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This project started in October 2015 with a crazy idea : prepare and submit a funding application for an international, multidisciplinary and non-traditional scientific outreach project… within the next 48 hours. Well, it worked out. A group of highly motivated young researchers from Canada and Europe united to combine arts and science and produce a series of outreach comic strips about permafrost (frozen ground). The aim of the project is to present and explain scientific research conducted across the circumpolar Arctic, placing emphasis on field work and the rapidly changing northern environment. The target audience is kids, youth, parents and teachers, with the general goal of making permafrost science more fun and accessible to the public. Because guess what : permafrost represents an area of more than twenty million km2 in the Northern Hemisphere, a huge area. As the climate warms, permafrost thaws and becomes unstable for houses, roads and airports. This rapid thawing of previously frozen ground also disrupts plant and animal habitats, impacts water quality and the ecology of lakes, and releases carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, making climate change even stronger. Hence permafrost and its response to climate change concerns us all. The project received initial support from the International Permafrost Association (IPA) as a targeted ‘Action Group’, and since then several other sponsors have joined the project. Here we are, now, two years after this first idea. What you are about to read is the result of an iterative process of exchanging ideas between artists and scientists. We first made an application call and received 49 applications from artists in 16 countries. Through a formal review process, we then selected two artists to work on this project: Noémie Ross from Canada, and Heta Nääs from Finland. With input from scientists, Noémie and Heta created fantastic cartoons that explain some of the changes happening to the environment in permafrost areas, how they affect people and wildlife, and what scientists are doing to better understand these changes to help people find innovative ways to adapt. We wish everyone plenty of fun reading this booklet and we would like to thank all those who supported this project., Dette projekt startede med en vild idé i oktober 2015 : Skriv en ansøgning om finansiering af et internationalt, tværfagligt og utraditionelt videnskabeligt outreach-projekt... inden for de næste 48 timer. Og det virkede. En gruppe stærkt motiverede unge forskere fra Canada og Europa gik sammen for at kombinere kunst og videnskab og lave en række tegneserier om permafrost (frossen jord). Formålet med projektet er at præsentere og forklare videnskabelig forskning, udført på tværs af det arktiske område, med vægt på feltarbejde og det arktiske miljø i hurtig forandring. Målgruppen er børn, unge, forældre og lærere, og det overordnede mål er at gøre videnskab om permafrost sjovere og mere tilgængelig for offentligheden. For tænk engang : permafrost repræsenterer et område på mere end tyve millioner km2 på den nordlige halvkugle, et enormt område. Eftersom klimaet bliver varmere, tør permafrosten og bliver et ustabilt underlag for huse, veje og lufthavne. Denne hurtige optøning af den tidligere frosne jord, ændrer også planters og dyrs habitater, påvirker vandkvaliteten og søernes økologi samt frigiver kulstof til atmosfæren som drivhusgasser, hvilket gør klimaforandringerne endnu stærkere. Derfor vedrører permafrost og dens reaktion på klimaforandringer os alle. Projektet modtog fra starten støtte fra ”International Permafrost Association” (IPA) som en målrettet ‘Action Group’, og siden da er flere andre sponsorer kommet med i projektet. Her er vi nu to år efter denne første ide. Det, du nu skal til at læse, er resultatet af en udveksling af ideer mellem kunstnere og forskere. Vi opfordrede kunstnere til at deltage og modtog 49 ansøgninger fra kunstnere i 16 lande. Ud af alle ansøgerne valgte vi to kunstnere til projektet : Noémie Ross fra Canada og Heta Nääs fra Finland. Med input fra forskere, skabte Noémie og Heta fantastiske tegneserier, der forklarer nogle af de ændringer, der sker i miljøet i permafrostområder, hvordan de påvirker mennesker og dyreliv, og hvad forskere gør for bedre at forstå disse ændringer for at hjælpe folk med at finde innovative måder at tilpasse sig på. Vi ønsker alle masser af sjov med dette hæfte, og vi vil gerne takke alle dem, der støttede projektet., Suliniut una oktobari 2015-imi isumassarsiamit ingasattumit aallartippoq : nunat tamalaat akornanni, suliat assigiinngitsut tunngavigalugit nalinginnaanngitsumillu ilisimatusarnermi ujartuilluni suliniummut aningaasaliiffigineqarnissamut qinnuteqaasiorit nassiullugulu… akunnerit 48-t tulliuttut iluani. Tassa, iluatsippoq. Inuusuttualuit ilisimatusartut piumassusilerujussuit Canadameersut Europameersullu suleqatigiillutik eqqumiitsuliorneq ilisimatusarnerlu ataatsimoorlutik ataqatigiissippaat titartakkanillu arlalinnik nunamut qeriuaannartumut tunngasunik suliaqarlutik. Suliniummi anguniarneqarpoq Issittumi ilisimatuussutsikkut ilisimatusarnerup ingerlanneqartup saqqummiunnissaa nassuiaannissaalu, tassani pingaartinneqarpoq asimi suliaqarneq avatangiisillu allanngoriartupiloornerat. Atuartorineqarusuttut tassaapput meeqqat, inuusuit, angajoqqaat ilinniartitsisullu, nuna qeriuaannartoq pillugu ilisimatusarnerup nuannersumik tamanullu paasiuminartunngortinnissaa anguniarlugu. Tassami imaakkami : nuna qeriuaannartoq nunarsuup avannarpasissortaani 20 mio. km2-isut annertutigivoq, nunarujussuaq. Silallu kissakkiartornerani, nuna qeriuaannartoq aakkiartulerpoq illut, aqquserngit mittarfiillu qajannarsipput. Siornatigut nunap qerisimasup aakkiartupiloornerata kinguneranik naasut uumasullu uumaffii akornusersorneqartarput, erngup pitsaassusia