We are very pleased to introduce this Journal of Terramechanics Special Issue on Snow Mobility. This collection of papers was compiled from the Joint North America and Asia-Pacific ISTVS Conference and Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Terramechanics in Fairbanks, Alaska, 2007.
The papers included are comprised of the conference special session on Snow Issues and also include a keynote address on the development of oversnow vehicles by Dr. Jo Wong. The conference was held in Fairbanks, Alaska, in June 2007.
It was the first conference to combine the North America and the Asia-Pacific and Japanese Society for Terramechanics regional meetings. The conference timing and location in Fairbanks, AK just after the summer solstice allowed for plenty of daylight hours to observe Alaska and the special adaptations and challenges particular to living in the far north.
This special issue is also particularly timely in that its publication follows the International Polar Year of 2007–2008 where numerous new scientific, engineering and social research studies commenced to further understanding of the special issues related to polar regions, including living and working in cold and snowy terrain.
We sincerely appreciate the assistance of the many reviewers, the Journal of Terramechanics Editorial staff, and Elsevier publications staff in helping make this special issue possible. We hope that you enjoy this diverse collection of papers, all dealing with evaluation, design, modeling, measuring or predicting vehicle operations in snow.
Guest Editors
Sally Shoop, P.E., Ph.D.
US Army Engineering Research and Development Center
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH 03755-1290, USA
Tel.: +1 603 646 4321
Email: sally.a.shoop@usace.army.mil
Jonah H. Lee, Ph.D.
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-5059, USA
Tel.:+1 907 474 5160
Email: ffjhl@uaf.edu