| Highlights of The 2007 - 2008 | NORDIC

| CONTENTS |

On thinner ice | Massive Nordic participation in EU project which will analyse climate change and its consequences in the Arctic Ocean ¼ 12

Activities up and down| The Swedish participation in IPY involves about 150 scientists in nearly 80 research projects ¼ 14

Greenland – an active partner | Greenlandic researchers participate actively in the Svalbard – the northernmost International Polar Year in a range of international projects gateway to the Arctic | Svalbard will ¼ 18 once again play a key role during the International Polar Year ¼ 4

You can never survive alone | Environmental knowledge and survival systems among Sami reindeer herders ¼ 8

At the hub of climate research | Finland promotes Nordic policy project will give information of environmental protection | about climate history and current Determined to improve the capacity of the Nordic Region to climate change ¼ 10 meet global challenges ¼ 20

Published by the IPY committees in Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Edition: Danish Polar Center Graphic design: Sidsel Gaustadnes, www.spagat.dk MILJØMÆ K R IS K Front page photo: Magnus Elander D N I R N

O G Print: Vahle + Nikolaisen N

English translation and copy editing: David Young, www.instantenglish.dk 5 4 7 1 8 T 0 The magazine is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. RYKSAG Lomonosov Ridge

Arctic Ocean

Thule AB Svalbard Neem Ice core Kinnvika Ny-Aalesund Fram Strait Longyearbyen

Kangerlussuaq Zackenberg Nuuk Bear Island Tromsø Kilpisjärvi Lofoten

Editorial note

The International Polar Year represents one of the The Nordic countries are deeply involved in the most ambitious coordinated science programmes ever Polar Year and play significant roles in many of the IPY attempted. IPY involves over 200 consortia, with thou- consortia. The strong tradition for cooperation within sands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a the Nordic region also applies to the Polar Year and the wide range of physical, biological and social research multitude of planned activities with Nordic leadership topics. The Polar Year is also an unprecedented oppor- and partnership. tunity to demonstrate, follow, and get involved with, This magazine presents selected highlights from cutting-edge science in real-time. Nordic IPY cooperation. A prominent Polar Year research platform:

From Hjorthavn Svalbard the northernmost gateway to the Arctic

Visitors to Svalbard, the archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, almost unanimously report the same problem. They find themselves hooked on the islands and leave with a strong desire to return. For scientists suffering from this ailment, there is relief. Svalbard will once again play a key role during the International Polar Year (IPY).

Svalbard is surely among the most exotic tourist activities, and he sees Svalbard as well-suited destinations in Europe, but there is more to the to serve both aims. largest island of Spitsbergen than the breathtaking scenery, the magnificent display of colours year round Easy access to the Arctic and the remote wilderness. - I think that all the researchers who visit Svalbard According to Dr. David Carlson, Director of the IPY enjoy the combination of good access, excellent local International Programme Office, a fascinating support, and clean Arctic environment, says Dr. Carlson. environment for nature enthusiasts combines well He is seconded by Dr. Kim Holmén, Director of Research with the ambitious objectives of the International at the Norwegian Polar Institute. Polar Year: - In addition to easy access from Tromsø and excel- - We in IPY think of Svalbard as one of our ’polar lent facilities this far north, Svalbard is an important gateways’, a place where visitors and researchers reference area for scientists in various disciplines and alike can experience the polar environment and a place one of the last untouched wilderness areas on Earth, from which information about life in polar communi- explains Dr. Holmén. ties can be communicated to students and teachers in Svalbard is situated about midway between Norway distant, non-polar locations. and the North Pole in the area from 76° to 81° North Dr Carlson outlines the ambition: To combine and 10° to 35° East. The largest settlement is Longyear- groundbreaking research with outreach and educational byen.

| NORDIC Magazine |  | By Kristen Ulstein, The Research Council of Norway Photo: Thomas Wiborg Thomas Photo:

