Permafrost Outreach Program

Dr. Kenji Yoshikawa at the University of Alaska Fairbanks developed the “permafrost outreach program” in 2006. The program involves installing long-term permafrost monitoring stations at public schools across the circumpolar north. Students are given the opportunity to be actively involved with the data collection and a central website exists where data from each school can be reviewed.

The permafrost monitoring stations consist of a small borehole (2 inches in diameter and up to 5 m deep) that is drilled near each school. The borehole is then lined with plastic pipe and thermistor temperature sensors are installed at various depths. A small battery-operated data logger (HOBO) is installed to monitor ground temperatures at various depths in the hole. “Frost tubes” (clear plastic tubes filled with water) are also inserted into the ground near most of the stations to monitor seasonal freezing and thawing patterns in the active layer (Lipovsky & Yoshikawa, 2009).

Permafrost monitoring stations have been installed at several hundred schools in Alaska, Scandinavia, Mongolia, Russia, and Canada. Yukon stations have been established in Ross River, Faro, Watson Lake, Pelly Crossing, Carmacks, Dawson, Beaver Creek, Whitehorse and Old Crow. YGS performs annual maintenance of these stations and acts as a local liaison for the Yukon schools. It is anticipated that this program will continue for several years.

For more information contact: Panya Lipovsky, [email protected]