Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Adaptation of Transportation Infrastructure on Degrading Permafrost  (TIP)

Outline
Transportation infrastructure plays a vital role in the development and the well being of Arctic and Sub-arctic communities. Construction of transportation infrastructure on permafrost unavoidably affects the thermal regime of frozen soils, leading to thermal degradation of the permafrost. In addition, climate change has significantly impacted permafrost stability. Thus, maintaining stable and safe transportation infrastructure is a major engineering challenge. The development of solutions to this growing problem requires a better understanding of factors contributing to permafrost degradation, improvement of investigation techniques to help identify sensitive permafrost areas and development of cost effective mitigation techniques. For example, if the permafrost is ice-rich and thawing occurs, pavement settles and significant loss of structural and functional capacity occurs leading to poor level of service. Transportation infrastructure distress due to degrading permafrost has been studied and documented in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and the Nordic countries. Additional annual maintenance costs due to climate warming are estimated to be millions of dollars--even in local scale. Several adaptation techniques described in related studies have potential for application in road and airfield pavements underlain by degrading permafrost. For example, air convection embankments, heat drains, and reflective surfaces have a strong potential to become feasible and effective solutions for mitigating pavement distress resulting from permafrost degradation. Project goal: The goal of the proposed program is to develop expertise and procedures for the mitigation of permafrost instability under transportation infrastructure in the context of climatic change affecting permafrost. In order to achieve this goal, the following objectives are proposed: 1) Improve knowledge of factors affecting thermal regime in pavement and other infrastructure built on thaw-sensitive permafrost. 2) Develop techniques to detect sensitive permafrost areas. 3) Develop frozen soil characterization (i.e., sensitivity to degradation) in the context of transportation infrastructure construction or rehabilitation. 4) Develop adaptation methods that mitigate infrastructure distress resulting from permafrost degradation.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The proposed project creates a network of thermal regime observation sites on built infrastructure, especially roads, and will include structures that incorporate mitigation techniques. Advances will be made in the following areas relating to transportation infrastructure on degrading permafrost: 1) knowledge of factors affecting thermal regime and 2) techniques to detect sensitive permafrost areas, 3) characterization of frozen soil sensitivity to thermal degradation and 4) mitigation of pavement and other infrastructure distress due to permafrost degradation. The thermal regime data will be made available to researchers and educators. Young researchers and graduate students will be involved in permafrost engineering studies. Decision-makers, schoolchildren, and the general public will become more aware of the state of infrastructure in Arctic regions.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The work involves engineers and scientists from the U.S.A., Canada, Russia, China and the Nordic Countries.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The existing sites on permafrost involved in the proposal are located in Alaska, U.S.A, Yukon, Canada, Nunavik, Canada and Lapland, Finland. New sites on permafrost are planned in the Svalbard, Norway, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and possibly in China (Qinghai Tibet Plateau).

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 2006-2008            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
All known project sites have road or air access and are located near villages providing minimal support and facilities for the research activities. Therefore, no significant logistical support or facilities will be required. The thermal state monitoring stations will be shared to the fullest extent possible with other projects requiring permafrost temperature data.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
A legacy of infrastructure will be built, consisting of existing and new sites including permafrost temperature monitoring stations, road embankments featuring various mitigation techniques to prevent the permafrost from thawing under the road and other possible experimental roads and infrastructure (e.g., foundations). A few examples of the existing sites include the Farmers Loop Road Experiment Station (FLRES) in Fairbanks, Alaska (which is also a National Geotechnical Experiment Site and a CALM node in the U.S.); the Beaver Creek Section of Alaska Highway in Yukon, Canada, the Salluit access road project (Nunavik, Canada), Tasiujaq airstrip (Nunavik, Canada) and Kilpisjärvi Section of Highway 21 (Finland).

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
National agency
Commercial operator
Own support
Other sources of support

Private contractors and possibly national transportation agencies will haul required construction equipment, materials and instrumentation into the sites that have road access.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The project is coordinated with IPY Activity ID No: 50, “Permafrost Observatory Project, a Contribution to the Thermal State of Permafrost” (TSP-125). Other activities that this project could be coordinated with include Activity ID No: 49, “International Polar Year Data and Information Service for Distributed Data Management”.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes
The proposed project based on the international collaboration is a new project. The existing sites were built and are operated on individual basis. Data sharing agreements are required.

How will the project be organised and managed?
Each national team will have a contact person who also acts on the international ‘board’ of the project. The chair of the board will be selected by the board members. The board members are responsible for obtaining funding for their national sites, leading the research and construction activities, sharing the data and effort involving the educational and outreach activities. The Chair will cooperate with the persons responsible for IPY TSP No: 50.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Teaching materials will be created for engineering courses at the Universities of Alaska, USA, Laval, Canada, Luleå, Sweden and others. They will be accessible world wide through online programs, such as the Arctic Engineering Online Program at U.A. Anchorage, and integrated with the University of the Arctic and other permafrost projects (33, 50, 90). Graduate students and school teachers will have research opportunities.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
The data will be managed in cooperation with the IPY Activities ID No: 49 and 50. We will make engineering data available online for educational purposes, as is consistent with the goals of the National Geotechnical Experimentation Site Program in the United States.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funds will be requested from the University of Alaska Transportation Research Center (Alaska, USA), NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Resources Council) - Canada, the Yukon government, Quebec Ministry of transportation (Canada), Transport Canada, and national and local governments of the participants.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
This expression of intent emphasizes field work and construction of experimental infrastructure. However, we will perform appropriate literature reviews and laboratory-based experiments. We intend that the data made available online be utilized by educators to develop homework problems and other educational materials for graduate and undergraduate students in geotechnical and pavements engineering. The Farmer’s Loop Road in Fairbanks, Alaska, is one of the proposed sites, and it is located in a seismically active area. Hence, we invite related work such as seismic monitoring and hazard analysis as related to permafrost soil properties.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Hannele Zubeck
University of Alaska Anchorage
Home Office, 102 Highbush Lane
Kenai , Alaska
99611
USA

Tel: +1-907-283-6535
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Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information