June 22, 2018

Meeting of Early Career Permafrost Researchers in Yakutsk

On June 4-20, 2018, MPI held the Fifth Forum for Young Permafrost Scientists commemorating the 90th anniversary of the birth of Professor, Dr. Maria K. Gavrilova (1928-2010), the distinguished Russian climatologist and permafrost scientist. The Forum was attended by early career permafrost researchers from Yakutsk, Tyumen, Moscow, Mirny, Tomsk and Lanzhou who presented their research during the four-day conference in Yakutsk. The papers presented addressed a variety of topics, including gas emission craters in northern West Siberia, lakes of the Antarctic oases, mountain permafrost mapping using satellite imagery, evaluation of cast-in-place piles in permafrost based on the temperature tracing concrete hydration model, ERT and GPR case studies, development of new instruments for thermal conductivity measurement, radiocarbon dating, palynology of Quaternary ice-complex deposits, hydrological modeling, and construction on hydraulic fills. The conference was followed by a field workshop in Amga. This agricultural area in central Yakutia is presently experiencing accelerated development of thermokarst and other erosion processes. Participants examined permafrost-related processes and associated problems for agriculture and rural infrastructure.