When arriving in Longyearbyen, the visitor’s first Norwegian IPY policy calls for efforts to increase foreign sight is the new Svalbard Science Centre, which opened researchers’ use of Norwegian infrastructure in Svalbard last year. The building, standing on 390 steel poles in collaboration with Norwegian research communities. buried deep in the permafrost, appears as a copper plated barrage across the valley floor. The centre houses The northernmost settlement an expansion of the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Ny-Aalesund is situated on Spitsbergen at 79° North and offices for the Norwegian Polar Institute, a joint logistics is a company town in which Kings Bay AS, a Norwegian department, a range of modern laboratories, the local public corporation, manages all facilities and provides information centre and the new Svalbard Museum. all services. The coalmines in the town were closed down permanently after an explosion that took the A cooperative atmosphere lives of 21 workers in 1962. Following a surge in scientific - Svalbard provides a cooperative atmosphere for activity in the early 1990s, the former coal mining com- both residents and visiting scientists. There are many pany now delivers infrastructure and logistical services, possibilities for interdisciplinary and international including full board and lodging. projects. The Norwegian Polar Institute has roots dating Each year scientists from at least 15 nations come to back to 1906, and thus the numerous long time series Ny-Aalesund to work. Norway, Germany, Great Britain, measurements accrued through the years adds quality Italy, Japan, France, South Korea and China have all to research in many fields, says Kim Holmén. established their own research stations here. Only 1,200 Each year UNIS hosts about 300 students from 20 km from the North Pole, visitors find a modern research nations who study and conduct research full-time or centre with high-quality facilities. A modern marine attend shorter courses. The university cooperates laboratory was added in 2005. closely with IPY on a number of research projects as well as through its participation in The University of From ground to space the Arctic. But Svalbard is not all about traditional polar expedi- tions aimed at collecting ground data. An opening in Unique research opportunities the Earth’s magnetic field just above the islands - Our knowledge of the polar areas is still limited. provides the best spot to access and download data Svalbard provides unique opportunities to study some from satellites in polar orbit. During IPY, many space of the most daunting questions still facing natural organisations plan to carry out projects that will direct sciences, says Holmén. The glaciers hold important satellites to make observations over the polar areas. keys to understanding global historical climate and Norway has long been involved in space research and climate change. Parts of the ecosystem here are highly has attained international prominence in fields such as sensitive to rapid change, and this area is the end solar physics and sun-Earth interaction, including Aurora station for long-range transported pollutants from research. The EISCAT radar in Adventdalen will operate Europe, Asia and North America. Svalbard’s location at continuously during the first year of IPY, providing an the tail end of the North Atlantic Drift makes it a crucial unprecedented source of measurements, as profiles area for research on thermohaline circulation. The through the ionosphere. ocean circulation around the archipelago is of major importance for the climate in Europe. In addition the geology covers all main periods through Earth history, is easy to access and provides knowledge about climate variability on long time-scales. - Climate change itself opens up a new set of op- portunities. Recent ice-free periods have already given us invaluable knowledge about what ecosystem conse- quences a sustained climatic change can imply, he adds. Over the past decade, Norway has made formidable

investments in infrastructure for research in Svalbard. Photo: Thomas Bjørnflaten / nyebilder.no Svalbard Science Centre in Longyearbyen

|  | NORDIC Magazine | Photo: Norwegian Polar Instititute

The Norwegian contribution to IPY Presentation and contact information for Antarctic traverse all Norwegian IPY projects, calendar of events and activities, and news in English. in place www.polaryear.no Since early last year logistical preparations Gateway to the Arctic have been underway for the Norwegian- UNIS offers free ICT services and office space US Antarctica IPY Traverse. In October the at the Svalbard Science Centre in Longyearbyen Russian ice-breaker Ivan Papanin loaded to students and researchers involved in IPY more than one thousand tons of equipment projects. UNIS also coordinates logistics. and supplies for use in the International www.unis.no Ice core drilling in Antarctica Polar Year activities in Antarctica. The cargo included a new power station for the Svalbard Science Forum (SSF) Norwegian research station , equip- SSF coordinates and provides information ment for the new K-Sat satellite station and a Belgian expedition, as well as giant about all research activities in Svalbard. sledges, weasels, containers and supplies for the traverse. The SSF office at the Svalbard Science Centre The summer season staff at the Troll research station has been busy placing provides an overview of infrastructure, informa- depots along the route that the expedition will follow – from Troll to the tion about logistics, research bases, application Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station - during the 2007-2008 season. In the forms for permits and related services. subsequent season the expedition will take a different route back from the www.ssf.npolar.no South Pole to Troll. The project is a cooperative effort between the Norwegian Polar Institute and Dartmouth College. Ny-Aalesund Fieldwork will include the collection of ice cores and firn cores. The ice divide For booking of flights, accommodation that crosses the interior of East Antarctica contains the Earth’s oldest layered ice, and other services in Ny-Aalesund, as well as long-isolated subglacial lakes and important Earth crustal structures. please contact Kings Bay. East Antarctic ice cores thus provide the longest available records of climate and www.kingsbay.no atmospheric parameters.

Significant IPY-funding

Norwegian scientists and research institutions are prepared to play an important role in the International Polar Year. Out of more than 200 international cluster projects endorsed by IPY, about half of these involve Norwegian partners. The contribution from Norway features a highly diverse academic and professional profile. Most projects will study basic conditions related to the physical and biological environment. Two out of three projects involve climate research. Altogether 26 research projects have been approved in a national evaluation process and selected to receive Norwegian IPY funding. The Norwegian Storting has allocated NOK 80 million per annum (EUR 10 million) to IPY from the national budget. In addition, the Research Council of Norway has selected another four IPY-endorsed projects to receive funding from other programmes. Some institutions are prepared to allocate additional funding from their own budgets. About EUR 3 million has been earmarked for educa- Photo: Kristen Ulstein A curious polar fox outside Ny-Aalesund tion, outreach and communication (EOC).

www.polaryear.no

| NORDIC Magazine |  | Photo: Juha Kinnunen Juha Photo:

Heliosphere impact on geospace the science behind auroras

A better understanding of space plasma and solar physics will pave the way for more reliable space weather predictions.

