GFÚ researcher Tomáš Uxa is part of the 20th expedition of Masaryk University (MUNI) to the J.G. Mendel Czech Antarctic Station on James Ross Island in the Antarctic Peninsula. The primary scientific goals are long-term climate monitoring and comprehensive monitoring of the state of polar geo- and ecosystems. In this expedition, Tomáš Uxa is involved in research focusing on the impact of climate change on permafrost in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Together with his colleagues, he will be monitoring permafrost and the seasonally thawing active layer, largely building on nearly 20 years of long-term time series data collection. The group of researchers left the Czech Republic in January, T. Uxa will spend approximately two months on the expedition.
Tomáš Uxa particularly focuses on periglacial landforms and surveys past and present distribution and thermal regime of active layer and permafrost in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Photo: J. G. Mendel Station – Czech Antarctic research (MUNI).
Relevant articles:
Kaplan Pastíriková L, Hrbáček F, Uxa T, Láska K. Permafrost table temperature and active layer thickness variability on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula, in 2004-2021. Science of the Total Environment. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 2023, roč. 869, April, s. 1-12. ISSN 0048-9697. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161690.
Hrbáček F, and Uxa T. The evolution of a near-surface ground thermal regime and modeled active-layer thickness on James Ross Island, Eastern Antarctic Peninsula, in 2006-2016. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. HOBOKEN: WILEY, 2020, roč. 31, č. 1, s. 141-155. ISSN 1045-6740. doi:10.1002/ppp.2018.
Relevant project:
Distribution, Thickness and Evolution of Permafrost in Central Europe in Late Quaternary (GA21-23196S) / 2021-2023 / J. Šafanda (Institute of Geophysics CAS)
The research is supported by the JUNIOR STAR project, principal investigator is Dr. Filip Hrbáček (Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, MUNI)
Tomáš Uxa