Arctic
The overall objective of HiAOOS is to advance the uptake of new ocean observing capabilities and capacity in the high Arctic to strengthen European and national infrastructures in their effort to support new and ambitions research within climate, environment and geohazards.
Climate change affects the Arctic more than twice as much as any other region on Earth. Moreover, the impact of climate change in the Arctic is not geographically limited but causes hazardous events worldwide. Understanding and predicting potential events requires international research and monitoring. The EU-funded INTERACT project is based on an especially successful transnational access programme aiming to achieve best practices for lucrative research, monitoring, education and outreach to address societal challenges caused by the rapid climate change in the Arctic.
New framework for Arctic economic activities: from fossil fuel & mineral extraction to transport, the Arctic is experiencing a marked increase in human activity. It is also experiencing an unprecedented level of economic prosperity. JUSTNORTH will study the viability of Arctic economic activities in view of the area’s social, economic and environmental complexities.
Most human activity in the Arctic takes place along permafrost coasts, making them a key interface. They have become one of the most dynamic ecosystems on Earth because permafrost thaw is now exposing these coasts to rapid change: change that threatens the rich biodiversity, puts pressure on communities that live there and contributes to the vulnerability of the global climate system. NUNATARYUK will determine the impacts of thawing coastal and subsea permafrost on the global climate, and will develop targeted and co-designed adaptation and mitigation strategies for the Arctic coastal population.
SIOS is an independent international research infrastructure building a regional observing system for long-term measurements in and around the High-Arctic archipelago Svalbard addressing Earth System Science questions. SIOS integrates the existing distributed observational infrastructure and generates added value for all partners beyond what their individual research can provide.
