The InICE Action Group has continued its research on ground ice mapping and actively engaged in academic exchanges to share recent findings and discuss future research directions.
From 26 June to 2 July 2026, members of the group attended the Asian Conference on Permafrost (ACOP) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where they presented their research through oral presentations and posters. The conference offered valuable opportunities to share advances in ground ice research, discuss methodological approaches, and explore priorities for future work. These exchanges also helped strengthen connections with colleagues across the permafrost community and laid the groundwork for further collaboration.
A major achievement was the publication of a near-surface ground ice dataset in Science Bulletin in February 2026. The dataset provides a foundation for characterizing the spatial distribution of near-surface ground ice and supports research into permafrost environments and their changes. It also serves as a starting point for extending the group’s mapping efforts to ground ice at greater depths.
In the next phase, the Action Group will develop ground ice mapping methods that integrate expert knowledge, process-based understanding, and multi-source observations to produce a high-resolution dataset of deep ground ice across Northern Hemisphere permafrost regions. This work aims to advance understanding of the spatial distribution, volume, and environmental controls of ground ice, providing essential data to support assessments of climate change impacts on permafrost environments.
Through these efforts, the InICE Action Group aims to address gaps in ground ice data and will continue to share research progress, methods, and findings with the wider permafrost research community.
