Czech permafrost research activities cover a wide range of research topics, including long-termmonitoring of active layer and permafrost thermal regimes, periglacial geomorphology microbiology, and the ecology of the periglacial domain. Notably, Masaryk University in Brno and the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice operate research stations in James Ross Island, Antarctica, and Svalbard, respectively, providing a unique opportunity for long-term research and education of new generations of students. Moreover, Czech scientists are involved in permafrost-related projects in Alaska, Canada, Siberia, and Greenland.
The application of Czech Republic to join IPA was submitted in 2024 by Filip Hrbáček (Masaryk University), who will serve as a new representative of the Czech Republic in the IPA council. Dr. Hrbáček’s application was supported by a group of six scientists – Michaela Kňažková (Masaryk University), Jana Voříšková (Institute of Microbiology, CAS), Jiří Bárta and Jan Kavan (University of South Bohemia), Tomáš Uxa (Institute of Geophysics, CAS), Zbyněk Engel (Charles University). The application was approved by the IPA Council and the membership will start in 2025.
Centre for Polar Ecology is involved in permafrost research through its long-term monitoring of the physico-chemical active layer of permafrost (temperature and soil moisture measurements) at 10 long-term meteorological stations around the University of South Bohemia field base at Petuniabukta, Svalbard. Since 2021 we have added 3 sites in Alaska thanks to an international project in cooperation with the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. CPE scientists are complementing the measurements with biochemical and genetic analyses of permafrost-resident microbial communities using advanced DNA analyses.
New IPA member: Czechia - International Permafrost Association
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