The Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost is the primary international programme concerned with monitoring permafrost parameters. GTN‐P was developed in the 1990s by the International Permafrost Association under the Global Climate observing System and the , with the long-term goal of obtaining a comprehensive view of the spatial structure, trends and variability of changes in the active layer thickness and permafrost temperature. GCOS and GTOS established 50 Essential Climate Variables, of which one is permafrost. Within the GTN-P, involving the senior and young permafrost scientific community, two permafrost key variables have been identified as ECV's:
the , which is permafrost temperature, long-term monitored by an extensive borehole network
the Active Layer Thickness, which is the annual thaw depth of permafrost, mostly referring to the monitoring network of
The Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost governance structure aims to coordinate, manage, support and promote the GCOS and IPA initiative to monitor the thermal state of permafrost, which currently includes the active layer thickness and ground temperature in all permafrost regions of the Earth. GTN-P frames and adapts the best monitoring strategies and standards for permafrost monitoring in the context of existing and new developments in nature, science and technology. Members of the GTN-P governing board represent a wide palette of specialties involved in permafrost observation as well as specialists of data management. The GTN-P governing board consists of the Steering Committee, the Advisory Board and the Secretariat.
Steering Committee
the Steering Committee is the Governing body of the GTN-P
the Steering Committee consists of not more than six members which are jointly nominated by leading GCOS, IPA and GTN-P representatives and the scientific community
members of the SC are renewed every four years; re-election is possible
activities of the SC are managed by the SC Chair, which is elected by the SC
the SC meets approximately annually to assess the state of the international monitoring of permafrost
the SC reviles the issues and establishes the agenda about which the Advisory Board shall be consulted
the SC reports approximately annually on the GTN-P activities to the funding agencies and umbrella organizations of the GCOS and the IPA
Advisory Board
the Advisory Board is the body that provides non-binding strategic advice and scientific expertise to the management of GTN-P
representatives to the Board are jointly nominated by the GTN-P Steering Committee, the IPA Steering Committee and the GTN-P Secretariat
it will serve for four-year renewable terms, and will normally communicate electronically
the Advisory Board advises the GTN-P, GCOS and IPA initiatives concerning present practice and future developments of the monitoring of permafrost, and also on the delivery of datasets to the wider permafrost community
it periodically evaluates the work of the GTN-P Steering Committee and the GTN-P Secretariat in approximately four-year interval
Secretariat
the Secretariat is the executing body that is managing the current business of the GTN-P
the Secretariat is nominated by the GTN-P Steering Committee
members of the Secretariat are renewed every four years; re-election is possible
the Secretariat is responsible for the dialogue and linkages with other organizations, the periodic reporting and release of products for GTN-P and the financial management including fundraising
it is responsible for the data management including integration, standardization, quality control, formatting, archiving and publishing of the GTN-P data
it communicates with and supports the National Correspondents of GTN-P to facilitate the upload and quality control of TSP and CALM data to the GTN-P Database
it reports annually to the Steering Committee and the Advisory Board about the status of the GTN-P Database and produce policy-relevant bulletins on GTN-P outputs
National Correspondents
National Correspondents are proposed by the IPA national Adhering Bodies
NC foster the implementation of the GTN-P strategy in their country
NC are responsible for stimulating and coordinating the collection of data, quality control, and reporting by the individual investigators
NC maintain close contacts with relevant institutions and funding agencies in their country and the IPA national Adhering Bodies
GTN-P Database
The is hosted at the in Akureyri, Iceland. It is managed in close cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Potsdam, Germany, which was also the coordinator of the project within EU 7th framework programme, the main sponsor for the establishment of this database. The database management operates towards providing a web-based resource for essential climate variables of the Global Terrestrial Network on Permafrost, aiming to enable the assessment of the relation between ground temperature, gas fluxes and the Earth’s climate system. The database contains time series of borehole temperatures and grids of active layer thickness: TSP and ALT. The GTN-P database additionally contains air and surface temperature and moisture measured in the terrestrial Panarctic, Antarctic and Mountainous realms.
