate Change, Data Man- areas for model validation purposes? agement Wich are the dominant factors (organic top layer, snow cover, ice content, thermal conductivity of soil etc) that All Climate Change, Ground ther- control the critical maximum active layer thickness before irreversible permafrost degradation starts ? mal regime, Modeling

How can we assess whether climate warming really destabilise mountain permafrost slopes, when we have no Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & long-term data about permafrost induced rockfalls from the past ? Infrastructure, Geomorphology

How will climate change affect Antarctic permafrost in different regions? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, Ground thermal regime

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 40 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How will changes in snow fall affect permafrost and the active layer in the Western Antarctic Peninsula? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Modeling What will be the net carbon contribution of a warming permafrost environment with scarce organic matter Antarctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change content? How will changes in permafrost and active layer affect infrastructure in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime How will changes in permafrost and the active layer affect the Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology

How do deep permafrost temperature varies in various regions of Antarctica? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime What is the ice content of Antarctic permafrost in key sensitive areas? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, Hydrology What are the rates of geomorphic change in the different Antarctic regions and what are their implications? Antarctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy Rock glacier dynamics is a key factor in understanding the evolution and movement of permafrost-related Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geophysics, formations under changing climate conditions. What are the optimum optical and radar remote sensing Remote Sensing techniques that could be used in studying mountainous areas where ground information is scarce or completely missing? My research aim to quantify / characterize the role of permafrost degradation in triggering destabilization Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & affecting mountain slopes. Infrastructure, Geomorphology I also aim to model the current and future distribution of mountain permafrost. Mountain Permafrost Mapping, Modeling Finally I have to cross the first two questions in order to know the current and future sensitive sectors. Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Mapping, Modeling Land surface covers soils within periglacial areas are under the influence of freeze-thaw cycling effects on the Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Geomorphology, Pedology / different parent materials. This contributes to a complex distribution of surface features and soils that are closely Permafrost, Mountain soils, Remote Sensing related to their abiotic and biotic characteristics. Therefore, a monitoring the effects and changes of the Permafrost permafrost layer and soil surface cover within ice free areas is of great interest.

How sensitive is the permafrost to climate change and extreme weather events? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Engineering & In- Permafrost, Mountain frastructure, Modeling Permafrost How should permafrost monitoring programs develop? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Data Man- Permafrost, Mountain agement, Ground thermal Permafrost regime What are the quantitative mechanisms of, and relationships between, carbon release from thawing permafrost Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, and microbial community and activity? Permafrost, Mountain Microbiology/Astrobiology Permafrost

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 41 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Permafrost degradation and aggradation are taking place simultaneously. On a local and regional basis future Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, research and monitoring efforts should evaluate in detail: Whether and to what degree permafrost degradation Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology currently is outpacing its aggradation and where to locate this ratio in relation to the past and future scenarios? Permafrost

Boreal forest region with underlying permafrost is now facing very high instability mainly due to arctic climate Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, change. How both opposite extreme impacts, that is, extremely dry or wet climate and its perennial anomalies, Ground thermal regime will cause active layer deepening and forest mortality and subsequent topographical and environmental degradations?

For the permafrost modelling, there is a substantial gap and uncertainty between 10 m to 1km special scales. All Ground thermal regime, Hy- This unknown process is horizontal fluxes of heat, water and materials in relation to permafrost degradation. drology, Modeling What kind of horizontal processes should we take into account in this sub-grid scale?

In the last decades, numerous number of ground temperature dataset have been collected. However, for All Data Management, Ground application studies on ecological and climatological modelling, we should add the data of moisture profile, thermal regime, Modeling thermal and physical properties, and vegetation parameters. The PERFECT SET of database must be helpful for the future multi-disciplinary studies.

Occurrences of a deep-seated relict weichselian permafrost on a rim of the Fennoscandian ice sheet - an All Climate Change, Geophysics, analysis of geophysical, hydrogeological and geological data as a indicators of occurrences of nowadays and Ground thermal regime past relict paleopermafrost on area of Central and North-Eastern Europe.

Detailed evaluation of deep-seated remnant permafrost in the Suwalki region (NE Poland) - present and past All Geophysics, Ground thermal (LGM) geometry ice body , its petrophysical and hydrological properties and origin of paleopermafrost with regime, Modeling numerical modeling its development and degradation.

