Abstract

Between 2018 and 2023, the International Permafrost Association (IPA) Action Group on Rock glacier inventories and kinematics (RGIK) undertook an unprecedented effort to develop widely accepted guidelines for inventorying rock glaciers, including kinematic information. This mission involved three sub-tasks: defining main concepts and principles; establishing practical inventorying guidelines; and developing a technical manual for implementing rock glacier inventories in an open-access database. The present document represents the five-year effort of the RGIK Action Group to consolidate the baseline and practical concepts for rock glacier inventories in a globally consistent manner.