tatsinilu uumassusillit sunnerneqartarput aamma silaannarmut CO2 gassit silaannarmik kissakkiartortitsisartut aniatinneqartarput, silap pissusiata allanngoriartorneranut annertusaataasumik. Taamaattumik nuna qeriuaannartoq aamma silap pissusiata allanngoriartorneranut qanoq qisuariarnersoq tamatta ilisimasariaqarparput. Suliniutip aallartisarnerani International Permafrost Association tapersiisuuvoq, kingornalu aningaasaliisut allat aamma ilanngupput. Tassunga killippugut, maannakkut, isumassarsisoqareerneranit ukiut marluk qaangiuttut. Maanna atuarnialikkat tassaavoq eqqumiitsuliortut ilisimatuullu isumassarsiaminnik paarlaasseqatigiittarnerisa kingunerat. Aallaqqaammut qinnuteqaqqusigatta eqqumiitsuliortunit qinnuteqaatit 49-t nunanit 16-init tigusimavavut. Nalilersuilluariarluta eqqumiitsuliortut marluk suliniummi uani sulisussatut qinerpavut : Noémie Ross Canada-meersoq, aamma Heta Nääs Finland-imeersoq Ilisimatuunit immersorneqarlutik Noémie aamma Heta alutornarluinnartunik titartaapput, taakkulu nunani qeriuaannartuni avatangiisit qisuariarnerisa ilaannik nassuiaapput, qanoq taakku inunnut uumasunullu sunniuteqarnersut, qanorlu ilisimatuut allannguutit taakku paasilluarniarlugit iliuuseqarnersut, taama inuit nutaaliaasumik naleqqussarnissaannut ikiorniarlugit. Tamassi kissaappassi mappersagannguaq atuarussiuk nuannisarumaartusi, suliniummullu tapersersuisut tamaasa qutsavigaagut.

This project started in October 2015 with a crazy idea : prepare and submit a funding application for an international, multidisciplinary and non-traditional scientific outreach project… within the next 48 hours. Well, it worked out. A group of highly motivated young researchers from Canada and Europe united to combine arts and science and produce a series of outreach comic strips about permafrost (frozen ground). The aim of the project is to present and explain scientific research conducted across the circumpolar Arctic, placing emphasis on field work and the rapidly changing northern environment. The target audience is kids, youth, parents and teachers, with the general goal of making permafrost science more fun and accessible to the public. Because guess what : permafrost represents an area of more than twenty million km2 in the Northern Hemisphere, a huge area. As the climate warms, permafrost thaws and becomes unstable for houses, roads and airports. This rapid thawing of previously frozen ground also disrupts plant and animal habitats, impacts water quality and the ecology of lakes, and releases carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, making climate change even stronger. Hence permafrost and its response to climate change concerns us all. The project received initial support from the International Permafrost Association (IPA) as a targeted ‘Action Group’, and since then several other sponsors have joined the project. Here we are, now, two years after this first idea. What you are about to read is the result of an iterative process of exchanging ideas between artists and scientists. We first made an application call and received 49 applications from artists in 16 countries. Through a formal review process, we then selected two artists to work on this project: Noémie Ross from Canada, and Heta Nääs from Finland. With input from scientists, Noémie and Heta created fantastic cartoons that explain some of the changes happening to the environment in permafrost areas, how they affect people and wildlife, and what scientists are doing to better understand these changes to help people find innovative ways to adapt. We wish everyone plenty of fun reading this booklet and we would like to thank all those who supported this project., Dette projekt startede med en vild idé i oktober 2015 : Skriv en ansøgning om finansiering af et internationalt, tværfagligt og utraditionelt videnskabeligt outreach-projekt... inden for de næste 48 timer. Og det virkede. En gruppe stærkt motiverede unge forskere fra Canada og Europa gik sammen for at kombinere kunst og videnskab og lave en række tegneserier om permafrost (frossen jord). Formålet med projektet er at præsentere og forklare videnskabelig forskning, udført på tværs af det arktiske område, med vægt på feltarbejde og det arktiske miljø i hurtig forandring. Målgruppen er børn, unge, forældre og lærere, og det overordnede mål er at gøre videnskab om permafrost sjovere og mere tilgængelig for offentligheden. For tænk engang : permafrost repræsenterer et område på mere end tyve millioner km2 på den nordlige halvkugle, et enormt område. Eftersom klimaet bliver varmere, tør permafrosten og bliver et ustabilt underlag for huse, veje og lufthavne. Denne hurtige optøning af den tidligere frosne jord, ændrer også planters og dyrs habitater, påvirker vandkvaliteten og søernes økologi samt frigiver kulstof til atmosfæren som drivhusgasser, hvilket gør klimaforandringerne endnu stærkere. Derfor vedrører permafrost og dens reaktion på klimaforandringer os alle. Projektet modtog fra starten støtte fra ”International Permafrost Association” (IPA) som en målrettet ‘Action Group’, og siden da er flere andre sponsorer kommet med i projektet. Her er vi nu to år efter denne første ide. Det, du nu skal til at læse, er resultatet af en udveksling af ideer mellem kunstnere og forskere. Vi opfordrede kunstnere til at deltage og modtog 49 ansøgninger fra kunstnere i 16 lande. Ud af alle ansøgerne valgte vi to kunstnere til projektet : Noémie Ross fra Canada og Heta Nääs fra Finland. Med input fra forskere, skabte Noémie og Heta fantastiske tegneserier, der forklarer nogle af de ændringer, der sker i miljøet i permafrostområder, hvordan de påvirker mennesker og dyreliv, og hvad forskere gør for bedre at forstå disse ændringer for at hjælpe folk med at finde innovative måder at tilpasse sig på. Vi ønsker alle masser af sjov med dette hæfte, og vi vil gerne takke alle dem, der støttede projektet.