By Dr. Kirsti Kauristie, Finnish Meteorological Institute

During the forthcoming International Polar Year, lite data and theoretical models, in interdisciplinary research groups from 22 different countries will combine research. This work will result in new information on forces to study the interaction between near-Earth how the electrically charged and neutral components space (geospace) and the upper atmosphere. Fascinating of the upper atmosphere respond to solar activity. auroral displays are the most widely known manifesta- The activity means in this context a continuously tion of these processes. In extreme conditions, during varying flow of charged particles and electromagnetic so-called space weather storms, these phenomena can radiation from the Sun resulting from sudden eruptions disturb space-borne and ground-based technology, e.g. on the solar surface. With the continuously improving GPS-based positioning systems, geostationary telecom- Antarctic measurement infrastructures, scientists now munication satellites and power transmission networks. have an unprecedented opportunity to study how the The ultimate goal of the IPY-project ‘Heliosphere impact entire planet responds to solar forces and, especially, to on geospace’ is to improve our understanding of space investigate asymmetries between the two hemispheres. plasma and solar physics to such an extent that reliable Finnish space scientists in the Universities of Helsinki, space weather predictions can be made in a routine Oulu, and Turku and in the Finnish Meteorological manner. Institute (FMI) will have an important role in the IPY Earth’s magnetic field focuses the effects of geospace activities. FMI’s position as the coordinator of the IPY- variations into the Polar Regions. This has catalyzed project will help in finding new opportunities to use several research groups into making long-term in- these talents in multinational collaboration. vestments for collecting observations in the Arctic and Antarctic with versatile instrument networks. The Contact: Senior Researcher Kirsti Kauristie, IPY-project will build data portals in order to facilitate [email protected], tel. +358 9 1929 4637 the usage of these polar data sets, together with satel-

|  | NORDIC Magazine | Photo: Trym Ivar Bergsmo Ivar Trym Photo:

You can never survive alone

reindeer herders have never been static but are flexible with sensitive resonance - which comes from practical engagement in everyday activities and working within the context of weather extremes and fluctuations. The main object of this research is to understand in depth the key elements of tacit environmental know- ledge and the skills of livelihood, including the concept of various survival systems in harsh, ever-changing climatic conditions. It raises the question of how people gain these skills. We need to focus on two different ele- ments in the process of learning the skills in a tacit way. Firstly, the Sami kinship system of tuning their children into paying attention to their environment in a very trustful way - which could be called in English ’atten- tion to learning’. The second key element considers the By Terhi Vuojala-Magga, Researcher, Arctic Centre flexibility of the exchange systems of Sami and Finnish kinships, from the traditional ’väärtilaitos’ friend- Sami reindeer herders have faced many serious situ- ship system to modern local transformation exchange ations in the past 100 years. There have been various systems, whereby various innovations, knowledge and disasters in the reindeer population because of difficult practical skills are passed on - ‘situated learning’. As and extreme weather conditions - hard snow in late the forest people say, ‘You can never survive alone, you spring, hot summers, and icy ground together with icy always need other people’. snow. In the first half of the 1900’s, the people experi- By understanding these key elements, they can be enced two world wars and eventually the Skolt Sami defined on the conceptual level and combined with had to settle on the Finnish side. Then in the 1950´s, the theoretical discussion of developmental systems technological changes in herding management began, theory and ecology of life. The methodology used in this with long regional fence systems and the regulation research is called radical empiricism, in which everyday of Lake Inari. Besides all this, people have had to live practical experiences and skills will give a context for with the present environmental problems of intensive understanding the human data and ethnography. forestry, soil erosion, and climatic change. This research comes from the Finnish partners as part However, people have always adjusted their know- of the larger CAVIAR project: Community adaptation and ledge and skills within their livelihood in changing vulnerability in Arctic regions. contexts. Already at the beginning of the 1990´s, the locals had noticed a huge amount of small, fine details Contact: Professor Monica Tennberg, of climate change in Lapland, long before any discus- [email protected], phone +358 16 341 2793 sion began in the media. The knowledge systems of and Terhi Vuojala-Magga, [email protected]

| NORDIC Magazine |  | Photo: Trym Ivar Bergsmo

Researchers try to understand in depth the key elements of tacit environmental know- ledge and the skills of livelihood among Sami reindeer herders.

Kinnvika Takes Off

A major Nordic joint IPY-project, Change and variability of Arctic Systems, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Kinnvika, is due to begin this spring. The Kinnvika project is an inter- national and multi-disciplinary joint venture to study the effects of human activity and climate change on high Arctic desert. Nordaustlan- det is climatologically special, being harsher than the more southern and western parts of Svalbard, and this is why scientists have a special Barents on the Web album contains over 300 photos interest in the area. The scientific from the region. field work of the project is starting The web portal Barentsinfo, The portal is maintained and this spring, and a bigger expedition maintained by the University of updated by the Arctic Centre will take place in August. Lapland’s Arctic Centre, gives access Information Service at the University Earlier, in September 2005, a to a huge collection of information of Lapland. Finnish-Swedish-Norwegian group on the Barents region. The need for of scientists went to investigate the a portal collating Barents-related www.barentsinfo.org historic Kinnvika research station, information had been discussed built during the last IPY in 1957. among the people working on the Initially, one idea of the project was Barents joint venture for years. partly to renew the station but now The Barents portal came into being ISCORD 2007 it has a purely scientific goal. A fea- through the initiative of the Barents ture film about the research will be Working Group of Information The 8th International Symposium produced by Matila Röhr Productions Technology and was funded by the on Cold Region Development ISCORD Ltd. The research projects get fund- EU’s Interreg Kolarctic programme, 2007 will focus on constructed and ing from the national academies 2003-2005. natural environments. The sym- and the Nordic Council of Ministers For the first time, information on posium will take place in Tampere, supports its logistics. Barents business, culture, education Finland from in September 25th- 27t The Kinnvika project is a co- & research, environment, funding, with 250-300 participants from operative venture led by Sweden indigenous people and tourism can more than 14 are expected. ISCORD and Finland. be obtained from the same place. is organized by the International Maps, news, photos, articles and Association for Cold Region Devel- Contact: Project Leader Dr. Veijo Pohjola, statistics are also available. opment Studies (IACORDS) and the Uppsala University, [email protected], In addition to over 3500 links, the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers or Director Paula Kankaanpää, portal contains articles and facts RIL, in cooperation with the Finnish Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, about the region. These articles are National IPY secretariat. [email protected]. a valuable source of information about the economy, nature, people Contact: Helena Soimakallio, and other topics. The Barents photo [email protected], tel: + 358 207 120 602