Impact of (past and future) climate change on permafrost change in mountain regions worldwide. This would Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geophysics, need better monitoring of permafrost change but also of improved permafrost models capturing all relevant Modeling driving variables. Currently, prediction of future permafrost scenarios are highly uncertain.

What is the current "baseline" methane and carbon dioxide exchange between permafrost-affected landscapes Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle and the atmosphere measured on regional to global scales?

What drives the regional-scale spatial variability of methane and carbon dioxide exchange between permafrost- Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle affected landscapes and the atmosphere? What drives the regional-scale seasonal and interannual variability of methane and carbon dioxide exchange Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle between permafrost-affected landscapes and the atmosphere?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 42 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How soil processes, microbial communities will change if permafrost thaws? We could consider two scenarios: Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, slow thawing or fast? How percentage and distribution of waterlogged tundra soil will change? Would it lead to Microbiology/Astrobiology changes in carbon cycle and flux of greenhouse gases?

Is there evolution of microbial species, genera and communities within permafrost? Will permafrost microbial Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Microbiology / Astrobi- communities change in dependence on sediment origin and period of time in frozen state? How it will influence ology microbial communities upon thawing?

How to solve the problems of freeze-thaw damage to the railway and road in permafrost region of Qinghai -Tibet Planetary Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, Plateau. Geocryology The impact of climate change on high latitude permafrost degradation in Northeast of China; Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, Remote Sensing Distribution, degradation process and geological conditions change of high latitude permafrost in Northeast of Mountain Permafrost Geocryology, Geomorphology, China; Ground thermal regime

Evolution process and desertification mechanism of permafrost degradation area in Northeast of China Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Ge- omorphology 1. How does climate change impact permafrost in mountain regions (especially on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau)? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Geocryology, What’s the difference of impacting mechanism of climate change on permafrost in Arctic, Antarctic, and mountain Permafrost, Mountain Geomorphology regions on temporal and spatial scales? Permafrost, All

2. What’s the mechanism of soil heat and water exchange within the active layer in Arctic, Antarctic, and Arctic Permafrost, All Climate Change, Geocryology, mountain regions (especially on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau)? Geomorphology 3. As for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, what is the role of permafrost dynamic in ecosystem? Do permafrost Mountain Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, dynamics act as carbon sink or carbon source at present? Ecology

In which way and how much will the 0ºC isotherm rise in the Andes in future decades and what will be the Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, consequences for the Andean system where mountain permafrost occurs? Land use & community planning

What will be the medium term consequence of global warming for Andean permafrost rich in ice and for the Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & regional hydrology in terms of human activities in Andean sites and settled Preandean areas? Infrastructure, Hydrology

What are the risks and how vulnerable are the areas with Andean permafrost concerning future changes of the Mountain Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, Andean cryospheric system. Which preventive and palliative measures can be taken? Hydrology, Land use & community planning

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 43 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What forms does bedrock periglacial deformation (brecciation, terminal curvature, frost jacking, rock falls) take in Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Climate Change, Engineering & non-porous igneous and metamorphosed rocks in lowland Permafrost, Planetary Infrastructure, Geocryology permafrost areas? What factors (climatic conditions, lithology, structural styles, jointing, etc) control the Permafrost development of these phenomenona?

What are the common factors (frost/ permafrost conditions, slope angle and orientation, etc) controlling the All Engineering & Infrastructure, development of terminal curvature in weathered granular rocks and non-weathered structurally deformed slates Geocryology, Geomorphology and schists, etc in current permafrost regions?

