Support for the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP), Fairbanks, Alaska

多年冻土的范围比人们通常认为的要普遍得多；北半球约2500万平方公里的区域以多年冻土为特征，在高海拔地区，最南端可达30°N处可发现永久冻土。永久冻土影响人类建造的系统和自然系统，如公路、铁路、管道、水质和生态系统的功能和恢复。气候变化和高纬度(两个半球)扩大的资源开发是最近对永久冻土科学和工程重新产生兴趣的催化剂。会议的主要主题是：变暖星球上的永久冻土：对生态系统、基础设施和气候的影响？本次会议还涵盖了广泛的主题，从社会科学到环境到工程学；将讨论永久冻土的所有方面，包括行星永久冻土。科学综合的目标之一是将各种学科结合在一起，以解决过去、现在和未来气候下的永久冻土景观演变问题。这次会议将汇聚世界各地的冻土研究人员，分享他们的成果和想法，以促进我们对永冻土及其在极地地区的作用的理解取得新的进展，从而影响地质学、生物学、水文学和相关系统。第九届国际冻土会议(NICOP)将于2008年6月29日至7月3日(星期日至星期四)在阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校举行。NICOP纪念第四届国际多年冻土会议(FICOP)和国际多年冻土协会(IPA)成立25周年；这两次会议都于1983年夏天在费尔班克斯的阿拉斯加大学举行。会议将讨论北方社区面临的永久冻土问题。NICOP将是永久冻土青年研究人员网络200名成员中的许多人第一次有机会会面并为这一新一代永久冻土研究人员制定自己的计划。会议成果将支持美国北极研究委员会关于永久冻土的报告、ACIA和ICARP II报告以及美国国家科学院报告《走向北极综合观测系统？》中的许多结论和建议。为期五天的技术计划将包括全体报告、同时举行的专题会议和特别会议、海报会议以及实地考察永久冻土条件和相关建筑活动。结合本次会议计划了几个永久冻土课程和讲习班，并将向教师、学生和公众开放。通过这项提议提供的资金将有助于为后代开发高质量的诉讼程序，并为受邀的演讲者、学生和年轻的调查人员提供旅行援助。OPP/ARC北极研究支持和后勤计划、OPP/ANT南极地球科学计划和GEO/EAR地貌和土地利用动态计划赞助了这笔赠款。

Permafrost extent is more pervasive than often realized; an area of approximately 25 million square kilometers in the northern hemisphere is characterized by permafrost, and permafrost can be found as far south as 30°N at high altitudes. Permafrost affects both human-built and natural systems, such as roads, railroads, pipelines, water quality and ecosystem function and restoration. Climate change and expanded resource development in the high latitudes (both hemispheres) has been the catalyst for recent renewed interest in permafrost science and engineering. The main conference theme is ?Permafrost on a Warming Planet: Impacts on Ecosystems, Infrastructure and Climate?. This conference also covers a wide breadth of themes, from social science to environmental to engineering; all aspects of permafrost will be addressed, including planetary permafrost. One of the scientific synthesis goals is to bring a wide variety of disciplines together to address questions of permafrost landscape evolution under past, present and future climates. The conference will bring together the worldwide community of permafrost researchers to share their results and ideas in ways that could lead to new advances in our understanding of permafrost and its role in polar regions, influencing geology, biology, hydrology and related systems. The Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP) will take place on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus during the week of June 29-July 3 (Sunday through Thursday), 2008. NICOP marks the 25th anniversary of the Fourth International Conference on Permafrost (FICOP) and the formation of the International Permafrost Association (IPA); both took place at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks in the summer of 1983.Conference sessions will address permafrost problems facing northern communities. NICOP will be the first opportunity for many of the 200 members of the Permafrost Young Researchers Network to meet and develop their own plans for this new generation of permafrost researchers. Conference results will support many of the findings and recommendations of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission report on permafrost, the ACIA and ICARP II reports, and the National Academy of Sciences report ?Toward an Integrated Arctic Observing System?. The five-day technical program will consist of plenary presentations, simultaneous topical and special sessions, poster sessions, and field trips to view permafrost conditions and related construction activities. Several permafrost courses and workshops are planned in conjunction with this Conference and will be available to teachers, students and the public. Funds through this proposal will assist in developing high-quality proceedings for posterity and providing travel assistance for invited speakers, students, and young investigators. The OPP/ARC Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program, OPP/ANT Antarctic Earth Sciences Program and GEO/EAR Geomorphology and Land-Use Dynamics program sponsored this grant.