This book is in response to the growing demand from academics and the general public for state-of-the-art research in permafrost science and, in particular, information about its impacts on infrastructure and ecosystems. It brings together research from diverse but highly complementary scientific disciplines to illuminate the main physical, chemical and biological processes occurring in permafrost systems and identifies the possible mechanisms controlling fluxes of energy and matter at various scales. Taken together, the 8 chapters of this book provide a comprehensive, up-to-date description and analysis of the basic geomorphological, physical, hydrological, chemical and biological aspects of permafrost-affected ecosystems, their interaction with other components of the landscape and their impact on human life and infrastructure.