This project started in October 2015 with a crazy idea : prepare and submit a funding application for an international, multidisciplinary and non-traditional scientific outreach project… within the next 48 hours. Well, it worked out. A group of highly motivated young researchers from Canada and Europe united to combine arts and science and produce a series of outreach comic strips about permafrost (frozen ground). The aim of the project is to present and explain scientific research conducted across the circumpolar Arctic, placing emphasis on field work and the rapidly changing northern environment. The target audience is kids, youth, parents and teachers, with the general goal of making permafrost science more fun and accessible to the public. Because guess what : permafrost represents an area of more than twenty million km2 in the Northern Hemisphere, a huge area. As the climate warms, permafrost thaws and becomes unstable for houses, roads and airports. This rapid thawing of previously frozen ground also disrupts plant and animal habitats, impacts water quality and the ecology of lakes, and releases carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, making climate change even stronger. Hence permafrost and its response to climate change concerns us all. The project received initial support from the International Permafrost Association (IPA) as a targeted ‘Action Group’, and since then several other sponsors have joined the project. Here we are, now, two years after this first idea. What you are about to read is the result of an iterative process of exchanging ideas between artists and scientists. We first made an application call and received 49 applications from artists in 16 countries. Through a formal review process, we then selected two artists to work on this project: Noémie Ross from Canada, and Heta Nääs from Finland. With input from scientists, Noémie and Heta created fantastic cartoons that explain some of the changes happening to the environment in permafrost areas, how they affect people and wildlife, and what scientists are doing to better understand these changes to help people find innovative ways to adapt. We wish everyone plenty of fun reading this booklet and we would like to thank all those who supported this project.

Accelerating climate change and increased economic and environmental interests in permafrost-affected regions have resulted in an acute need for more directed permafrost research. In June 2014, 88 early career researchers convened to identify future priorities for permafrost research. This multidisciplinary forum concluded that five research topics deserve greatest attention: permafrost landscape dynamics, permafrost thermal modeling, integration of traditional knowledge, spatial distribution of ground ice, and engineering issues. These topics underline the need for integrated research across a spectrum of permafrost-related domains and constitute a contribution to the Third International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP III).

This project started in October 2015 with a crazy idea : prepare and submit a funding application for an international, multidisciplinary and non-traditional scientific outreach project… within the next 48 hours. Well, it worked out. A group of highly motivated young researchers from Canada and Europe united to combine arts and science and produce a series of outreach comic strips about permafrost (frozen ground). The aim of the project is to present and explain scientific research conducted across the circumpolar Arctic, placing emphasis on field work and the rapidly changing northern environment. The target audience is kids, youth, parents and teachers, with the general goal of making permafrost science more fun and accessible to the public. Because guess what : permafrost represents an area of more than twenty million km2 in the Northern Hemisphere, a huge area. As the climate warms, permafrost thaws and becomes unstable for houses, roads and airports. This rapid thawing of previously frozen ground also disrupts plant and animal habitats, impacts water quality and the ecology of lakes, and releases carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, making climate change even stronger. Hence permafrost and its response to climate change concerns us all. The project received initial support from the International Permafrost Association (IPA) as a targeted ‘Action Group’, and since then several other sponsors have joined the project. Here we are, now, two years after this first idea. What you are about to read is the result of an iterative process of exchanging ideas between artists and scientists. We first made an application call and received 49 applications from artists in 16 countries. Through a formal review process, we then selected two artists to work on this project: Noémie Ross from Canada, and Heta Nääs from Finland. With input from scientists, Noémie and Heta created fantastic cartoons that explain some of the changes happening to the environment in permafrost areas, how they affect people and wildlife, and what scientists are doing to