|  | NORDIC Magazine | By Poul-Erik Philbert, Journalist, Danish Polar Center At the hub of climate research Global warming has pushed research into the Greenland ice sheet high up on the international agenda. One among many activities during the International Polar Year is a large international Danish-led ice core project, which is expected to reveal important information about both climate history and current climate change.

Photos: the Ice and Climate Group Climate and Ice the Photos: change is having its greatest impact in the high-Arctic areas and the changes taking place here will influence conditions right across the globe. A climatic warming will result in a reduction in the volume of the inland ice sheet, which in turn will cause rises in ocean levels, altered ecosystems and changes in the permafrost regions. All of these changed circumstances will mean changes in living conditions for humans, animals and plant life.

The hunt for old ice As the leader of a new ice-core drilling in the northern part of the Greenland ice sheet, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen has a big role in one of the larger, international, Danish- led projects in Greenland. The ice-core drillings so far, in 1990-92 and 1999- 2003, have given some sensational and ground- breaking knowledge on climate trends going back more than 100,000 years. But we are still missing a core which covers the whole of the earlier interglacial era – the Ice cores are cylinders of ice with a diameter of 10cm, which Eemian era – which extended from 130,000 to 110,000 are drilled out of the ice caps and brought up in 3 metre long years ago. The NorthGrip ice core from 1999-2003 covers sections. They contain information about climate in the past. the transition from the interglacial era up to the last ice-age 115,000 years ago, but it only contained half of the Eemian era because the bottom had melted away. Greenland should prepare itself for a sizeable invasion This was a major upset to the calculations of ice-core during the International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007 and researchers who had counted on discovering ice from 2008. No less than 100 of 220 international research the whole of the previous interglacial era. A new ice consortia are connected with research in Greenland, core covering the entire Eemian era is thus very high on and at least 300 Danish and Greenlandic researchers the wish-list of the ice-core community. are deeply involved in 80 of these projects. In addi- - We find ourselves right now in an interglacial era tion, there are Danish researchers at the head of 24 of and discussions are ongoing around when the next ice the international research consortia in the Greenland age will arrive. This is a difficult question to answer, but section of the IPY. greater insight into the climate of the previous For the head of the Danish IPY committee, Professor interglacial era would certainly assist us in our under- Dorthe Dahl-Jensen from the Ice and Climate Group standing of our own interglacial era and the current at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, the great climate, says Dorthe Dahl-Jensen. In addition, it is a interest comes as no surprise: period which we hope can give us important informa- - Research in and around Greenland has seldom tion about connections between north and south, been as relevant or as necessary as it is now. Climate which we suspect play an active role in relation to the

| NORDIC Magazine | 10 | The long, long season

The high-Arctic Zackenberg research station has been operated by the Danish Polar Center as a spring–autumn station for the past 12 The drilltrench at the years, accommodating a multinational mix NorthGrip-drilling in 2004. Foto: The Ice and Climate Group of scientists for 90 days a year. In Zackenberg valley and the adjacent coastal waters, a multitude of ecosystem elements are fundamental climate changes which occur between ice ages monitored and studied in order to improve and interglacial eras. understanding of how an undisturbed So now there is a desire for a fresh attempt, this time in a high-Arctic ecosystem behaves under natural northern area 300 kilometres north of the NorthGrip drilling conditions. and a couple of hundred kilometres east of Thule. Radio-echo To provide a solid background for the short- soundings from aircraft have shown that there would be good term science projects, a long-term ecosystem possibilities here for the ice-core drilling, at a depth of approx. monitoring programme, Zackenberg Basic, 2,500 – 2,600 metres, to be able to reach ice which is more than distils data from land, air, freshwater and 130,000 years old and thereby obtain an ice core that would marine environments. This programme has cover the entire previous interglacial period. gained worldwide recognition as the most thorough and extensive ecosystem monitor- International support ing in the Arctic and has become a real trail- The project, known by the acronym Neem (North-Eemian), has blazer for similar initiatives in other regions. received broad international support among ice core researchers The International Polar Year has spawned and it was decided in meetings at IPICS, the international forum increased interest among scientists in for ice core researchers, that this should be the most highly- extending their field studies and monitor- prioritised drilling in the northern hemisphere. ing from summer to well into, or all the way Interest in taking part has been high and there will be through, the longest season of the year: nine participation from several of the most prominent polar research months of genuine, old-fashioned winter. nations, such as the USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden and France. During the coming IPY 2007 season, Several countries have also held out the prospect of making a Zackenberg will open as usual in late May. financial contribution to the project, which has a total budget of In September, when winter starts again, the Dkr. 45mil (€6mil). There is, besides, a fruitful spirit of interna- station will continue to host IPY activities all tional cooperation among ice-core researchers and, apart from through the Polar night and carry on through the deep drilling in Greenland, there are also plans for drilling in the spring and summer of 2008. Antarctica and a number of local bores along the ice margins in both regions. Read more at www.zackenberg.dk

