TOPICS

The 2018 field workshop will be held in the vicinity of the village of Amga in central Yakutia. This agricultural area is presently experiencing accelerated development of thermokarst, thermal erosion, ground settlement and other cryogenic processes. These processes cause the expansion of water-covered areas and the reduction of arable land. They also present challenges to the operation of roads and utility lines. Together with senior scientists from MPI, participants will conduct field observations to assess the extent of permafrost degradation in different landscape settings. They will take part in the establishment and instrumentation of observation sites to monitor ground temperatures, permafrost processes, groundwater, and geochemistry. Geophysical, land surveying, hydrogeological, hydrological and geotechnical investigation methods will be employed.

The field workshop will focus on the following main topics:
- Permafrost processes and landforms (thermokarst, frost heaving, mass wasting, icings, thermal suffosion, etc.)
- Surface and subsurface thermal regimes in different landscapes
- Permafrost-related engineering problems and mitigation techniques
- Mitigation and restoration measures for degraded agricultural lands
- Land suitability mapping and assessment for agriculture



FIELD WORKSHOP FEE

The Field Workshop fee is 5000 Rubles to be paid during registration. The fee includes transportation costs (bus rental and ferry), meals and some group camping equipment.



TRIP SCHEDULE

9 June 2018, Saturday

9:00     Meet at Melnikov Permafrost Institute for departure
10:00   Departure from Yakutsk riverside station to Nizhny Bestyakh by boat
11:00   Nizhny Bestyakh to Ulakhan-Taryn groundwater springs site by rented bus
12:30   Arrival at Ulakhan-Taryn site. Lunch. Tour and lecture (Guide/Lecturer: Leonid Gagarin)
17:30   Departure from Ulakhan-Taryn site
18:30   Arrival at Buluus springs site. Camp preparation. Dinner and overnight (Guides: Leonid Gagarin and Anatoly Kirillin)

10 June 2018, Sunday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Tours and lectures (Guide/Lecturer: Leonid Gagarin)
12:30   Lunch and packing
14:00   Departure from Buluus site
18:30   Arrival at Amga landslide site. Camp preparation, dinner and overnight

11 June 2018, Monday

8:00     Breakfast
9:00     Meeting the geography teachers from Amga
9:30     Examination of thermal denudation features. Instrumentation, surveying and sampling (Guides: Semen Gotovtsev, Sergey Serikov and Anatoly Kirillin)
13:00   Lunch
14:00   Field observation continued
18:30   Dinner and overnight

12 June 2018, Tuesday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Examination of a mudflow in the Krestyakh Creek valley bottom (Guides: Semen Gotovtsev, Sergey Serikov)
13:00   Lunch
14:00   Departure for Amga via the Yakutsk-Amga Road
15:30   Arrival at Amga. Meeting at the Town Council
16:30   Camp preparation
18:30   Dinner and overnight

13 June 2018, Wednesday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Lecture on ground temperature regimes (Lecturer: Sergey Serikov)
10:30   Break
11:00   Lecture on soil/rock thermal properties (Lecturer: Anatoly Kirillin)
13:00   Lunch
14:30   Meeting Dr. M.N. Zhelezniak, Director of the Melnikov Permafrost Institute, and Dr. Aiaal Stepanov, Director of the Safonov Institute of Agricultural Research
16:00   Lecture by Dr. A. Stepanov
18:00   Dinner
19:00   Meeting the Amga school students and teachers

14 June 2018, Thursday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Lecture by Dr. M. Zhelezniak
11:30   Visit to a permafrost monitoring site in Amga
13:00   Lunch
14:00   Tour to the Kharama-Khayata Reserve (Guides: Amga Lyceum teachers)
18:30   Dinner
19:30-22:00    Leisure activities

15 June, Friday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Tour to the village of Betyung. Lectures on thermokarst and observation of abandoned agricultural fields (Guides/Lecturers: Semen Gotovtsev, Sergey Serikov)
13:00   Lunch
14:30   Training on instrumentation of permafrost monitoring sites(Instructors: Semen Gotovtsev, Sergey Serikov, Anatoly Kirillin)
18:00   Dinner
19:00-22:00    Leisure activities

16 June 2018, Saturday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Tour to the village of Chakyr
10:30   Arrival at Chakyr. Examination of thermokarst lakes (Guides: Semen Gotovtsev, D.E. Nikolaeva)
13:00   Lunch
14:30   Bathymetric survey of thermokarst lakes (Guide: Semen Gotovtsev)
18:30   Return to the Amga camp. Dinner and overnight

17 June 2018, Sunday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Amga River tour (Guide: A.V. Bystrova)
13:00   Lunch
14:00   Tour of Civil War battlefield sites in Amga region (Guide: N.S. Zakharov)
18:30   Dinner
19:30-22:00    Leisure activities

18 June 2018, Monday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Presentations by Forum participants
13:00   Lunch
14:00   Tour to the village of Bolugur. Visit to monitoring sites (Guide: Sergey Serikov)
18:00   Dinner
19:00-22:00    Leisure activities

19 June 2018, Tuesday

8:00     Breakfast
9:30     Packing
11:00   Departure from Amga
17:00   Arrival at Nizhny Bestyakh
18:00   Arrival at Yakutsk

Note: Accommodation during the field trip will be in tents. Each participant should bring a small tent (one-person or larger), a sleeping bag and polyurethane pad, personal eating utensils, warm clothes, rain gear, sturdy shoes for mountainous terrain, and a first aid kit. Group equipment will be provided by the organizers. If necessary, camping items can be purchased from Yakutsk stores