better understand these changes to help people find innovative ways to adapt. We wish everyone plenty of fun reading this booklet and we would like to thank all those who supported this project., Ce projet est né en octobre 2015 avec une idée de fou : préparer et soumettre une demande de financement pour un projet de vulgarisation scientifique international, multidisciplinaire et non traditionnel… le tout en 48 heures. On dirait bien que ça a fonctionné. Un groupe de jeunes chercheurs motivés du Canada et d’Europe ont joint leurs efforts afin de réunir arts et science dans un projet de bandes dessinées sur le pergélisol (sol gelé). L’objectif de ce projet est de présenter et d’expliquer la recherche scientifique réalisée à travers l’Arctique, en mettant l’emphase sur le travail de terrain et sur l’environnement nordique en mutation. Le public-cible inclut les enfants, jeunes et moins jeunes, les parents et les enseignants, avec comme but de rendre la science du pergélisol amusante et accessible au grand public. Ce qu’il faut savoir, c’est que le pergélisol occupe une superficie de plus de vingt millions de kilomètres carrés dans l’hémisphère nord. Avec le réchauffement climatique, le pergélisol dégèle et devient plus instable sous les bâtiments, les routes et les pistes d’aéroports. Le dégel rapide d’un sol autrefois gelé perturbe également les écosystèmes, notamment la qualité de l’eau dans les milieux aquatiques, et relâche du carbone vers l’atmosphère sous forme de gaz à effet de serre, amplifiant le réchauffement. Bref, la dynamique du pergélisol face aux changements climatiques nous concerne tous. Ce projet a reçu un premier soutien financier de l’International Permafrost Association (IPA) en 2015, et depuis, plusieurs autres partenaires se sont joints à nous. C’est grâce à eux que nous présentons aujourd’hui cette version française. Nous y voilà, donc, trois ans après cette première idée. Ce que vous vous apprê-tez à lire est le résultat de nombreux échanges entre artistes et scientifiques. Nous avons d’abord lancé un appel d’offres et reçu 49 dossiers d’artistes pro-venant de 16 pays. Au terme d’une évaluation rigoureuse, nous avons choisi deux artistes pour travailler sur ce projet : Noémie Ross du Canada et Heta Nääs de Finlande. Avec l’apport des scientifiques, Noémie et Heta ont créé de fabuleuses illustrations expliquant les changements en cours dans les régions affectées par le pergélisol, comment ces mutations affectent les populations et les espèces, et ce que font les scientifiques pour mieux comprendre ces changements et aider les populations à s’y adapter. Nous souhaitons à tous beaucoup de plaisir à lire ce livret et nous en profitons pour remercier chaleureusement tous nos partenaires., Dieses Projekt startete im Oktober 2015 mit einer verrückten Idee : Schreiben und Einreichen eines Antrags auf Förderung einer internationalen, multidisziplinären und nicht-traditionell wissenschaftlichen Projektinitiative… innerhalb von 48 Stunden. Und es hat geklappt ! Eine Gruppe hoch motivierter, junger Forscher aus Kanada und Europa hat sich gebildet um Kunst und Wissenschaft zu kombinieren und eine Reihe von Comics über Permafrost (gefrorene Böden) zu produzieren. Unser Ziel ist es, zu zeigen, wie wissenschaftliches Arbeiten im hohen Norden funktioniert, mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Geländearbeit und den schnellen Umweltveränderungen in der Arktis. Die Zielgruppe sind Kinder, Jugendliche, Eltern und Lehrer, mit dem allgemeinen Ziel, Permafrost zugänglicher und mit Spaß zu vermitteln. Denn ratet mal: Permafrost ist ein Gebiet von mehr als 20 Millionen km2 auf der Nordhalbkugel – ein riesiges Gebiet. Durch die Klimaerwärmung taut der Permafrost und wird zu instabil, um Häuser, Straßen und Flughäfen zu tragen. Durch das Auftauen von gefrorenem Boden werden außerdem Pflanzen- und Tierhabitate zerstört, die Wasserqualität und Ökologie von Seen beeinflusst und auf Grund der Freisetzung von Kohlenstoff als Treibhausgas in die Atmosphäre wird der Klimawandel sogar verstärkt. Daher betrifft Permafrost und seine Reaktion auf den Klimawandel uns alle. Die Internationale Permafrost Gemeinschaft (IPA) hat das Projekt als „Action Group“ von Beginn an unterstützt und seitdem sind noch viele weitere Sponsoren dazugekommen. Und hier sind wir nun: Zwei Jahre nach der ersten Idee. Ihr seid kurz davor das zu lesen, was das Ergebnis eines ständigen Austauschs zwischen Künstlern und Wissenschaftlern ist. Zunächst hatten wir eine Ausschreibungsrunde und erhielten 49 Bewerbungen von Künstlern aus 16 Ländern. Durch ein Bewertungsverfahren wählten wir zwei Künstlerinnen aus, um an diesem Projekt zu arbeiten: Noémie Ross aus Kanada und Heta Nääs aus Finnland. Mit den Beiträgen von Wissenschaftlern erstellten Noémie und Heta fantastische Cartoons, die ein paar der Veränderungen erklären, die in Permafrost-Gebieten passieren. Zum Beispiel: wie wird die Welt der Menschen und Tiere beeinflusst und was machen Forscher, um diese Prozesse besser zu verstehen, sodass sie den Einheimischen helfen können, innovative Wege zur Anpassung zu finden.

