Permafrost Response on Economic Development, Environmental Security and Natural Resources: (76 NATO Science Partnership Subseries: 2)

The permafrost regions of the planet are remote, barren and isolated; as far as the decision makers are concerned, these inhospitable regions are simply "out of sight, out of mind", having no immediate effect on the global environment and habitat. Those who are pioneering the study of the permafrost, however, know better, as they confront the sustainable development of these peculiarly resource-rich regions. It rapidly became evident that social survival was not merely a matter of technology, and sustainable development involved more than just bringing in adequate machinery. Operating in permafrost regions necessitates a thorough understanding of all aspects of their ecology. This work on permafrost discusses the topic in terms of geology, biology, chemistry, physics, climatology, engineering, land development, environmental management, social and economic impacts. Topics discussed include on- and off-shore data assessment, past and future permafrost evolution according to global climate change, engineering effects on permafrost, and new dimensions in geocryology, including gas hydrates, microbiology, and information technology.

Table of Contents:
Cyclic Evolution of Man and Permafrost: The Role of Permafrost on Societal Environment.- Main Results of Earth Cryosphere Studies and Sustainable Development.- Permafrost in a Changing Environment.- Terrestrial and Offshore Permafrost Evolution of the Laptev Sea Region during the Last Pleistocene-Holocene Glacial-Eustatic Cycle.- A Circumarctic Map of Perennially Frozen Deposits and Ground Ice.- Geocryological Mapping Of Arctic Shelves.- Study of Arctic Ecosystems Within the Framework of „Loira Project“.- Offshore Permafrost for Oil and Gas field Development.- The Cryolithozone Of The Shelf Of Darents And Kara Sea.- Evolution of the Cryolithozone in the Pleistocene and Holocene.- Permafrost Equivalents from Boreal to Tropical Zones.- Permafrost during the Pleistocene in North West and Central Europe.- European Permafrost at the LGM- and at Its Maximal Extent.- Permafrost Extent at the Last Glacial Maximum and at the Holocene Optimum. The Climex Map.- Sequence of Glaciations and Permafrost Events.- A Pleistocene Rock-Glacier above Lake Teletskoye Lake. An Indicator of Permafrost.- Permafrost Investigations in the Italian Mountains: The State of the Art.- Response of the Permafrost to Contemporary and Expected Climate Change.- Effect of Permafrost Changes on Economic Development, Environmental Security and Natural Resource Potential in Alaska.- Permafrost: Changes and Impacts.- Geothermal Studies of Permafrost Response to Global Natural Changes.- Changes in Permafrost Landscapes under Global Change.- Climatic Warming and Permafrost.- Methodological Principles of Forecasting Interaction between Engineering Structures and Environment in the Permafrost Zone.- Factor of Start Conditions by Site Selection for Underground Disposal of Nuclear Materials in Northwest Russia.-Geocryological Processes and Management Principles under Changing Climate and Human Activities.- Problems of Permafrost Engineering as Related to Global Climate Warming.- Some Prospects for Heat Pump Applications in Permafrost Engineering.- Program for International Cooperation in Permafrost Engineering.- Basis for and Development of IcePE Information System in Domains of Glaciology, Ice and Permafrost Engineering.- Recommendations for Foundations and Bases Built on Frozen Soils.- Gas Hydrates in Permafrost.- Methane Distribution in Permafrost: Evidence for an Interpore Pressure Methane Hydrate.- The Problem of the Emission of Deep-Buried Gases to the Atmosphere.- Flux of Methane from North Siberian Aquatic Systems: Influence on Atmospheric Methane.- Micro-Organisms and Biomarkers in Permafrost.- Ecology of Psychrophilic and Psychrotropic Micro-Organisms in Cold and Frozen Soils.- Significance to Astrobiology of Micro-Organisms in Permafrost and Ice.- Patterned Ground as an Evidence of Water on Mars.- Russian National Geocryological Database and a Strategy for Its Development.- The Proposed International Permafrost Monitoring Network and Service.- V: Panel Discussions, Conclusive Reports and Recommendations of the Plenary Session.