IPY 2007-2008

“Arctic in a changing climate: Physical and biological linkages to permafrost”

An interdisciplinary summer course at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

May 20 – June 4, 2010

The 2010 International Arctic Research Center (IARC) summer school will build upon the successful field trip along the Dalton Highway offered during the 2008 Ninth International Conference on Permafrost. The event will begin with lectures given in Fairbanks by experts in numerous Arctic physical and biological sciences. The focus will be on permafrost. The course will examine its distribution, how it forms, its variable nature, the effects of climate change, and how permafrost affects arctic ecosystems, infrastructure, and the people who live in northern regions. Special emphasis will be placed on the complex interactions between climate, soils, vegetation, and permafrost. Lecturers will describe the current state of knowledge, disciplinal links, and research gaps. Our expert guides will offer an in-depth view of the landscapes and research along one of the most remote and scenic highways in North America (Dalton Highway). Major themes will include permafrost and ecosystem variation along the arctic climate gradient, biocomplexity of patterned ground, and arctic engineering.

We will visit long-term research sites at Bonanza Creek, Toolik Lake, and Imnavait Creek. The road trip will end with a tour of Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Each day of the field trip will focus on aspects of interactions within the climate-ecosystem-permafrost system. The climate gradient along the Dalton Highway will be used to examine the effects of climate change on permafrost environments. Engineers involved in the construction of infrastructure underlain by discontinuous-continuous permafrost will present the detailed story of how engineering problems are solved during and after construction.

The aim of the summer school is to encourage the participants to communicate across science fields and to examine connections between permafrost and other disciplines at various scales. Group mini-projects will be an important component of the summer school culminating in a workshop aimed at defining the future interdisciplinary research needs. The workshop will build upon the group projects where summer school participants present their views of promising research at the interfaces of the relevant disciplines. Summer school participants, in close interaction with senior experts, will be encouraged to develop and refine the outcome of the workshop through a white (synthesis) paper that can serve the larger scientific community.

IARC will provide travel support from the students’ home institutions to Fairbanks and cover summer school related expenses associated with the students’ stay in Fairbanks and Dalton Highway road trip. The application package (application form, CV, letter of support from supervisor) should be sent electronically to Tohru Saito ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Application deadline is February 15, 2010. The application form and additional information can be found at: http://www.iarc.uaf.edu/education_outreach/summer/2010/.

The summer school is sponsored by the Arctic Science Division of the Office of Polar Programs, U.S. National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=ARC) and by the U.S. Permafrost Association (www.uspermafrost.org).