Communicating science about a phenomenon found under ground and defined by its thermal properties in an easy, funny, and engaging way, can be a challenge. Two years ago, a group of young researchers from Canada and Europe united to tackle this problem by combining arts and science to produce a series of outreach comic strips about permafrost (frozen ground). Because this concerns us all. As the climate warms, permafrost thaws and becomes unstable for houses, roads and airports. The thawing also disrupts ecosystems, impacts water quality, and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, making climate change even stronger. The Frozen Ground Cartoon project aims to present and explain permafrost research, placing emphasis on field work and the rapidly changing northern environment. The target audience is kids, youth, parents and teachers, with the general goal of making permafrost science more fun and accessible to the public. The project has so far produced 22 pages of comics through an iterative process of exchanging ideas between two artists and thirteen scientists. The project artists were selected through an application call that received 49 applications from artists in 16 countries. With input from scientists, artists Noémie Ross (Canada) and Heta Nääs (Finland) have created a set of beautiful, artistic, humoristic, and pedagogic comics. The comics are available for free download through the project web page (in English and Swedish), and printed copies have so far been handed out to school kids and general public in Europe and Canada. The next steps of this project are (1) to distribute the comics as wide as possible, (2) work towards translations into more languages, and (3) to evaluate the effectiveness of the science communication through the comics, in collaboration with schools and pedagogic experts.

This project started in October 2015 with a crazy idea : prepare and submit a funding application for an international, multidisciplinary and non-traditional scientific outreach project… within the next 48 hours. Well, it worked out. A group of highly motivated young researchers from Canada and Europe united to combine arts and science and produce a series of outreach comic strips about permafrost (frozen ground). The aim of the project is to present and explain scientific research conducted across the circumpolar Arctic, placing emphasis on field work and the rapidly changing northern environment. The target audience is kids, youth, parents and teachers, with the general goal of making permafrost science more fun and accessible to the public. Because guess what : permafrost represents an area of more than twenty million km2 in the Northern Hemisphere, a huge area. As the climate warms, permafrost thaws and becomes unstable for houses, roads and airports. This rapid thawing of previously frozen ground also disrupts plant and animal habitats, impacts water quality and the ecology of lakes, and releases carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, making climate change even stronger. Hence permafrost and its response to climate change concerns us all. The project received initial support from the International Permafrost Association (IPA) as a targeted ‘Action Group’, and since then several other sponsors have joined the project. Here we are, now, two years after this first idea. What you are about to read is the result of an iterative process of exchanging ideas between artists and scientists. We first made an application call and received 49 applications from artists in 16 countries. Through a formal review process, we then selected two artists to work on this project: Noémie Ross from Canada, and Heta Nääs from Finland. With input from scientists, Noémie and Heta created fantastic cartoons that explain some of the changes happening to the environment in permafrost areas, how they affect people and wildlife, and what scientists are doing to better understand these changes to help people find innovative ways to adapt. We wish everyone plenty of fun reading this booklet and we would like to thank all those who supported this project., Ce projet est né en octobre 2015 avec une idée de fou : préparer et soumettre une demande de financement pour un projet de vulgarisation scientifique international, multidisciplinaire et non traditionnel… le tout en 48 heures. On dirait bien que ça a fonctionné. Un groupe de jeunes chercheurs motivés du Canada et d’Europe ont joint leurs efforts afin de réunir arts et science dans un projet de bandes dessinées sur le pergélisol (sol gelé). L’objectif de ce projet est de présenter et d’expliquer la recherche scientifique réalisée à travers l’Arctique, en mettant l’emphase sur le travail de terrain et sur l’environnement nordique en mutation. Le public-cible inclut les enfants, jeunes et moins jeunes, les parents et les enseignants, avec comme but de rendre la science du pergélisol amusante et accessible au grand public. Ce qu’il faut savoir, c’est que le pergélisol occupe une superficie de plus de vingt millions de kilomètres carrés dans l’hémisphère nord. Avec le réchauffement climatique, le pergélisol dégèle et devient plus instable sous les bâtiments, les routes et les pistes d’aéroports. Le dégel rapide d’un sol autrefois gelé perturbe également les écosystèmes, notamment la qualité de l’eau dans les milieux aquatiques, et relâche du carbone vers l’atmosphère sous forme de gaz à effet de serre, amplifiant le réchauffement. Bref, la dynamique du pergélisol face aux changements climatiques nous concerne tous. Ce projet a reçu un premier soutien financier de l’International Permafrost Association (IPA) en 2015, et depuis, plusieurs autres partenaires se sont joints à nous. C’est grâce à eux que nous présentons aujourd’hui cette version française. Nous y voilà, donc, trois ans après cette première idée. Ce que vous vous apprê-tez à lire est le résultat de nombreux échanges entre artistes et scientifiques. Nous avons d’abord lancé un appel d’offres et reçu 49 dossiers d’artistes pro-venant de 16 pays. Au terme d’une évaluation rigoureuse, nous avons choisi deux artistes pour travailler sur ce projet : Noémie Ross du Canada et Heta Nääs de Finlande. Avec l’apport des scientifiques, Noémie et Heta ont créé de fabuleuses illustrations expliquant les changements en cours dans les régions affectées par le pergélisol, comment ces mutations affectent les populations et les espèces, et ce que font les scientifiques pour mieux comprendre ces changements et aider les populations à s’y adapter. Nous souhaitons à tous beaucoup de plaisir à lire ce livret et nous en profitons pour remercier chaleureusement tous nos partenaires.

