Support for the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP), Fairbanks, Alaska

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

Permafrost extent is more pervasive than often realized; an area of approximately 25 million square kilometers in the northern hemisphere is characterized by permafrost, and permafrost can be found as far south as 30°N at high altitudes. Permafrost affects both human-built and natural systems, such as roads, railroads, pipelines, water quality and ecosystem function and restoration. Climate change and expanded resource development in the high latitudes (both hemispheres) has been the catalyst for recent renewed interest in permafrost science and engineering. The main conference theme is ?Permafrost on a Warming Planet: Impacts on Ecosystems, Infrastructure and Climate?. This conference also covers a wide breadth of themes, from social science to environmental to engineering; all aspects of permafrost will be addressed, including planetary permafrost. One of the scientific synthesis goals is to bring a wide variety of disciplines together to address questions of permafrost landscape evolution under past, present and future climates. The conference will bring together the worldwide community of permafrost researchers to share their results and ideas in ways that could lead to new advances in our understanding of permafrost and its role in polar regions, influencing geology, biology, hydrology and related systems. The Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP) will take place on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus during the week of June 29-July 3 (Sunday through Thursday), 2008. NICOP marks the 25th anniversary of the Fourth International Conference on Permafrost (FICOP) and the formation of the International Permafrost Association (IPA); both took place at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks in the summer of 1983.Conference sessions will address permafrost problems facing northern communities. NICOP will be the first opportunity for many of the 200 members of the Permafrost Young Researchers Network to meet and develop their own plans for this new generation of permafrost researchers. Conference results will support many of the findings and recommendations of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission report on permafrost, the ACIA and ICARP II reports, and the National Academy of Sciences report ?Toward an Integrated Arctic Observing System?. The five-day technical program will consist of plenary presentations, simultaneous topical and special sessions, poster sessions, and field trips to view permafrost conditions and related construction activities. Several permafrost courses and workshops are planned in conjunction with this Conference and will be available to teachers, students and the public. Funds through this proposal will assist in developing high-quality proceedings for posterity and providing travel assistance for invited speakers, students, and young investigators. The OPP/ARC Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program, OPP/ANT Antarctic Earth Sciences Program and GEO/EAR Geomorphology and Land-Use Dynamics program sponsored this grant.