The First Asian Conference on Permafrost.

摘要智力优势：亚洲山区的多年冻土，特别是青藏高原的多年冻土，对环境变化极为敏感，因为大多数多年冻土都在冰点以下几度。全球和区域气候模式预测，到21世纪中叶，青藏高原年平均气温将上升2 - 3 ℃。青藏铁路是自20世纪70年代跨阿拉斯加管道以来最大的冻土区工程，其建设和未来的运营将对冻土区的地表变化过程和冻土环境产生影响。气候变暖和铁路建设将加速该地区多年冻土的融化和退化。冻土科学家和工程师们正面临着冻土对快速变化的环境的响应的新挑战。第一届亚洲永久冻土会议将汇集科学家、工程师、政策制定者，特别是年轻科学家和研究生，（i）加强国家和国际科学界在过去几十年亚洲永久冻土研究的成就和进展方面的交流（ii）确定并建议未来十年需要进一步研究的关键领域，（iii）扩大在中国、哈萨克斯坦、蒙古和俄罗斯南部这一亚洲山区多年冻土研究的国际合作。更广泛的影响：会议主题包括：多年冻土工程、冻土特性、模型开发及其应用;山区/高原地区的冻土灾害和冰缘环境;气候和环境以及冰冻圈变化;冻土水文学和寒冷地区水资源和土地利用;以及山区和高海拔冻土的监测、绘图和建模。这些主题涉及地球变暖的后果以及地球高纬度和高山地区的许多社会问题。2004年的北极气候影响评估（ACIA）报告再次引起人们的关注，即永久冻土的融化或退化对基础设施和当地社区产生了重大影响。会议的成果将有助于增进两极环境和工程知识，并有助于评估陆地和陆地生态系统最近的变化。年轻研究人员获得的经验将有助于他们的学术和专业发展。

ABSTRACTIntellectual Merit: Permafrost in Asian mountain regions, especially on the Qinghai-TibetanPlateau, is extremely sensitive to environmental change since the majority of permafrost iswithin several degrees below the freezing point. Global and regional climate models predict thatmean annual air temperature on the Tibetan Plateau will increase 2 to 3oC by the mid of the 21stcentury. Construction of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Railroad, the biggest project in permafrostregion since the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline in the 1970s, and future railroad operations will haveimpacts on surficial processes and permafrost environments. Climatic warming and railroadconstruction will accelerate the thawing and degrading of permafrost over the region. Permafrostscientists and engineers are now facing these new challenges on the response of permafrost torapidly changing environments. The 1st Asian Conference on Permafrost will bring scientists,engineers, policy makers together, especially young scientists and graduate students, (i) toenhance communication within the national and international scientific community on theachievements and progress of the Asian permafrost studies in the past few decades (ii) to identifyand recommend critical areas that need further study in the next decade, and (iii) expand theinternational collaborations on permafrost studies over this Asian mountainous region of China,Kazakhstan, Mongolia and southern Russia.Broader Impacts: Conference themes addressed include: Permafrost engineering, properties offrozen soils, model development, and their applications; Permafrost hazards and periglacialenvironments in mountain/plateau regions; Climatic and environmental and cryospheric changes;Permafrost hydrology and cold regions water resources and land use; and Monitoring, mappingand modeling of mountain and high-elevation permafrost. These topics relate to consequences ofa warming Earth and the many societal issues in the high latitude and high mountain regions ofplanet Earth. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) report in 2004 renewed concernsthat enhanced thawing or degradation of permafrost has had major impacts on infrastructure andlocal communities. The outcome of the conference will contribute to the bipolar environmentaland engineering knowledge and to the assessment of recent changes in the landmass andterrestrial ecosystems. Experience gained by young researchers will contribute to their academicand professional development.