News

The IPA President, Antoni Lewkowicz, was in the field with his graduate students this past summer at both ends of Canada: in Labrador, on the Atlantic coast, and in the Yukon, close to Canada’s western boundary with Alaska. At Cartwright (54°N) in Labrador, the isolated patches of permafrost are useful to the local inhabitants. They park sleds to be towed behind snowmobiles on top of palsas so that they are easily accessible and not covered in deep snow in the winter. In Nain (57°N), ERT surveys sh…

Today (25.8.) and tomorrow (26.8.) there are permafrost sessions on "Antarctic Permafrost, Periglacial, Snow, Firn and Ice-free Environment" at the 2014 SCAR Open Science Conference taking place in Auckland, New Zealand. The convenors are Mauro Guglielmin and Martin Schneebeli. For more details see: http://www.scar2014.com/   

A mystery crater spotted in the frozen Yamal peninsula in Siberia earlier this month was probably caused by methane released as permafrost thawed, researchers in Russia say. To read the Nature News Article click here: http://www.nature.com/news/mysterious-siberian-crater-attributed-to-methane-1.15649

The University of Potsdam, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Earth and Environment and the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz-Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) are seeking qualified candidates for a joint W 3-Professorship for Permafrost in the Earth System The position opens in May 2015. The candidate will succeed Prof. Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Hubberten, current Head of AWI Research Unit Potsdam and former IPA President (2008-2012). The University of Potsdam and the AWI are searching for candidates…

The Journal Permafrost and Periglacial Processes is now providing a new link to the IPA Reports free to access under "Special Features": http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1530/homepage/ipa_reports.htm. An overview of the IPA Reports on the IPA website is avalaible here.

The Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN) hosted its 2014 Outstanding Presentation Award series at the Fourth European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP4) in Évora, Portugal, sponsored by the IPA. 32 oral and 15 poster presentations took part in the competition and were judged by two senior researchers each. Marc Oliva announcing the 2014 PYRN-IPA award winners during EUCOP4 closing ceremony

We are saddened to announce that our colleague and friend Professor Emeritus Albert Pissart passed away at the age of 84 after a long illness on June 11th 2014. Albert spent most of his career at the University of Liège in Belgium where he graduated in Geography in 1952 and obtained his doctorate in Sciences in 1960 under the supervision of Professor Paul Macar. In the period between his degrees, he spent some time teaching in a secondary school. After his PhD, he was appointed to the equivalent of an…

The International Permafrost Association is pleased to announce that the 2014 recipient of the ‘IPA Lifetime Achievement Award’ is Academician Cheng Guodong, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The award was delivered to Cheng this month during a ceremony held at the Fourth European Conference on Permafrost in Ėvora, Portugal. Cheng Guodong receiving the IPA Lifetime Achievement Award 2014 from IPA President Antoni Lewkowicz during EUCOP4 opening ceremony

  The Fourth European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP4) was held in Évora, Portugal. Over 400 participants from 28 different countries attended the meeting to present their newest studies in permafrost research, exchange experiences and their knowledge, discussed future collaborations and projects and enjoyed the fabulous weather and extraordinary hospitality of the local people! Picture 1: Group foto of EUCOP4 participants All abstracts from the conference are collected to an electronic Book of Abst…

EUCOP 4, will be held in Évora, Portugal 18-21 June, 2014. IPA members are actively participating in the conference chairing various sessions and presenting the latest research. Please find the final program in pdf for download here. One day before the official conference opening the IPA will have its 24th IPA Council Meeting, taking place on Wednesday, June 18 from 10 am to 3.30 pm. The Council Meeting is open for all IPA members to attend as an Observer. Please click here to see the agenda. The Glob…