TerraDat is part of a team of scientists who have been monitoring the melting of permafrost in Europe’s alpine regions for the E.U. and Swiss Government in a research project called PACE, Permafrost and Climate in Europe. The experience and innovations developed in this project are available commercially through TERRADAT and its associates.

Given that temperatures in the permafrost layer is only -2 or -3 deg. C, it will not take much warming to cause a melt. The combination of ground temperatures only slightly below zero, high ice contents and steep slopes, makes mountain permafrost particularly vulnerable to changes.

The effects are likely to be most disastrous in the Alps where steep slopes mean villages, roads and railways are built directly below altitude permafrost zones, however this can be a global problem – especially where manmade activities such as pipelines or building services artificially degrade permafrost.

Services we offer:

• Full historical desk study and risk analyis of mountain areas
• Integrated Geophysics Surveys (e.g. seismics, geo-electrical, GPR, BTS etc.)
• Monitoring installations (boreholes, weather stations, slope movement detectors)
• Engineering geology recommendations

Further Reading:

TerraDat Case Study 1: Geo-electrical imaging to map permafrost degradation

TerraDat Case Study 2: Integrated study of a field area in Sierra Nevada, Spain

International Permafrost Association