Contact: Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Ice and Climate Group, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, [email protected], tel. +45 3532 0556

Ice cores Ice cores are cylinders of ice with a diameter of 10cm, which are drilled out of the ice caps and brought up in 3 metre long sections. During snowfall, the

snow has collected particles from the atmosphere and during compression Photo: Henning Thing, DPC from snow to ice, the atmospheric vapour between snow particles is trapped in bubbles in the ice. Analysis of the chemical composition and physical properties of the ice cores, as well as of the ancient atmospheric vapour, shows how the Earth’s climate has varied going back across the ages.

| 11 | NORDIC Magazine | By Poul-Erik Philbert, Journalist, Danish Polar Center On Thinner Ice Photo: Francis Latreille/ADO There is massive Nordic participation in the extensive EU project DAMOCLES, in which 11 large research projects will analyse climate change and its consequences in the Arctic Ocean. 19 Nordic institutions are collaborating in all aspects with partners from 12 European countries.

At the beginning of September 2006, the French countries are taking part, including 19 Nordic research schooner Tara anchored up in the Arctic pack ice at 80°N, institutions. The programme activities are taking place where it quickly became trapped in the tight grip of in collaboration with the USA, Canada and Japan. There the ice mass. It will remain here for at least a couple of will be a lot of activities within meteorology, glaciology years before it can again break free of the ice and sail on and oceanography, and the project will cover sea-ice, under its own power. snow and glaciers. Over and above the 11 research projects on Tara, the DAMOCLES programme consists of A journey into the ice satellite measurements and collating of information But what on the surface looks like a risky and dangerous from different ice camps and research ships. situation is in reality the beginning of a well-organised, The background to this large effort is the especially comprehensive European research expedition. large climate changes that are taking place at present Over the next couple of years, Tara will drift approx. the Arctic region. The Arctic over the last 2-3 decades 1,800 kilometres with the pack ice from the East Siberian has warmed more than other regions of the world, and Sea over the North Pole to the Fram Strait between the sea-ice cover has decreased significantly in the same Northeast Greenland and Svalbard. It is here that the period. A first-order scientific and societal question is ship will first melt free from its captivity. En route, Tara whether the Arctic perennial sea-ice will disappear in will act as a roof over the head for a floating research a few decades (or even faster, as predicted by some station, which will measure and survey oceanographic, state-of-art climate models). DAMOCLES is specifi- meteorological and glaciological conditions in the sea cally concerned with the potential for a significantly ice around the North Pole in order better to understand reduced sea-ice cover, and the impacts this might have the interaction between ice, sea and atmosphere. on the environment and on human activities, both The expedition is well underway and there are no regionally and globally. The changing Arctic climate is indications that the planned interaction with the having and will have a wide range of impacts, also on natural forces can go wrong. The researchers have a lot human activities, such as fisheries, shipping, offshore of knowledge about the movements of the pack ice in oil and gas production at regional, national and local the Arctic Ocean. Neither is the idea of allowing a ship to levels. Through its regional, multidisciplinary approach, be frozen into the ice and let it drift with the so-called DAMOCLES will provide a broad perspective for decision- transpolar ice-drift a new one. It was first attempted by makers and stakeholders to consider future policies for Fridtjof Nansen on the Fram expedition in 1893-96 and adaptation. later used by Russian drift-ice stations in the 1930s. At the same time, there is substantial agreement between climate researchers that the widespread Reduced sea-ice cover climate changes in the Arctic are sending a warning The expedition is part of a large EU project, DAMOCLES about, and will have an influence on, future global (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observing Capabili- climate change. But we lack the necessary knowledge to ties for Long-term Environmental Studies - Integrated be able to express ourselves with more certainty on the Project), which is the largest-ever European Arctic re- interaction between climate in the Arctic Ocean and the search project and has been initiated in connection with global climate, so an important goal with the DAMOCLES the International Polar Year. The budget is €16 million activities is to collect data and develop models in this and, in all, 45 scientific institutions from 12 European area too.

| NORDIC Magazine | 12 | On Thinner Ice

Over the next couple of years, Tara will drift approx. 1,800 kilometres with the pack ice from the East Siberian Sea over the North Pole to the Fram Strait between Northeast Greenland and Svalbard. En route researchers will measure and survey oceanographic, meteorological and glaciological conditions in the sea ice around the North Pole.

