2006 Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum | Abstracts

The U.S. Permafrost Association

Frederick E. Nelson¹, Jon E. Zufelt², Kenneth M. Hinkel³, Michael R. Lilly⁴, Vladimir E. Romanovsky⁵, Larry D. Hinzman⁶, J. David Norton⁷, Jennifer Harden^8
1Department of Geography, University of Delaware, 216 Pearson Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA, Phone 302-831-0852, Fax 302-831-6654, fnelson@udel.edu
²PO Box 4656, Ft. Richardson, AK, 99505, USA, jon.e.zufelt@erdc.usace.army.mil
³Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 210131, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA, Phone 513-556-3430, Fax 513-556-3370, kenneth.hinkel@uc.edu
⁴GW Scientific, PO Box 81538, Fairbanks, AK, 99708, USA, Phone 907-479-8891, Fax 907-479-8893, mlilly@gwscientific.com
⁵Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-7459, Fax 907-474-7290, ffver@uaf.edu
⁶International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-7331, Fax 907-474-1578, ffldh@uaf.edu
⁷Hawk Consultants, 200 W. 34th Street, Anchorage, AK, 99503, USA, Phone 907-278-1877, Fax 907-278-1889, davenorton@hawkpros.com
⁸U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA, Phone 650-329-4949, Fax 650-329-4920, jharden@usgs.gov

Permafrost is an important component of the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, and exerts a significant influence in the natural and human systems of cold regions. Interest in permafrost and related topics has been growing steadily, in concert with concerns about the impacts of global climate warming. The U.S. Permafrost Association (USPA), incorporated in Alaska as a not-for profit organization, promotes scientific, engineering, and educational investigations and activities on all aspects of frozen ground. An important component of the USPA mission is to promote awareness about permafrost among the public, and training of new generations of scientists, engineers, and other professionals to work in fields related to permafrost.

USPA acts as the U.S. representative to the International Permafrost Association. USPA functions as the parent organization for the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP), to be held June 29 - July 3, 2008 on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The conference will include a full complement of paper and poster sessions, a large number of local and regional field excursions, and a series of publications. A U.S. National Committee for NICOP has been established under USPA to assist the University's Local Organizing Committee. Further details are available at http://www.nicop.org. Memberships in USPA are available in three forms: Individual, Corporate, and Institutional. Detailed information about USPA can be found at http://www.uspermafrost.org/.