Session I - Managing Ice-rich Permafrost Exposed During Construction
Time/Location: TBA

Construction problems related to thawed ice-rich permafrost, documented more than one-half century ago, still occur. In many instances the mitigation strategies employed to reduce the consequences of thawing permafrost only met with partial success or were completely unsuccessful. Newer environmental laws have defined as unacceptable some of the techniques that were recognized as "best practice" for many years.

At the present time construction engineers charged with the successful completion of a project in a permafrost environment have few, if any, resources available to identify a suitable mitigation strategy, particularly in an era of increasingly stringent and challenging environmental regulations. Engineers do not possess a synthesis of design and construction methods to deal with:

• exposed and thawing ice-rich permafrost
• disposal of excavated ice-rich permafrost
• the use of permafrost to construct an embankment.
  

The purpose of the breakout session is (1) to review, through audience participation, mitigation strategies to deal with the aforementioned issues that are being used by permafrost engineers and scientists worldwide, and (2) promote awareness of changing environmental concerns with respect to construction in a permafrost environment.

Session II - Global Climate Change Design Criteria for
Projects in a Permafrost Environment
Time/Location: TBA

A substantial body of physical evidence from permafrost environments and arctic regions suggests that global climate change may be occurring. Measurements of CO2 in the atmosphere, conducted for one-half century and at an increasing number of observation stations worldwide suggest an increasing concentration of this greenhouse gas. Over 30 Global Climate Models (also referred to as General Circulation Models or GCMs) when "forced" with various future increased CO2 concentration scenarios predict a warming climate, with the greatest increase in the polar regions, as well as the greatest variability in the GCM predictions. Furthermore, when the GCMs are used to predict future cloud cover or precipitation in the form of snow, the GCM results "scatter" to a degree that a meaningful comparison of results is not possible.

The purpose of the breakout session is to review, through audience participation, global climate change design criteria that have been or are contemplated for future use by permafrost engineers and scientists worldwide and to promote awareness of the issues and uncertainty in the criteria that are presented.