Massive Nordic participation Thus, there is cooperation between the Norwegian DAMOCLES brings together most European experts on and the Swedish institutes in developing regional polar research and a broad range of environmental climate models. There is further cooperation between modellers through an integrated research effort. the Danish and the Finnish meteorological institutes Even if it is a case of a European cooperative project, which, together with the Danish National Space Center, DAMOCLES is at the same time one of the programmes are taking part in the snow and ice measurement pro- during the International Polar Year which has the largest gramme on Tara. In addition, the Norwegian and Danish content of Nordic research collaboration. The project has institutes have been given responsibility for developing a huge Nordic participation, in that around half of the the database system for the entire project. participating research institutions come from Norway, Activities in connection with DAMOCLES will certainly Finland, Sweden and Denmark. produce a stream of results going forward – results Examples among the many institutions taking part which will give us greater knowledge about the Arctic are the meteorological institutes from the four countries, region and the consequences of climate change for all of whom are involved in work on defining an mankind and for the environment. observation system for the Arctic. This is a question of both long timescales, which mirror long-range climate Contact: Project co-leader Cecilie Mauritzen, Norwegian Meteorological change, and short timescales, which are necessary to Institute, [email protected], tel. +47 22 96 31 86, and project co-leader Ralf Döscher, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological monitor weather, sea and ice conditions from day to day. Institute (SMHI), [email protected], tel. +46 114 95 85 83

| 13 | NORDIC Magazine | Photo: Eva Grönlund, Swedish Polar Research Secretariat

Swedish ice breaker Oden during the operations in Antarctica in 2006/07.

Activities up and down

By the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat

The Swedish participation in IPY involves about 150 Swedish scientists in nearly 80 research projects in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat will operate and coordinate several of these research projects by providing infrastructure, research facilities and, in some cases, expedition management.

The Secretariat has a long-term contract with the Swed- multi-beam echo-sounder which can give 3D images of ish Maritime Administration for using the ice-breaker the sea floor. Oden for scientific purposes. Oden is internationally The marine geology project, a part of the international renowned as a research platform; it has a unique research programme APEX (Arctic Palaeoclimate and combination of modern research facilities and excellent its Extremes), will try to expand the understanding of ice breaking capacity. the role of the Arctic in the global climate system. With samples taken by a sediment corer together with a CTD Oden in the Arctic Ocean for water sampling, the scientists can get integrated During the Arctic season 2007, the research on board knowledge of the sea floor of the Arctic Ocean. On board, the ice-breaker Oden will focus on marine geology and the marine geology team will work in close collaboration oceanography in the nearly inaccessible and unexplored with an oceanographic research project in order to get a areas in the Arctic Ocean northeast of Greenland. The deeper understanding of the glacial and climate history expedition, with the working title LOMROG (Lomonosov by studying the currents and sea water flow as well as Ridge off Greenland), is a cooperative venture between sediment erosion along the continental shelf. Swedish and Danish scientists. The ice-breaker Oden During the latest Antarctic season, the ice-breaker will during the spring of 2007 become equipped with a Oden broke the ice in the southern polar region for the

| NORDIC Magazine | 14 | Photo: Martin Jakobsson

Ice breaker Oden with its mulitbeam will be able to cover big parts of the sea floor and present the findings in 3D images.

first time ever. The expedition Oden Southern Ocean was a mission from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) which needed assistance with ice-breaking at the McMurdo station by the Ross Sea. During the transit from South America to McMurdo, Oden served as the research platform for a multinational team of marine chemists and marine mammal zoologists. The expedition was a success and the scientific cooperation between Sweden, Nordic cooperation at Kinnvika Chile and the USA will hopefully continue for the upcom- During the Arctic spring and summer seasons of IPY, ing Antarctic IPY seasons as well. a multinational research group will work at Kinnvika, For the Arctic season of 2008 the icebreaker Oden will on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The Kinnvika station was serve as a platform for research projects within atmos- originally built in 1957 to be used for glaciology stu- pheric chemistry and meteorology. dies during the International Geophysical Year, and it comprises nine wooden buildings. Parts of the station Collection of data are considered as historic listed buildings, under the The Swedish research stations Wasa and Svea in Dron- auspices of the Governor of Svalbard. ning Maud Land, Antarctica, serve as focal points for The Kinnvika IPY project aims to provide a terrestrial continuous monitoring of climate and weather data and platform and a gateway for scientific fieldwork in the geodetic and atmospheric physics research programmes. High Arctic and to strengthen research collaboration During the 2007/08 Antarctic season, scientists from between the Nordic countries. Nordaustlandet is the Sweden and Japan will carry out glaciological climate northernmost land on Earth and is therefore of signifi- research during a 3,000 km tracked vehicle traverse over cant importance for monitoring changes and variability the continent by sampling and monitoring the Antarctic of the sensitive and changing Arctic Ocean systems. The ice sheet along the way. Four vehicles will start from ambitious scientific programme includes projects within Wasa and three vehicles from the Japanese research glaciology, meteorology, geology, ecology, archaeology station Syowa. They will meet halfway to exchange sci- and more. The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat will entific equipment and researchers between the convoys, provide logistical support to the field projects. then travel back to their respective stations. Another Swedish part of the international and Nordic www.kinnvika.net www.polar.se IPY infrastructure is the continued measuring and Contact: Eva Grönlund, Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, observation performed from the ground based Zep- [email protected], tel. +46 8 673 97 30 pelin station in Ny-Ålesund. The station is owned and operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute. The scientific programme is run by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), in close cooperation with the Depart- ment of Applied Environmental Science at Stockholm University (SU). The measurements performed by SU at the Zeppelin station include carbon dioxide concentration, particle concentration and size distribution and light absorption and scattering. Complementary airborne measure- ments have also been performed (ASTAR, Arctic Study of Tropospheric Aerosols, Clouds and Radiation) and, during the Antarctic season of 2006/07, a sister campaign in Antarctica (ANTSYO II/AGAMES) has recently begun in cooperation with AWI Bremerhaven, with the aim that the bipolar research results will complement each other. More information on the Zeppelin station can be found on www.itm.su.se/zeppelin.