This project started in October 2015 with a crazy idea : prepare and submit a funding application for an international, multidisciplinary and non-traditional scientific outreach project… within the next 48 hours. Well, it worked out. A group of highly motivated young researchers from Canada and Europe united to combine arts and science and produce a series of outreach comic strips about permafrost (frozen ground). The aim of the project is to present and explain scientific research conducted across the circumpolar Arctic, placing emphasis on field work and the rapidly changing northern environment. The target audience is kids, youth, parents and teachers, with the general goal of making permafrost science more fun and accessible to the public. Because guess what : permafrost represents an area of more than twenty million km2 in the Northern Hemisphere, a huge area. As the climate warms, permafrost thaws and becomes unstable for houses, roads and airports. This rapid thawing of previously frozen ground also disrupts plant and animal habitats, impacts water quality and the ecology of lakes, and releases carbon into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, making climate change even stronger. Hence permafrost and its response to climate change concerns us all. The project received initial support from the International Permafrost Association (IPA) as a targeted ‘Action Group’, and since then several other sponsors have joined the project. Here we are, now, two years after this first idea. What you are about to read is the result of an iterative process of exchanging ideas between artists and scientists. We first made an application call and received 49 applications from artists in 16 countries. Through a formal review process, we then selected two artists to work on this project: Noémie Ross from Canada, and Heta Nääs from Finland. With input from scientists, Noémie and Heta created fantastic cartoons that explain some of the changes happening to the environment in permafrost areas, how they affect people and wildlife, and what scientists are doing to better understand these changes to help people find innovative ways to adapt. We wish everyone plenty of fun reading this booklet and we would like to thank all those who supported this project.

The Yukon Coast in Canada is an ice-rich permafrost coast and highly sensitive to changing environmental conditions. Retrogressive thaw slumps are a common thermoerosion feature along this coast, and develop through the thawing of exposed ice-rich permafrost on slopes and removal of accumulating debris. They contribute large amounts of sediment, including organic carbon and nitrogen, to the nearshore zone. The objective of this study was to 1) identify the climatic and geomorphological drivers of sediment-meltwater release, 2) quantify the amount of released meltwater, sediment, organic carbon and nitrogen, and 3) project the evolution of sediment-meltwater release of retrogressive thaw slumps in a changing future climate. The analysis is based on data collected over 18 days in July 2013 and 18 days in August 2012. A cut-throat flume was set up in the main sediment-meltwater channel of the largest retrogressive thaw slump on Herschel Island. In addition, two weather stations, one on top of the undisturbed tundra and one on the slump floor, measured incoming solar radiation, air temperature, wind speed and precipitation. The discharge volume eroding from the ice-rich permafrost and retreating snowbanks was measured and compared to the meteorological data collected in real time with a resolution of one minute. The results show that the release of sediment-meltwater from thawing of the ice-rich permafrost headwall is strongly related to snowmelt, incoming solar radiation and air temperature. Snowmelt led to seasonal differences, especially due to the additional contribution of water to the eroding sediment-meltwater from headwall ablation, lead to dilution of the sediment-meltwater composition. Incoming solar radiation and air temperature were the main drivers for diurnal and inter-diurnal fluctuations. In July (2013), the retrogressive thaw slump released about 25 000 m³ of sediment-meltwater, containing 225 kg dissolved organic carbon and 2050 t of sediment, which in turn included 33 t organic carbon, and 4 t total nitrogen. In August (2012), just 15 600 m³ of sediment-meltwater was released, since there was no additional contribution from snowmelt. However, even without the additional dilution, 281 kg dissolved organic carbon was released. The sediment concentration was twice as high as in July, with sediment contents of up to 457 g l-1 and 3058 t of sediment, including 53 t organic carbon and 5 t nitrogen, being released. In addition, the data from the 36 days of observations from Slump D were upscaled to cover the main summer season of 1 July to 31 August (62 days) and to include all 229 active retrogressive thaw slumps along the Yukon Coast. In total, all retrogressive