Speaker: Louise Farquharson

Host: Peter Flemings

Title: Not So Permanent Permafrost

Abstract: Permafrost – permanently frozen ground – underlies vast areas of the Arctic and sub-Arctic. But as the climate warms, how permanent is it? Across the Arctic, permafrost temperatures are rising, a trend projected to continue. Recent observations from the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute monitoring network reveal striking changes: in some regions with relatively warm permafrost, ground that once refroze each winter now remains thawed year-round, while in colder permafrost zones, the landscape is undergoing dramatic geomorphological transformation due to melt of massive ground ice. This talk will explore how permafrost temperatures in the North American Arctic have shifted in recent years and examine the cascading consequences for landscapes and northern communities.