摘要
Editor-in-Chief Yuanming Lai,Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences,director of Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou,China,Associate Editor of Cold Regions Science and Technology.Frozen ground accounts for 50%of the earthꞌs land area.With rapid economic development,more and more infrastructures are being constructed in the broad cold regions,resulting in disturbance to the heat balance of the cold environment.Meanwhile,climate warming impacts have been observed worldwide,with more severe effects occurring in the cold regions.Under the combined actions of climate warming and infrastructure development,the frozen ground has degraded and will continue to deteriorate.Due to substantial concerns on the ensuing damages,mitigation for frost heave and thaw settlement of foundations in cold regions has become a vital issue.