thaw slumps along the Yukon Coast contribute a minimum of 1.4 Mio. m³ sediment-meltwater each thawing season, containing a minimum of 172 000 t sediment with 3119 t organic carbon, 327 t nitrogen and 17 t dissolved organic carbon. Therefore, in addition to the coastal erosion input to the Beaufort Sea, retrogressive thaw slumps additionally release 3 % of sediment and 8 % of organic carbon into the ocean. Finally, the future evolution of retrogressive thaw slumps under a warming scenario with summer air temperatures increasing by 2-3 °C by 2081-2100, would lead to an increase of 109-114% in release of sediment-meltwater. It can be concluded that retrogressive thaw slumps are sensitive to climatic conditions and under projected future Arctic warming will contribute larger amounts of thawed permafrost material (including organic carbon and nitrogen) into the environment. Die Yukon Küste in Kanada ist eine eisreiche Permafrost Küste und reagiert hoch sensibel auf verändernde Umweltbedingungen. Rückschreitende auftaubedingte Rutschungen sind vielzählig entlang der Küste und entstehen, wenn exponierter eisreicher Permafrost an Hängen auftaut und der daraus resultierende Schlamm abtransportiert wird. Diese Rutschungen tragen große Mengen von Sediment, inklusive organischen Kohlenstoff und Stickstoff, in den küstennahen Bereich. Das Ziel dieser Studie war 1) die klimatischen und geomorphologischen Antriebskräfte für die Freisetzung von Sediment-Schmelzwasser zu identifizieren 2) die Mengen an Schmelzwasser, Sediment, organischen Kohlenstoff und Stickstoff zu quantifizieren und 3) die Entwicklung der Sediment-Schmelzwasser-Freigabe von rückschreitenden Rutschungen unter zukünftigen klimatischen Veränderungen abzuschätzen. Die größte rückschreitende Rutschung auf Herschel Island wird als „Slump D“ bezeichnet und steht im Fokus dieser Arbeit. Die Analysen basierten auf den Daten, die über 18 Tage im Juli (2013) und 18 Tage im August (2012) erhoben wurden. Eine Abfluss-Messrinne wurde in den Haupt-Sediment-Schmelzwasser-Kanal eingebaut, um die Sediment-Schmelzwassermassen zu erfassen. Zusätzlich wurden zwei Wetterstationen aufgebaut (auf der unberührten Tundra und innerhalb der Erosionsfläche), die Sonneneinstrahlung, Lufttemperatur, Windgeschwindigkeit und Niederschlagsmenge aufzeichneten. Das Abflussvolumen, das vom auftauenden, eisreichen Permafrost und den schmelzenden Schneebänken ablief, wurde gemessen und mit den meteorologischen Daten in Echtzeit mit einer Auflösung von einer Minute verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine Freigabe von Sediment-Schmelzwasser beim Auftauen der eisreichen Permafrost-Steilklippe stark von Schneeschmelze, Sonneneinstrahlung und Lufttemperatur abhängen. Die Schneeschmelze führt zu saisonalen Unterschieden, besonders durch den zusätzlichen Betrag von Wasser zu dem erodierenden Sediment-Schmelzwasser der auftauenden Steilklippe. Dies führt zu einer Verdünnung des Sediment-Schmelzwassers. Sonneneinstrahlung und Lufttemperaturen waren die Hauptantriebskräfte für die Schwankungen im Tagesverlauf und die Unterschiede zwischen den Tagen. Die rückschreitende Rutschung gab im Juli (2013) ungefähr 25 000 m³ Sediment-Schmelzwasser frei, welches 225 kg gelösten organischen Kohlenstoff, 2050 t Sediment, inklusive 33 t organischen Kohlenstoff und 4 t Stickstoff enthielt. Im August (2012) fehlte der zusätzliche Eintrag der Schneeschmelze und das Sediment-Schmelzwasser-Volumen war geringer mit 15 600 m³. Dennoch, ohne die zusätzliche Verdünnung, wurden 281 kg gelöster organischer Kohlenstoff freigesetzt. Die Sedimentkonzentration war doppelt so hoch und führte zu einem Sedimentgehalt mit bis zu 457 g l-1 zu 3058 t Sediment, inklusive 53 t organischen Kohlenstoff und 5 t Stickstoff. Zusätzlich wurden die Daten der 36-tägigen Abflussmessung der rückschreitenden Rutschung auf 62 Tage, von 1. Juli bis 31. August auf alle 229 aktiven Rutschungen entlang der Yukon Küste hochgerechnet. Es wurde diskutiert, dass alle rückschreitenden Rutschungen entlang der Yukon Küste zusammen mindestens 1,4 Mio. m³ Sediment-Schmelzwasser während jeder Auftausaison freigeben. Diese enthalten ein Minimum von 172 000 t Sediment, 3119 t organischen Kohlenstoff, 327 t Stickstoff und 17 t gelösten organischen Kohlenstoff. Daher kann zusammengefasst werden, dass zusätzlich zur Küstenerosion von allen Rutschungen noch ein zusätzlicher Beitrag von 3 % Sediment und 8 % organischen Kohlenstoff in die Beaufort See eingetragen wird. Schließlich wurde die zukünftige Entwicklung dieser rückschreitenden Rutschungen bei einem Temperaturanstieg von 2-3 °C bis 2081-2100 diskutiert. Dies könnte zu einem Anstieg der Sediment-Schmelzwasser-Freigabe von 109-114 % führen. Es kann daraus geschlossen werden, dass rückschreitende Rutschungen sensibel auf Klimabedingungen reagieren und mit der Arktischen Erwärmung größere Mengen an auftauenden Permafrost (inklusive organischen Kohlenstoff und Stickstoff) in die Umwelt freigeben werden.

