ANTPAS Expert Group Report 2022 Popular

Antarctic Permafrost, Soils and Periglacial Environments (ANTPAS) 2020-22 Report

Expert Group of the Geosciences Group

Report Author(s): Mauro Guglielmin (Italy), Marc Oliva (Spain)

Summary of activities from 2020-22

ANTPAS activities since 2020 were very restricted by the pandemic situation.

Some ANTPAS members conducted research in Antarctica in January-February 2021 and 2022 in Maritime Antarctica or in December in Victoria Land, basically performing the monitoring activities of permafrost and active layer boreholes. Research was very limited, particularly in 2021, as field activities were cancelled in the frozen continent.

Some other ANTPAS members made essentially the maintaining of the permafrost monitoring network in Northern and Southern Victoria Land as well as in Signy Island and Rothera Station.

In 2022 the situation has started to go back to normality and ANTPAS members have developed again field activities. We expect that the situation will even improve in 2023 and ANTPAS researchers can continue to foster permafrost research in Antarctica promoting sessions and seminars in regional and international meetings.