Permafrost monitoring in the high mountains of Europe: the PACE project inits global context

This paper introduces the structure and organization of permafrost monitori ng within global climate-related monitoring programmes. The five-tiered pri nciple proposed for the Global Hierarchical Observing Strategy (GHOST) is a pplied to the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) monitoring system, and the European network of mountain permafrost boreholes establish ed by the PACE project is discussed in the context of GTN-P. Borehole desig n and standard PACE instrumentation are described and some preliminary data from selected boreholes are presented. The broader research aims of the PA CE programme include geophysical investigations, mapping and GIS strategies , numerical distribution modelling, physical modelling of thaw-related slop e processes and mountain permafrost hazard assessment. Copyright (C) 2001 J ohn Wiley & Sons, Ltd.