INTERACT Research and Monitoring Report 2020, D3.13. 2nd edition.

Abstract

This report is a guide for research stations and scientists working in the Arctic or boreal and alpine regions of the northern hemisphere. It provides an overview of the variety of networks and organisations that INTERACT stations (or associated scientists) contribute to alongside information about what scientific disciplines are studied and which variable groups are monitored at the individual stations. The report ends with a chapter presenting INTERACT tools for scientists to identify one or more research stations that suit their specific needs and guide scientists on how to access INTERACT stations and their data. The Arctic is still an understudied part of the world, and restricted access or lack of infrastructure makes arctic research more complicated than elsewhere. The first scientific activities in the Arctic were conducted using mobile platforms like ships, dog sledges and more rarely air balloons, and later on aircrafts and vehicles brought scientists deeper into the Arctic. As activities increased, a demand for studying specific locations over time, to also understand variability and change, evolved, and the first research stations were established. In INTERACT, the earliest stations date back to 1906 in the Arctic (Arctic Station, Greenland) and 1886 in the Alpine area (Sonnblick Observatory, Austria). Over the past few centuries efforts to expand our knowledge of the Arctic has increased. Simultaneously, research stations have also grown in number, geographical distribution, size of operations and guest capacity. The 88 INTERACT stations currently host more than 15,000 scientists and students studying the physical environment, ecosystems, societies, etc. Applied research and monitoring methods are either developed for specific arctic features or adapted from methodologies developed elsewhere. In order to easily compare and use data collected by others, scientists must follow the same protocols and use the same standard methods. Methods must be described in detail to allow others to understand how data was collected and to be able to replicate the study. Comparisons between different stations, locations, countries or regions also necessitates standard methodologies or data harmonization to an agreed format. Scientists have therefore developed different scientific networks and organisations to coordinate these efforts. Networks and organisations range from small initiatives looking at only one very specific feature to long-term intergovernmental organisations working at an arctic or global level and covering broader and sometimes interdisciplinary themes, e.g. Climate Change, biodiversity or pollution. INTERACT stations and/or associated scientists engage in these networks and organisations to 1) improve our scientific understanding, 2) to contribute to large-scale assessment and prediction efforts and 3) to support adaptation efforts at the policy maker level. All stations in the INTERACT network are open to external scientists and networks. Most stations also run in-house research and monitoring programmes, and make the generated data available for external scientists working at the station. Today, many stations also offer free and open access to online data sets to be explored and used by anyone (see e.g. INTERACT Virtual Access - https://eu-interact.org/accessing-the-arctic/virtual-access/ - also described in Chapter 6). Project No. 730938 D3.13 INTERACT Research and Monitoring Report Document ID: D3.13 INTERACT Research and Monitoring Report © INTERACT consortium Date: 2020/09/29 Public Page 6 of 85 INTERACT funds research activities at INTERACT stations through a Transnational Access programme, providing physical access for scientists to INTERACT Stations, and through a Remote Access programme, in which station staff collects data or samples on behalf of the scientist. INTERACT also operates a Virtual Access programme providing funding for research stations to develop online access to data for external scientists and others with an interest in these. These access modalities, described in more details in Chapter 6, also facilitate international cooperation, network development and comparisons across environmental and national boundaries. This report may also be relevant to scientific networks and organisations who can explore stations, their surroundings and available data. This can be used to assess possibilities for closing potential data gaps by using INTERACT stations, thus strengthening their efforts to support robust assessments and predictions.