Photo: Johan Ström

| 15 | NORDIC Magazine | By Dr. Dag Avango, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm Industry in the polar areas

Global warming might open the Arctic up for On the macro level, LASHIPA will seek out the driving new industrial activity. A new project will study forces – scientific, economical, political and cultural – behind industrial development in the polar areas. how we have dealt with the issue in the past. On the micro level, focus is on the strategies of com- panies in adapting to the political, social and natural The circumpolar north has become increasingly conditions of the polar areas – technology transfer, the important as an area for the supply of fossil-fuel design of technology and industrial communities, and energy, partly as a result of rising world market prices the social organisation of production. In this connection, for crude oil and partly because of the possibilities for it will study the local consequences of whaling, hunting, extraction and transport in the high north that global coal mining and oil extraction for the environment warming might offer. In the wake of this development, and indigenous peoples. Finally, major attention will attempts have been made by states to establish exclu- be devoted to the struggle for control over natural sive rights to natural resources in the Arctic. resources and its geo-political consequences. This development is also the starting point for the Some of these research questions require field studies LASHIPA project (Large Scale Industrial Exploitation of in the Arctic and Antarctic – archaeological field work Polar Areas) – an IPY project joining researchers and and interviews with actors. Whaling stations will be doctoral students in Sweden, Norway, Russia, the USA, investigated on South Georgia and in Great Britain and the Netherlands. From an international the Austral region and the Antarctic. In the Arctic, field comparative perspective, the LASHIPA project will study studies will be made at whaling stations and mining how actors have dealt with natural resources, territorial settlements in Svalbard, the Barents region, Greenland rights and environmental issues in the Polar Regions and Alaska. The projected outcomes are databases, in the past, providing new knowledge of potential articles in scientific journals and a multi-volume book importance to policy and decision makers. – and hopefully a new understanding of the risks LASHIPA is financed by national research councils and possibilities in future industrial ventures in the and other funding agencies, as well as by universities Polar Regions. and institutes in the participating countries. It is mul- tidisciplinary, with a centre of gravity in the disciplines www.lashipa.nl of History and Archaeology. The aim of the project is www.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=10 to explain the development of industry in the polar Contact: Dr. Dag Avango, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, areas from the 17th century until today and to analyse [email protected], tel. + 46 87908737 its consequences for geo-political development, the environment and indigenous peoples. Photo: Dag Avango

Camp Morton, Van Mijenfjorden, Svalbard. A British colliery from the early 1900

| NORDIC Magazine | 16 | By Poul-Erik Philbert, Journalist, Danish Polar Center The Endangered Bear

The polar bear is under dual attack, threatened by both climate change

and environmental pollution. Photo: Samfoto

The polar bear is the Arctic colossus which we, with a shiver and in awe, regard as invulnerable. That notwith- standing, it today faces such compre- hensive dangers that it has appeared on wild-life protection organisations’ lists of the world’s endangered species. At the top of the list of dangers stands climate change, which dur- ing the coming 50-100 years could dramatically remove large areas of the Arctic pack ice which is the polar bear’s habitat and hunting ground. It is expected that climate change alone will reduce the polar bear population by Global warming threatens the polar bear’s at least 30% over the next ca. 50 years natural hunting ground. – or three bear generations. The Sixth International Congress To this should be added a longer list The researchers will also be looking of Arctic Social Sciences, ICASS VI of other disruptions and threats, such as more closely at connections between hunting, pollution from environmental climate change and environmental The Sixth International Congress of Arctic Social poisons borne in from afar, explora- pollution. Global warming threatens the Sciences will take place in Nuuk, Greenland, tion for, and extraction of, oil and gas, polar bear’s natural hunting ground 25-29 August 2008. The congress will offer shipping and tourism. Investigations of and the increasing impact of pollutants various venues for IPY scholars, other northern the consequences of climate change and amplifies still further this pressure on researchers, and local participants to analyse environmental pollution for the polar their existential imperatives, because the progress of IPY 2007-2008 in social, human, bear have come in a steady stream in they undermine the health of the and related fields. This includes special project recent years. During the International weakest and thereby increase the threat sessions, discussion panels, plenary presenta- Polar Year, polar bear researchers from to the bears. One aspect of the studies tions, invited talks by leading IPY scientists and Canada, Norway, the USA, Denmark and will be clarification of how the disap- representatives of the indigenous peoples of the Greenland, in a Danish-led consortium, pearing ice pack influences the distri- Arctic and public meetings. Sessions and panels will join forces on a circumpolar polar bution of polar bears in East Greenland. at the congress will be framed around major IPY bear project which will standardise A Greenlandic-led study is following the research fields and initiatives, with broad inter- data collection and ensure comparable animals’ movements over several years national and interdisciplinary participation. For investigations and analyses for the bear with the help of satellite transmitters many international network projects, congress population as a whole. attached to bears captured on the East sessions will offer the only chance for face-to- While the impact of familiar envi- Greenland pack ice. face discussions, as participants from many ronmental pollutants such as PCB’s is countries and regions may have limited shrinking, the concentration of new pol- www.dmu.dk contacts in the field and across boundaries. lutants - the organohalogen compounds (OHC’s) - in the Arctic marine food chain Contact: Christian Sonne, National Environmental www.iassa.gl Research Institute, [email protected] is on the rise. Contact: Birger Poppel, University of Greenland, [email protected], tel. +299 32 45 66

