ANTPAS was involved in the International Polar Year (IPY), which ran from 2007-2008, in a number of ways. Below follows information on the projects that ANTPAS was involved with. More on individual project contributors and contributions to the IPY can be viewed on the IPY Project Contributors page.
COORDINATING COMMITTEE
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Goncalo Vieira (co-chairperson) (Portugal), Mauro Guglielmin (co-chairperson) (Italy), Megan Balks (Secretary/webmaster) (New Zealand), James Bockheim (USA), Jan Boelhouwers (Sweden) and Ron Sletten (USA)

Jan Boelhouwers coordinated the ANTPAS International Polar Year (IPY) project for 2007-2008. The ANTPAS IPY activity document is available for downloading.
CALM-S/GTN-P MONITORING GROUP

​Objectives
The current Circumantarctic Active Layering Monitoring program (CALM-S) will be expanded to 12-15 sites distributed along an environmental gradient from the peri-Antarctic islands through the Antarctic Peninsula and Trans-Antarctic Mountains to the McMurdo Dry Valleys, complemented by 2 to 3 coast-inland transects. In view of the unique conditions in the Antarctic region (abundant coarse fragments that preclude probing, the existence of "dry" permafrost), a protocol for monitoring the active layer will be established and a manual describing recommended techniques will be prepared.

Coordinators
Mauro Guglielmin, Jan Boelhouwers , Miguel Ramos, Frederick Nelson, and Gonçalo Vieira
  • Ron Paetzold will coordinate existing and new sites and data management;
  • E. Serrano will coordinate periglacial processes; and
  • Frederick Nelson and Jan Boelhouwers will coordinate protocols/manual, network configuration, and scaling issues.
PERMAFROST GROUP

Objectives
  • An expert group will prepare a database and map showing the distribution of permafrost in the Southern Hemisphere. A draft of the map will be available by June 2007 with the final map being presented at the 2008 ICOP meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska (USA). The map legend will include:
    • Ice-covered (sub-glacial) permafrost (contours of basal temperature from models extrapolated from specific boreholes, extent of lakes and water layers, thickness of permafrost from models, and specific borehole data);
    • Ice-free permafrost (ground ice, lithology and mineralogy, thickness of permafrost from models, temperature, specific borehole data, and depth to an ice-bonded layer);
    • Sub-sea permafrost; and
    • Andean permafrost. 
  • A further key effort of the group should be a permafrost drilling project to address questions such as:
    • How deep are the dry-frozen materials?
    • Of what importance are buried soils for interpreting and modeling environmental change?
    • What are the consequences of melting of ice-cemented permafrost on global distribution and availability of water and soil genesis?
    • Is there a biological signature from deep cores?
  • The approach for the proposed drilling project should include:
    • Drilling similar to that of NASA's program for Mars;
    • Cryopedological and cryolithological studies such as geochemistry/mineralogy, isotopic analysis, etc.
    • Use of GPR and other geophysical techniques;
    • Use of cosmogenic and exposure dating procedures; and
    • Temperature probes placed at close increments.
  • The distribution of permafrost in the Andes of South America constitutes an early warning indicator of global warming on terrestrial ecosystems and warrants additional study

Coordinators
Ron Sletten, Ian Campbell, James Bockheim, D. Gilichinsky, Mauro Guglielmin, with the following subgroups:

  1. Terminology and identification of a legend for the permafrost map will be coordinated by Hugh French and D. Gilichinsky;
  2. Stephen Arcone will coordinate the permafrost database;
  3. Gary Clow, Alexander Kholodov, and Andrey Abramov will coordinate subglacial modeling of permafrost distribution;
  4. Regional (inset) permafrost map compilation will include:
  • Andes Mountains of South America - Dario Trombotto
  • Antarctic Peninsula and Offshore Islands - Jerónimo López-Martínez
  • Transantarctic Mountains - James Bockheim, Ian Campbell, Bea Csatho
  • Sub-Sea Permafrost - Hans Hubberten
  • Drønning Maud Land - Jan Boelhouwers, Norikazu Matsuoka
  • Wilkes Land - Ian Campbell
SOILS AND GEOMORPHOLOGY GROUP

​Objectives
Soil maps will be prepared for the:
  1. Transantarctic Mountains;
  2. Antarctic Peninsula and peri-Antarctic islands;
  3. Queen Maud Land; 
  4. East Antarctica (Enderby Land, Vestfold Hills; and
  5. Wilkes Land).
The legend is based on the USDA Soil Taxonomy and the WRB soil classification schemes. A final draft of the map will be available for the IPY 2007/2008.

Coordinators
James Bockheim, Iain Campbell, Megan Balks, John Kimble, and Lynn Everett

  • Identification of soil and geomorphological attributes and database management will be coordinated by C. Tarnocai;
  • M. Balks and M. McLeod will prepare protocols/manual for the soils database;
  • The compilation of existing soils and geomorphological maps and data will be conducted by the following subgroups:
    • Transantarctic Mountains (Malcolm McLeod, Ian Campbell, G. Claridge, John Kimble, James Bockheim, Megan Balks, and Ron Sletten).
    • The subgroup responsible for soils and geomorphology of the Antarctic Peninsula and offshore islands includes Carlos Schaefer/F. Simas, E. Serrano, and M.-F. André.
    • Jan Boelhouwers, Norikazu Matsuoka, and E.-M. Pfeiffer will be responsible for soils and geomorphology of Drønning Maud Land.
    • The study of cryogenic processes will be coordinated by Ron Sletten and Jan Boelhouwers.