How do subpermafrost environmental conditions (biotic and abiotic) look like below continuous permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Geochemistry, Geocryology, Geophysics When was the inception of cryogenic weathering dynamics in the North? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, Geocryology Which factors determines permafrost in mountain areas?? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Geophysics Which factors determines the Arctic permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Subsea permafrost Which factors determines Antarctic permafrost? Antarctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Geocryology, Geomorphology How permafrost area are changing due to the global warming and/or human economic activities? All Climate Change, Ecology, In- dustrial development & impacts How to develop environmental friendly-drilling technology in permafrost areas and recovery undisturbed core All Ecology, Engineering & Infra- samples? structure What are distribution, thickness, and properties of Antarctic subglacial permafrost and its interconnection with Antarctic Permafrost Geocryology, Geomorphology overlying ice sheet? In what degree or rates are permafrost areas is changing in correlation to climate and anthropogenic activities? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Permafrost, Mountain Ecology Permafrost How many ecological subsystems are recognized and what are their roles in carbon cycle? Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Geo- Permafrost, Mountain morphology Permafrost How to have and keep working teams of permafrost research， and how to have and keep long term Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Industrial development & im- observation/investigation activities. Permafrost, Mountain pacts, Land use & community Permafrost planning, Policy On the basis of my expertise on Last Glacial continental palaeoenvironments of NW Europe (loess-palaeosols), I Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, would like to submit this question: What are the relations between the dynamics of large ice-wedge networks Paleoenvironments (expansion / collapse) and D-O cycles / Heinrich events between +/- 60 and 15 ka?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 44 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 What is the effect of sea-ice in the Arctic Ocean on the occurence of permafrost on land (Siberia)? Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Land use & community planning How to distinguish altitudinal from latitudinal permafrost? or What is the impact of altitude on permafrost Mountain Permafrost Ecology, Geomorphology occurrence? How much of the present permafrost is relict permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Geomorphology, Mapping, Pa- leoenvironments Occurrences of a deep-seated relict weichselian permafrost on a rim of the Fennoscandian ice sheet - an Planetary Permafrost Climate Change, Geophysics, analysis of geophysical, hydrogeological and geological data as a indicators of occurrences of nowadays and Ground thermal regime past relict paleopermafrost on area of Central and North-Eastern Europe.

How can permafrost engineering adapt to climate warming in the aspects of policies and geotechnology? All Climate Change, Engineering & Infrastructure, Policy How do carbon and nitrogen cycles in permafrost soils feedback to climate change, and what are the major All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, drives behind these cycles in permafrost regions? Data Management What factors determine the rate at which ground ice on the top of permafrost is converted into water, and how All Climate Change, Hydrology, much can this meltwater contribute to surface waters? Modeling Explore seasonal frost action processes, with a view to making prediction of deformations more accessible to All Engineering & Infrastructure, practitioners. Hydrology, Modeling Improve the understanding and properties of transitions between permafrost and nonpermafrost in areas of All Engineering & Infrastructure, extensive, discontinuous permafrost. Ground thermal regime, Map- ping What is the rate of present ecosystem transformation (if measurable ) due to degrading permafrost in the Arctic Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, regions of Norhtern Siberia? Mapping Definition of internationally uniform approaches to cultural record rescue and-or preservation from degrading Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Paleoenvi- permafrost ground expecially of Pleistocene age (early human occupation sites, unique palaeontological sites) ronments, geoarchaeology

What is the impact of present climate change in the north Siberian regions to traditional lifestyles of local Arctic Permafrost Industrial development & im- communities and socio-economic adjustment ways to settlements in permafrost-active sub-Arctic and Arctic pacts, Land use & community lands? planning, Modeling

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 45 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Global warming effect to permafrost landscapes Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, (Ice-rich Permafrost landscape changes on last decades and how will continue on future is big problem in Arctic. Land use & community planning Activation of cryogenic processes calls negative impact for people life. Assessment of recent changes of permafrost landscapes relatively Holocene evolution needs.)

Permafrost changings impact on the economic and cultural system in Artic Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Land (Social problems of Global warming and Permafrost changes are important for Arctic people. Changes of use & community planning economic and cultural system need to study.)

Permafrost changes mapping and modeling All Ground thermal regime, Map- (There are many old maps in permafrost areas. Re-mapping and modeling will show a tendency of Permafrost ping, Modeling changes.)

Occur or not in the real subsurface physical and physical - chemical processes in permafrost and seasonally Planetary Permafrost Ecology, Geochemistry, Indus- frozen rocks with dispersed organic matter, without organic matter or consisting only of organic matter (peat, trial development & impacts mineral coals, hydrocarbons)? If there are, what kind of new substances (liquid, solid or gaseous) are accumulated in the permafrost? What are not accumulate?

What is effect of the bacterial oxidation of hydrocarbons (including methane) in the seasonally - thawed layer Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Ecology, Geo- and in natural waters Cryolithozone including in the Arctic and Antarctic? What are the parameters of the Permafrost chemistry environment control the activity of hydrocarbon oxidizing bacteria and the possibility of man-made increase their effectiveness?

