To accomplish the resolutions from the Madison workshop, the following assignments were agreed upon:

Coordinating committee

GoncaloVieira (co-chairperson) (Portugal), Mauro Guglielmin (co-chairperson) (Italy), Megan Balks (Secretary/webmaster) (New Zealand), James Bockheim (USA), Jan Boelhouwers (Sweden) and Ron Sletten (USA).


Permafrost group

R. Sletten , I. Campbell, J. Bockheim, D. Gilichinsky, M. Guglielmin, with the following subgroups:

  • Terminology and identification of a legend for the permafrost map will be coordinated by H. French and D. Gilichinsky
  • S. Arcone will coordinate the permafrost database;
  • G. Clow, A. Kholodov, and A. Abramov will coordinate subglacial modeling of permafrost distribution;
  • Regional (inset) permafrost map compilation will include:
    • Andes Mountains of South America - D. Trombotto
    • Antarctic Peninsula and offshore islands - J. Lopez-Martinez
    • Transantarctic Mountains - J. Bockheim, I. Campbell, B. Csatho
    • Sub-sea permafrost - H. Hubberten
    • Drønning Maud Land - J. Boelhouwers, N. Matsuoka
    • Wilkes Land - I. Campbell
Objectives of the permafrost group
  • An expert group will prepare a database and map showing the distribution of permafrost in the Southern Hemisphere. The map legend will include (1) 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); (2) ice-free permafrost (ground ice, lithology and mineralogy, thickness of permafrost from models, temperature, specific borehole data, and depth to an ice-bonded layer); (3) sub-sea permafrost; and (4) Andean permafrost. A draft of the map will be available by June 2007 with the final map being presented at the 2008 ICOP meeting in Fairbanks, AK.
  • 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

Soils and geomorphological group

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 ( M. McLeod , I. Campbell, G. Claridge, J. Kimble, J. Bockheim, M. Balks, and R. Sletten).
    • The subgroup responsible for soils and geomorphology of the Antarctic Peninsula and offshore islands includes C. Schaefer/F. Simas, E. Serrano , and M.-F. André.
    • J. Boelhouwers, N. 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 R. Sletten and J. Boelhouwers.
Objectives of the soils groupSoil maps will be prepared for the (1) Transantarctic Mountains, (2) Antarctic Peninsula and peri-Antarctic islands, (3) Queen Maud Land, and eventually for (4) East Antarctica (Enderby Land, Vestfold Hills, and (5) Wilkes Land). The legend will be 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.

CALM-S/GTN-P monitoring group

M. Guglielmin, J. Boelhouwers , M. Ramos, F. Nelson, and G.Vieira.

  • R. Paetzold will coordinate existing and new sites and data management;
  • E. Serrano will coordinate periglacial processes,
  • F. Nelson and J. Boelhouwers will coordinate protocols/manual, network configuration, and scaling issues.
Objectives of the CALM-S/GTN-P monitoring groupThe 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.

IPY proposalJan Boelhouwers has coordinated an ANTPAS International Polar Year (IPY) project for 2007-2008.

The ANTPAS IPY activity document (ANTPAS_IPY_Final_v31.doc) is also available for downloading (.pdf, 84 KB).