New Submarine Permafrost Paper

A new study by Overduin et al. (IPA Action Group chair "Subsea Permafrost Mapping Data Initiative (2012-2014)") shows that methane concentrations in submarine permafrost cored in the central Laptev Sea shelf are low. The permafrost below the seabed is thawing, which releases the methane.ÂÂÂ At this location, results show that the methane is oxidized in the unfrozen sediment above the permafrost before it reaches the water column. Early view in JGR-Biogeosciences is available here: http://agupubs.onl…

Obituary – Harley Jesse Walker

Harley Jesse (Jess) Walker, born on the Fourth of July, 1921 (two days after President Harding signed the resolution that officially ended WW I and a day before a patent was issued on a new type of milking machine), outlived his two parents and one sister but is blessed to leave one sister, a wife (Rita), three daughters, nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren all healthy, productive and enjoyable to be around. A member of the 'Greatest Generation' and a USMC pilot of World War II, Jess had as…

Interview with Antoni Lewkowicz

Dear Permafrost enthusiasts, check out a new interview with IPA President Antoni Lewkowicz. He gave a MOOC (massive open on-line course) interview for Denial101x. Denial101x isn’t just a climate MOOC; it’s a MOOC about how people think about climate change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmTfqLOmNXc

Spanish Committee is organising a permafrost course

The Spanish Committee is organising a permafrost course at the University of Valladolid (Valladolid, Spain), in Spanish language, to interested people. The course will take place in May 2015, 18th to 20th. For more information click on the following pdf.

New Review Article in Nature “Climate Change and the Permafrost Carbon Feedback”

Permafrost in the Arctic and in subarctic regions will most likely continually release substantial quantities of greenhouse gases over the coming decades: that’s the verdict of an international research team, which recently compiled and analysed the latest permafrost studies. As such, they have determined that the recurring thesis that there will be a sudden and widespread release of billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and methane is highly unlikely. The study was released last week (09.04.2015) in …

2nd announcement: International conference “Permafrost in XXI century: basic and applied researches”

Second Announcement International conference"Permafrost in XXI century: basic and applied researches” September 27 to October 01, 2013, in Pushchino, Russia The Institute of Physicoсhemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Scientific Council on Earth Cryology and Institute of Earth Cryosphere of Russian Academy of Sciences would like to invite you to take part in the International conference "Permafrost in XXI century: basic and applied researches”. The conference will be held from Septemb…

Frozen Ground 38 is now available

Dear Friends of the IPA and fellow permafrost enthusiasts, Our yearly newsletter Frozen Ground number 38 for the year 2014 is now available at: http://ipa.arcticportal.org/publications/frozen-ground Content: Message from the President EUCOP4 Wrap-Up IPA Action Group Reports Obituary J. Ross Mackay GTN-P E&O Report PYRN Report Events & Contacts and much more We would like to thank all of you, who contributed to this issue! ​

PAST Gateways Conference 2015

Dear Friends of the IPA and fellow permafrost enthusiasts, The third PAST Gateways International Conference and Workshop 2015, co-sponsored by the IPA will be held in Potsdam, Germany, on May 18-22, 2015. http:/www.awi.de/pastgateways2015 PAST Gateways (Past Spatial and Temporal Gateways) is an IASC-endorsed network, with the scientific goal to understand and reconstruct Arctic environmental changes, during the period preceding instrumental records and across decadal to millennial timescales. The focus…

The Country Reports of 2014 are online

Dear Friends of the IPA and fellow permafrost enthusiasts, The Country Reports of 2014 can be found at http://ipa.arcticportal.org/publications/country-reports.html. We would like to thank all of you, who contributed to this issue!

Obituary – J. Ross Mackay

Professor Emeritus J. Ross Mackay (University of British Columbia, Canada) passed away peacefully on October 28, 2014, just short of the start of his 100th year. He was a seminal figure in geocryology and his publications will undoubtedly remain critical to permafrost science for many decades to come. He was among the most prominent and one of the last living representatives of the early international researchers in the field, such as Roger Brown, Arturo Corte, Alfred Jahn, Pavel Melnikov, Siemon Mulle…