Will the global warming and man-made impacts to the increase in the total water flow in permafrost on different Planetary Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, Hy- slopes of the Main watershed of the Earth? drology What engineering - geological processes will occur by increasing or decreasing the total water flow into the oceans?

My research aim to quantify / characterize the role of permafrost degradation in triggering destabilization Mountain Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, affecting mountain slopes. Geocryology, Ground thermal regime I also aim to model the current and future distribution of mountain permafrost. Mountain Permafrost Mapping, Modeling Finally I have to cross the first two questions in order to know the current and future sensitive sectors. Mountain Permafrost Geomorphology, Mapping, Pol- icy What factors determine the spatial and temporal distribution, classification, regionalization and forecasting of All Geocryology, Geomorphology, permafrost and/or ground ice in the past, at present and in the future; how is permafrost evolving and what Ground thermal regime artificial interventions are needed?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 46 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How to detect and forecast the heat-moisture-stress distribution in permafrost/ground ice layers more efficiently All Data Management, Engineering and non-destructively? And how to realize wireless real-time managing and sharing of permafrost data, and to & Infrastructure, Geophysics seamlessly integrate with the international database.?

Under global warming, what new design philosophies and principles of construction engineering in warm All Engineering & Infrastructure, permafrost regions are needed to consider the uncertainties in coupled heat-mechanical stabilities analysis and Geophysics, Policy to conform with the demands of engineering, environmental, hydrological and ecological conditions?

A robust geophysical model should be developed by integrated climate and human activities at historical period Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geophysics, to accurately simulate past and predict the future permafrost distribution. The key is how characterize the Mapping thermal inertia of permafrost. To monitor mountain permafrost change and its effects on watershed water cycle. Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Hydrology, Modeling To monitor arctic include Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost change and its effects on global carbon cycle. Arctic Permafrost Carbon cycle, Modeling, Re- mote Sensing How does’ permafrost change affect mountain ecosystem? Mountain Permafrost Carbon cycle, Ecology, Hydrol- ogy What’s methods to construct paleoclimate changes using permofrost indices? All Climate Change, Geochemistry, Paleoenvironments How to assess geochemical changes when permofrost thawing? All Carbon cycle, Climate Change, Geochemistry What pumps the moisture migration during soil freezing and how does the moisture move in a micro view? All Geocryology

How does the thaw lake respond to the climate change and what are the environment effects? Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Geocryology, Hydrol- ogy Can we find a new way to ensure the infrastructure stability except cooling permafrost and insulate permafrost? Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure

Permafrost on Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a huge C pools. Organic carbon stored in permafrost is vulnerability to Mountain Permafrost Carbon cycle, Climate Change, change under an increasingly warmer climate. How do greenhouse gas response to permafrost degradation in Ecology the context of climate change?

Changes in freezing and thawing process resulted from permafrost degradation influence vegetation growth All Climate Change, Ecology, environment directly through altering soil moisture and indirectly through changing nutrient availability. How to Ground thermal regime quantitative analyze changes in water–heat process during permafrost degradation and its effects on plant growth?

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 47 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 Global warming has exerted effects on soil freeze-thaw process. Changes in soil freeze-thaw process and its Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Ecology, effects on ecosystem are the hot-spot problems in the study of global changes. What are the effects of freeze- Pedology / soils thaw cycles on nitrogen cycle in alpine ecosystem on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau?

This will require sustained and long-term monitoring of thermal regime of rocks which will create technologies to Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, protect permafrost from warming and destruction through climate change and antropogenic influence Geophysics

A large gap of weakness is the lack of information about the relationship of surface water and minerality salt Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, groundwater in the permafrost zone of Eurasia. Characteristics of the communications is important for the Ground thermal regime forecast of water quality of rivers and lakes under influence of climate change in the Arctic.

It is necessary to develop precise quantitative critical loads of human activities on permafrost rocks, to determine Arctic Permafrost Geochemistry, Geophysics, Hy- restrictions on the temperature, humidity and chemical impact with the goal of preserving the stability of drology permafrost. What lows, factors, cryolythology facies and mechanisms of ground ice crystallization and space-time All Engineering & Infrastructure, distribution? Geocryology, Geomorphology What laws of cryolythology formations (as ice complex for example) origin and distribution? All Geocryology, Geomorphology, Ground thermal regime What laws of nature-engineering complex stability form and methods its estimation and providing? All Ecology, Engineering & Infra- structure, Geocryology I think that the successful solving of the such problems as "Creation and examination of the effective Arctic Permafrost Ecology, Engineering & Infra- constructions of the cooling systems for temperature stabilization of the frozen ground building's bases" is the structure, Geocryology important part of the rational development of the Arctic Regions. The solving of this problem is need because it provides both technical and ecological safety in this development.

