Research

Northern high latitudes are projected to become warmer and wetter, which will affect rates of permafrost thaw and the mechanisms by which thaw occurs. We continue to uncover the environmental controls on permafrost thaw and soil thermal regimes at two climatically different Alaskan sites: Kenai Wildlife Refuge, located at the relatively warm and wet southern fringe of the permafrost zone, and Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Forest, located 400 km north in the colder and drier Alaskan Interior. You can read our recent Kenai paper here.

Like permafrost at northern high latitudes, alpine permafrost, which contains ice content that holds the landscape together, is thawing. Starting summer 2026, the Eklof Change Lab seeks to better understand the state of permafrost on Mt. Rainier, how the permafrost is changing, and the impact these changes will have on the mountaineering community.