Alexander Kholodov
University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK·Earth & Environmental Science
Permafrost, ground that stays frozen year-round, underlies much of the Arctic. As the region warms, changes in permafrost affect vegetation, water flow, ground stability and the buildings, roads and pipelines that rest on frozen soil.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
Engineering
Social Science
- Topics
permafrost
active layer
active-layer thickness
- Grants
- 3 known grants, through Sep 2028
What they work on
- Measure long-term active-layer thickness, ground temperature and thaw subsidence at standardized sites along three climatic and ecological transects in northern Alaska, and compare how site conditions control seasonal thaw.
- Integrate Alaskan active-layer and ground temperature data with nearly 300 international sites in the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost database, and finalize standard protocols for subsidence measurement and data archiving.
- Assess how permafrost thaw changes the earthquake response of soils and building foundations, by monitoring key Alaskan infrastructure and running centrifuge physical models that simulate thawing ground.
- Inventory the ice, snow and permafrost 'frozen commons' that communities use, and model the social, environmental and technological forces shaping their resilience, in rural-urban community pairs in Alaska and Russia.
More about the research
Across three collaborative projects, the work combines long-term field measurements of thawing ground with studies of how these changes affect infrastructure, earthquake risk and the communities who live on and use frozen landscapes.
Why it matters
Measurements of thawing ground give engineers, planners, developers and Alaskan communities practical data for building houses, roads and pipelines on permafrost. They also improve global ecosystem models and satellite products. Studies of earthquake risk on thawing ground, and of how communities govern shared ice, snow and permafrost, could help Arctic residents plan for, withstand and recover from disasters as conditions change.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Collaborative Research: The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring Network-CALM VI (2025-2028): Long-term Observations on Arctic Permafrost
NSF · Oct 2025 – Sep 2028
NNA Research: Collaborative Research: Arctic, Climate, and Earthquakes (ACE): Seismic Resilience and Adaptation of Arctic Infrastructure and Social Systems amid Changing Climate
NSF · Jan 2023 – Dec 2027
NNA Research: Collaborative Research: Frozen Commons: Change, Resilience and Sustainability in the Arctic
NSF · Sep 2021 – Aug 2027
Closest labs
Nikolay Shiklomanov
George Washington University, DC·Earth & Environmental Science
Measure active-layer thickness (the seasonally thawed ground above permafrost), ground temperature and thaw subsidence at long-term sites along three climatic and ecological transects in northern Alaska.
Vera Kuklina
University of Maryland, MD·Social Science
Identify and inventory the ice, snow and permafrost 'frozen commons' recognized by Indigenous and local communities and regional stakeholders, and describe how each is governed within its cultural setting.
Matthew Jull
University of Virginia, VA·Engineering
Assess how thawing permafrost changes the earthquake response of soils and foundations, combining monitoring of key Alaskan infrastructure with centrifuge physical modeling.
The school
University of Alaska Fairbanks: 7 labs on PI Pages, $246M a year on research, 31 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.