What factors determine the rates of the soil organic carbon emission, amount of carbon fixed by vegetation in Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Climate Change, permafrost regions? Permafrost Ecology What will change in soil microbiology both in active layers and permafrost along with the permafrost degradation? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Microbiology / Permafrost Astrobiology, Pedology / soils What will change in water transportation of nutrients, soil erosion, and vegetation succession along with Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Carbon cycle, Hydrology, Land permafrost degradation? Permafrost use & community planning Are there any magnetotactic bacteria, especially of multicellular forms, in permafrost? All Ecology, Microbiology/Astrobiology, Pa- leoenvironments If there are magnetotactic bacteria in perfaforst, what are their phylogenetic relations with already known All Ecology, Microbiology / Astrobi- species? ology, Paleoenvironments

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 48 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 If there are magnetotactic bacteria in perfaforst, how they survive in the permafrost? All Ecology, Microbiology / Astrobi- ology, Paleoenvironments Permafrost degeneration how to effect on gas hydrate reservoir in the mountain regions? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Ground thermal regime, energy How to establish a long-term system of permafrost observation and evaluation? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geocryology, Ground thermal regime What is geochemical dynamics in the permafrost-hydrate system? Mountain Permafrost Geochemistry, Modeling, energy frost force characteristics of frozen ground in permafrost regions Mountain Permafrost, Engineering & Infrastructure, Planetary Permafrost Ground thermal regime, Model- ing water pressure characteristics in frozen soil Mountain Permafrost, Engineering & Infrastructure, Planetary Permafrost Ground thermal regime, Model- ing Whether there is a relationship between hydrates formation and the glacier movement. Mountain Permafrost Carbon cycle, Geophysics

Modeling of the thermodynamics of glacier movements with the surrounding ambient temperature vibration Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geophysics, Modeling What factors determine the rates at which permafrost soil can respond to debris flow or landslide? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geomorphol- ogy, Land use & community planning What caused the formation of the newly found ground holes in the Yamal peninsula? Could they just be the Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & result of dissociation of the relict gas hydrates due to the permafrost degradation? Infrastructure, Ground thermal regime How methane concentration near the surface related to the changes within the upper part of the section? Can Arctic Permafrost, Planetary Carbon cycle, Geochemistry, we predict the phenomena described in #1 by studying methane concentration in the areas of permafrost Permafrost Geomorphology distribution? Temperature as the crucial parameter that controls the permafrost distribution. Paleoclimatic reconstruction. All Climate Change, Ground ther- Organization of a wide temperature monitoring net is needed in order to acquire comprehensive model of past mal regime, Modeling and future temperature change

How does vegetation control annual heat flow in high latitudes? All Ground thermal regime, Model- ing, Ecology How does hydrology interact with climate and permafrost to trigger threshold ecological change? All Hydrology, Climate Change, Ecology How can ground ice be quantified with non-invasive methods? All Geocryology, Engineering & infrastructure, Ecology

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 49 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 1. The spatial and temporal change of the permafrost and the corresponding changing factors, such as All Geomorphology, Remote Sens- coverage, climate, land use and so on. ing The change forecast of the permafrost and the effect of this change. All Geomorphology, Remote Sens- ing Under the climatic warming conditions, the degradation of permafrost gradually intensified which made the Mountain Permafrost Geochemistry, Hydrology permafrost thaw. Then how the thawing permafrost influences the hydrological processes in permafrost regions on the Tibetan Plateau? How much the contributions of thawing permafrost to water cycle in permafrost, even on the global scale?

And as the unique feature, what is the impact of ground ice on the hydrological process and runoff generation on Mountain Permafrost Geochemistry, Hydrology the Tibetan Plateau? Is it significant? How they interact with each other?

After taking attempt on the ground ice isotopes study, some questions bloomed out: what is the reason of Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Geochemistry, variations in the stable isotopes of ground ice along the depth? Why the ground ice occurred as deep as 90m? Paleoenvironments What is it mean? Can the ground ice be used as the proxies of paleo-climate change and paleo-permafrost development on the Tibetan Plateau?

