A b o u t P E R M O S
The main goal of PERMOS is the systematic, long-term documentation and investigation of permafrost in the Swiss Alps with suitable parameters and techniques.
PERMOS has been built up by several research institutes since the early 1990s followed by a 6-year pilot-phase 2000–2006. Since 2007 the networks is offically implemented with a coordination office and secured long-term funding. It is currently developing towards an operational monitoring service. Monitoring techniques have been and still are subject to changes and adaptations based on new experiences and findings. Based on a sound evaluation of the experiences with the measurement sites and concepts of the pilot-phase, the monitoring strategy was updated and adapted in spring 2007. PERMOS aims at a sustainable and congruent network of observation elements by the end of the implementation phase in 2010.
Today, PERMOS is based on three types of observations: (1) ground temperatures measured at and below the surface at borehole sites, (2) changes in subsurface ice and water content at these sites in- ferred by geoelectrical surveys, and (3) velocities of permafrost creep determined by geodetic surveys and/or photogrammetry. In addition, standardized documentation of fast mass movements from permafrost areas (e.g., rock fall) is being established. The PERMOS network 2010 includes 14 borehole sites, and 13 kinematics sites where terrestrial survey is conducted. At 10 sites aerial photographs are taken regularly. Observation data and results are published annually in the bulletin Die Alpen (SAC-CAS) and every second year in the Glaciological Reports (Permafrost) by the Cryospheric Commission (EKK) of the SCNAT.
The PERMOS network is coordinated by the PERMOS Office and supervised by the PERMOS Steering Committee. PERMOS is operated by six university institutes, that is, they are responsible for data aquisition and processing, site maintenance, and reporting. Monitoring strategies, sites, data processing issues, and results are discussed within the PERMOS Scientific Committee. The network receives substantial funds from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, and the Swiss Academy of Sciences (scnat).
PERMOS is a part of the Cryosphere monitoring in Switzerland and complements the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network, which was established at the end of the 19th century. The Cryospheric Commission (EKK) of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (scnat) is responsible for their coordination. The Swiss GCOS Office at MeteoSwiss coordinates the climatological observations in Switzerland. Within the international framework of permafrost monitoring, PERMOS is one of the components of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) that is established within the worldwide climate-monitoring program (GCOS/GTOS) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and others (FAO, UNEP, UNESCO, ICSI).