Apart from people in cold region communities and a small – although steadily growing – scientific community, the general public knows very little about permafrost properties, its dynamics in response to climate change, and the research going on in the field. We are addressing this by making permafrost science accessible to children, youth, their parents, and teachers. We are producing a 100% outreach-related project that aims at ‘Fostering permafrost research to the ends of the Earth’ (http://ipa.arcticportal.org), but with a casual approach via a series of comic strips. Cartoons are excellent ways to communicate messages in today’s media landscape: they are graphic, funny and direct, and can be rapidly shared via social media to reach many people. Our outreach project targets the general public, focusing on young students who have to choose career paths at the high school or college levels. By introducing them to permafrost research activities, particularly fieldwork, our ‘Frozen-Ground Cartoon’ will enhance the dissemination of permafrost knowledge and broaden the international community of permafrost ‘lovers’. This new project is coordinated by a core group of permafrost early career researchers from Canada, Germany, Sweden and Portugal (in collaboration with an ‘external senior advisor’), and is endorsed by the International Permafrost Association (IPA) as a targeted ‘Action Group’ (http://ipa.arcticportal.org/activities/action-groups). Here we present an overview of our Action Group, including main objectives, significance, and potential future outcomes.

Over the past two decades, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) have organized activities focused on international and interdisciplinary perspectives for advancing Arctic and Antarctic research cooperation and knowledge dissemination in many areas (e.g. Kennicutt et al., 2014). For permafrost science, however, no consensus document exists at the international level to identify future research priorities, although the International Permafrost Association (IPA) highlighted the need for such a document during the 10th International Conference on Permafrost in 2012. Four years later, this presentation, which is based on the results obtained by Fritz et al. (2015), outlines the outcome of an international and interdisciplinary effort conducted by early career researchers (ECRs). This effort was designed as a contribution to the Third International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP III). In June 2014, 88 ERCs convened during the Fourth European Conference on Permafrost to identify future priorities for permafrost research. We aimed to meet our goals of hosting an effective large group dialogue by means of online question development followed by a “World Café” conversational process. An overview of the process is provided in Figure 1. This activity was organized by the two major early career researcher associations Permafrost Young Researchers’ Network (PYRN) and the Association of Polar Early career Scientists (APECS), as well as the regional research projects PAGE21 (EU) and ADAPT (Canada). Participants were provided with live instructions including criteria regarding what makes a research question (Sutherland et al., 2011). The top five questions that emerged from this process are: (1) How does permafrost degradation affect landscape dynamics at different spatial and temporal scales? (2) How can ground thermal models be improved to better reflect permafrost dynamics at high spatial resolution? (3) How can traditional environmental knowledge be integrated in permafrost research? (4) What is the spatial distribution of different ground-ice types and how susceptible is ice-rich permafrost to future environmental change? (5) What is the influence of infrastructures on the thermal regime and stability of permafrost in different environmental settings? As the next generation of permafrost researchers, we see the need and the opportunity to participate in framing the future research priorities. Across the polar sciences, ECRs have built powerful networks, such as the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and the Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN), which have enabled us to efficiently consult with the community. Many participants of this community-input exercise will be involved in and also affected by the Arctic science priorities during the next decade. Therefore, we need to (i) contribute our insights into larger efforts of the community such as the Permafrost Research Priorities initiative by the Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project together with the IPA and (ii) help identify relevant gaps and a suitable roadmap for the future of Arctic research. Critical evaluation of the progress made since ICARP II and revisiting the science plans and recommendations will be crucial. IASC and the IPA, together with SCAR on bipolar activities, should coordinate the research agendas in a proactive manner engaging all partners, including funding agencies, policy makers, and local communities. Communicating our main findings to society in a dialogue between researchers and the public is a priority. Special attention must be given to indigenous peoples living on permafrost, where knowledge exchange creates a mutual benefit for science and local communities. The ICARP III process is an opportunity to better communicate the global importance of permafrost to policy makers and the public.

Over the past ten years the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) has been conducting research along the coast of the Canadian Beaufort Sea. The capabilities and research efforts have been expanding ever since, resulting in the application of TerraSAR-X imagery for investigations into land cover changes, and subsidence. The AWI sees great potential for future applications of radar imagery at regional scales, along with the ground validation in a remote yet climatically sensitive region. The capacities offered by the TerraSAR-X platform present a unique possibility to enhance and complement existing research conducted by the AWI based on remotely sensed optical data (e.g. SPOT, GEOEYE, etc.). Possible research directions involve change tracking of permafrost degradation (e.g. thermokarst features such as retrogressive thaw slumps and lakes), quantification of coastal erosion, vegetation community change, vegetation structure, surface water and surface moisture investigations, and fast ice mapping. In addition, the applicability of TerraSAR-X data for investigations into wetland- and tundra vegetation, and land disturbances would be investigated. These investigations would make use of the TSX stripmap and scansar mode acquisitions already available in the archive, and future TSX acquisitions in 2013.