International Network for TErrestrial Research and monitoring in the ArCTic

Accelerating environmental changes in the Arctic and global impacts. World attention is now focused on the Arctic because of its rapidly changing climate that is faster than elsewhere, and changes in land use, socio-economics and globalisation of economies and cultures. In particular, geopolitical issues related to increased access to natural resources have alerted many nations to the growing importance of the Arctic. There are major concerns about environmental changes in the Arctic and the implications of these both for the Arctic per se and for the rest of the world.

INTERACT is a EU FP7 Research Infrastructure project, under the auspices of SCANNET, a circumarctic network of terrestrial field bases. It brings together the polar stations in the arctic circle in collecting and sharing data on climate change. It has an element of Joint Research Activity involving ITU and other universities in collecting data through a network of sensors establishing tools for data storage and –management.

Testing site: Zachenberg station, Greenland.

Biodiversity is changing as well as the timing (phenology) of biological events, vegetation zones are changing as shrub and forest expansion occur. These changes affect the residents of the North in terms of ecosystem services, transport and infrastructure stability while they affect the global community through feedbacks to climate and impacts on global biodiversity. The processes leading to change are complex.