How the thermokarst lakes influence the permafrost and the hydrological process on the Tibetan Plateau? Mountain Permafrost Hydrology, Geocryology, Geo- morphology What is the hydrological and developmental relationship between the thermokarst lakes and the permafrost? Do Mountain Permafrost Hydrology, Geocryology, Geo- they interdependent with each other? morphology Development of a new permafrost map due to strong changes in the last decade. Also, now a Arctic Permafrost, Planetary Mapping global/hemispheral mapping scheme with higher resolution is possible. Permafrost Ongoing permafrost monitoring of tundra lowlands - Regions with the highest organic carbon contents and with All Mapping, Modeling, Remote infrastructure and settlements in should be of highest interest. Modeling with mesoscale transient permafrost Sensing models forced by satellite data is most practical for this

Are mountain patchy permeforst very sensitive for climate change or quite opposite? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change Can there be an accurate delineation of regional subsea permafrost with an improved assessment of processes Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, that affect its rate of change; past, present and in future? The distribution and dynamics of subsea permafrost Mapping, Subsea permafrost are still poorly known. Increased knowledge is required for near-shore geotechnical activities and the estimate of hydrate degradation.

Can we (fully) explain glacial-intergalcial CO2 and CH4 cycles by considering the permafrost-carbon Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, contribution? Permafrost Modeling How large can maximum CH4 emissions grow as a consequence of thawing permafrost under a scenario of Arctic Permafrost, Antarctic Carbon cycle, Climate Change, strong global warming (RCP8.5)? (Focus on abrupt methane release, so far (in modelling) largely unexplored Permafrost Modeling pathways of CH4 release should be considered (subcap CH4, submarine CH4, ...)

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 50 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities 06.10.2014 How to measure the rate of temperature change at the bottom of permafrost? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology, Geophysics Permafrost Is the permafrost temperature effect on attenuation of electromagnetic waves universal? Arctic Permafrost Geocryology, Geophysics

Is there causal relationship between changes of climate, permafrost and nature ice inside of permanently Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Ground ther- glaciation caves? mal regime, Modeling Latitudinal and altitudinal regularities of seasonal thawing along the North-South transects: 1. Cape Chelyuskin - Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Geocryology Eastern Siberia - Mongolia; 2. Novokuznetsk - Urumqi - Lhasa - Thimphu. Permafrost

Origin, mechanism involved and dynamic of permafrost temperature effect on attenuation of electromagnetic Arctic Permafrost Geocryology, Geophysics, waves in the layer of annual heat exchange Ground thermal regime Principles and physical basis of the studies of thermal state of permafrost in the basements of buildings and Arctic Permafrost Engineering & Infrastructure, infrastructure using non-classic electrical methods of ground radar location and induction Ground thermal regime, Indus- trial development & imapcts The adaptation strategies to permafrost change in the High Elevation Regions Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Industrial development & impacts, Policy The impact assessment of snow disaster on Plateau economy and policy response in permafrost regions Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Policy

The impact of permafrost change on animal husbandry on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Mountain Permafrost Climate Change, Industrial development & impacts What are the rates and controls of changes in the transition between perennially frozen and thawing substrates. Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Ground ther- There is need to develop predictions and field verification of three-dimensional responses of warm permafrost to Permafrost mal regime, Mapping climate change and to geomorphic/ecologic processes. These are poorly understood, but essential to forecasting consequences of climate changes.

What is the role of air circul;ation within the talus slopes in permafrost presence? Mountain Permafrost Climate Change Where are the most vulnerable arctic coastlines to storms and erosion, and are there predictive models and Arctic Permafrost Climate Change, Engineering & circumarcitc field verification networks in place to measure the rates of coastal degradation and related sediment Infrastructure, Land use & and carbon fluxes to the oceans. community planning Which factors control the permafrost thickness in various geographical, morphological, and tectonic structures? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost Ground thermal regime Why permafrost thickness could differ by hundreds of meters in neighbouring locations of continuous permafrost? Arctic Permafrost, Mountain Climate Change, Geocryology, Permafrost Other: Paleotectonics

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International Permafrost Association / Climate and Cryosphere Project Page 51 of 51 http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/activities/targeted/permafrost-research-priorities