Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Trans-North-Eastern Siberian Permafrost Observatories  (TNES/PO)

Outline
The north-eastern Eurasia is the widest permafrost region on the earth and is the most pronounced warming areas in recent decades, showing large environmental gradient of permafrost structures such as ground ice contents, thicknesses of permafrost and active layer. Ongoing climatic warming would thicken active layer and subsequently degrade permafrost, affecting land-surface hydrological cycle in the various spatio-temporal scales. Understanding concurrent thermal states and long-term monitoring of them are crucial not only for pure permafrost science but also for other cryospheric scientific branches. There still lack of systematic and accurate temperature monitoring in this region, resulting in large ambiguities of global permafrost understanding despite that permafrost observatories recently are expanding to other permafrost region such as north American continent and European high mountains of mid-latitudes. The Institute of Observational Research for Global Change, IORGC, intends to establish observational network for monitoring deep ground temperatures of this region, aiming to: ? Assess the concurrent permafrost stability by precise measurements of ground temperature profiles ? Provide high quality data for enhancement of modelling studies which intended to reconstruct past surface temperature evolutions and to predict the future thermal states and continental distribution of permafrost ? Detect and identify near-future changes of permafrost temperature and their relation with atmospheric forcing ? Monitor the response of land-surface hydrological components to permafrost degradation ? Contribute Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) by providing data obtained at fragmented data area For these purposes, we will establish so-called “super-stations” that monitor not only permafrost temperatures but also land-surface hydro-meteorological variables. The monitoring sites will be at/near the hydro-meteorological stations that have established and managed by IORGC (i.e. Tiksi and Yakutsk, continuous permafrost, in Russia and Darkhan and Ulaanbaatar, discontinuous permafrost, in Mongolia). For comparison, monitoring at permafrost-free site, Arvaikhaar, Mongolia is planned. Other un-instrumented sites, Japanese high mountains, Irkutsk are also under consideration. Uses of standard temperature monitoring make ease inter-regional comparison along environmental transect. Measurements use highly calibrated thermistors which will be installed into a hole newly bored to the depth of more than several ten’s meters. The number of measurement depth will be 30–50, by which even small changes of temperature gradient could be detected. The monitoring network will provide a platform for long-term monitoring of the thermal state of permafrost and future responses to climate change. The data archived will provide a legacy for permafrost and soils parameters, contributing global permafrost observatories.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Theme 1, 2 - Use standard technique and make ease inter-regional comparison. -Detects long-term thermal changes by keeping measurement accuracy in high level Theme 3 -Monitor the thermal state of Eurasian permafrost range, covering continuous, discontinuous, sporadic and high mountains. -Contribute to enhance global permafrost observatories(GTN-P) Theme 4, 5 -Understanding the inter-relation between land-surface hydro-meteorological components, active layer and permafrost, and their response signals to climate change

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
TNES/PO should be involved in the international permafrost observatories such as GTN-P and CALM. Negotiation with International Permafrost Association (IPA) is underway.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The TNES/PO sites will be placed along environmental gradients from the continuous permafrost Tiksi (tundra), Yakutsk (taiga), to discontinuous permafrost Ulaanbaatar (steppe), and mid-latitude mountains of the Daisetsu Mts, northern Japan.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 06/06 – 10/06      06/07 – 10/07      06/08 – 10/08
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
The new borehole will be dug into bedrock in which heat originated from water phase changing might be minimized and pure conductive theory alone might be used for modelling works. Rock-drilling capacities, which could drill up to 100 m deep, are needed. The location will be placed in the vicinity of existing hydro-meteorological field station. New establishments at currently non-station site are under consideration.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The established observational network and related hydro-meteorological stations will provide long-term data on changes along with climatic and environmental gradients (part of the International Network of Permafrost Observatories (INPO)). All data will be archived with existing data sets in the IORGC data server. Direct linking to more well-known global database system, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC, USA), are highly recommendable.

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

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
TNES/PO is endorsed by the IPA and support is pending from the IORGC.

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?

TNES/PO is initiative proposal

How will the project be organised and managed?
TNES/PO will be the part of IORGC annual project, collaborating with scientist belonging to domestic and/or overseas research institutes.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
An outreach component of the database website including map outputs and explanatory notes. Participating researchers will include undergraduate and graduate student involvement. Public lectures and press releases are planned.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
Data management concerns are central to the proposal. IORGC could host the web-based database system and offer long-term data management support. Need for links to national digital map products, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC, USA).

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding will be applied by IORGC institute funding and national funding agencies. International, collaborative projects will be encouraged.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
The following countries are involved in TNES/PO at this stage; Russia, Switzerland, Japan and Mongolia.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Researcher Mamoru Ishikawa
Institute of Observational Research for Global Change, JAMSTEC
2-15 Natsushima-cho
Yokosuka, Kanagawa
237-0061
Japan

Tel: +81 46 867 9278
Mobile:
Fax: +81 46 867 9255
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information