Arctic Geohazards and Infrastructure: Enhancing Resilience and Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the journal Sustainability (CiteScore 6.8), we would like to invite you to submit papers for consideration in the upcoming Special Issue entitled “Arctic Geohazards and Infrastructure: Enhancing Resilience and Sustainability”. This Issue will address the dynamics in the Arctic region, which is experiencing rapid environmental changes that are affecting geohazards, such as permafrost thaw, coastal erosion, and sea ice loss. These changes may pose both significant challenges and opportunities to adapt infrastructure that is critical for communities, agencies, industries, and others who must operate in this highly variable environment. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to address the pressing need for resilient and sustainable infrastructure solutions that can withstand the unique and evolving geohazards in the Arctic.

Scope and Topics:

We invite original research articles, review papers, case studies, and technical notes that explore various aspects of Arctic geohazards and their impacts on infrastructure. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Geohazard Assessment and Monitoring:

• Methods for detecting and monitoring permafrost thaw, coastal erosion, and other geohazards (domain awareness).
• Remote sensing technologies, such as space- and ground-based observation systems.
• Risk assessment models and predictive tools.

2. Infrastructure Design and Engineering:

• Innovative engineering solutions for resilient Arctic infrastructure.
• Adaptation strategies for existing infrastructure to cope with changing environmental conditions.
• Case studies of successful infrastructure projects in the Arctic, including lessons learned.

3. Environmental and Social Impacts:

• Effects of geohazards on Arctic communities, including Indigenous populations.
• Socio-economic implications of infrastructure failures or adaptations.
• Strategies for community engagement and participatory planning.
• Best practices for information sharing to include training a workforce that can operate year-round.

4. Policy and Governance:

• Regulatory frameworks and policies for sustainable infrastructure development in the Arctic.
• International engagement, cooperation, and agreements on Arctic infrastructure functions to include safety, reliability, and security.
• Role(s) and authorities of government and non-governmental organizations in addressing Arctic geohazards.

5. Technological Innovations:

• Emerging technologies for ensuring cost-effective and resilient Arctic infrastructure.
• Use of artificial intelligence and big data in geohazard prediction and infrastructure management.
• Material science advancements for building in extreme Arctic conditions.
• Adaptive energy approaches and applications, particularly those leveraging lessons learned from other extreme regions on Earth.

Prof. Dr. Lilian Alessa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• arctic geohazards
• permafrost thaw
• coastal erosion
• infrastructure resilience
• climate change adaptation
• remote sensing
• capabilities
• sustainable engineering
• indigenous communities
• environmental monitoring
• policy and governance
• engagement and information sharing