| 17 | NORDIC Magazine | By Birger Poppel, Senior researcher, Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland Greenland - an active partner

Since the introduction of home rule in 1979, Greenland has built its own research institutions. Greenlandic researchers thus participate actively in the International Polar Year in a range of international projects.

In recent years, Greenland has played a central role in ideological choices. The concept of strategies focuses on Arctic international research as Greenland and the surrounding peoples’ interaction within their social, cultural, and natural seas open unique possibilities for exploring processes of environments, stressing the multiple levels formed by individual global significance. This increased focus is not least due agents, families or households, local groups, and in particular, to the fact that the impact of climate change is initially connections between these levels. experienced in the Arctic. It is also a fact that not only Contact: Claus Andreasen, Greenland National Museum, the glaciers are affected. Human existence, the living [email protected], tel. +299 32 26 11 conditions of the indigenous peoples and other Arctic inhabitants, traditional ways of living, as well as mixed Glocalisation cash and subsistence economies, are impacted. At the The project is exploring the indigenous forms of expression same time, new possibilities for economic development across Arctic communities. The impact of global cultural trends within the fields of renewable and, not least, non- is seen as partly opposed by local tendencies, - i.e. glocalisation. renewable resources emerge. But how exactly does glocalisation take place? How much impact From being an interesting field for researchers mainly does local cultural, media and language policy have on the from outside Greenland, Greenland has, since Home Rule development? Who are the decision-makers, formally as well as was established in 1979, built its own research institu- informally? 29 researchers are involved in the project which will tions. To a still larger extent, Greenland has become cover sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, literature and media an initiator of, and a partner in, Greenlandic as well as through four sub-projects: Language Policy and Language Plan- international research projects within different scientific ning; Computer Assisted Linguistics; From Oral Tradition to Rap disciplines, focussing primarily on ‘man, nature and and Citizenship; Consumerism and Media. Arctic societies’. The short project descriptions below www.ilisimatusarfik.gl/Default.aspx?tabid=148. reflect the increasing number of Greenlandic research Contact: Karen Langgaard, University of Greenland, activities and research partnerships, of which some [email protected], tel. +299 32 45 66 were developed at the Nordic IPY seminar in Ilulissat, Greenland, April 2005. Political Economy of Northern Development The purpose of the project is to perform a comparative analysis Long-term Perspectives of the structure and functioning of Arctic regional economies, on Movement and Communication putting an emphasis on the regional dependence of economic The main activities at the Greenland National Museum, NKA, centres. The project is based on an analytical model containing during the International Polar Year are going to be carried out as three approaches to analysis: parts of the project which is designed to study key-concepts of · Globalisation involves analysis of trade, competitiveness movement, communication and strategies among Arctic people. and productivity The concept of movement refers to human actions, under- · Internal systemic differences put comparative system stood as seasonal mobility and long-term migrations, and as analysis on the agenda movement of resources and material culture through trade · Structural change within the regions, taking the form of and exchange in space and time. The concept of communica- urbanisation, subsistence economy and centralisation/ tion includes network studies involving economic, social, and decentralisation issues, is of importance.

| NORDIC Magazine | 18 | The research question aims at analysis regarding constraints EcoGreen – one of the lead clusters in IPY and potentials regarding the three approaches in relation to The consequences of global climate change are already evident interdependence and self-reliance. in the Arctic today. The prognosis is a warming Arctic where Contact: Gorm Winther, Aalborg University, [email protected] the temperature will increase by 2-4°C during this century and Greenland must be prepared for the impact of these dramatic Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic changes. The Greenland Institute of Natural Resources has The intent of the Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic (SLiCA) therefore initiated a programme called EcoGreen, which inte- is threefold: to develop a new way of measuring living conditions grates studies of the structure and function of the West Green- that is relevant to people in the Arctic; to compare living condi- land marine ecosystem. The programme has been approved as tions among Inuit people of the Arctic; and to better understand one of the lead clusters by the international steering committee the relationships within their living conditions. There are two of the International Polar Year. 15 worldwide research institutions phases to the analysis. The first phase involves the work of the from 6 different countries are involved in the programme. project team itself. The second phase is to facilitate the work Rapid climate shifts and the low level of complexity make the of the broader research and policy analysis communities by West Greenland marine ecosystem uniquely suited for the study making the data available. The SLiCA data file consists of over of the effects of climate change. At the same time, the situation, 7,000 interviews, a representative sample of indigenous adults with an ecosystem located inside a single economic zone, pro- living in Inuit settlement regions in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, vides excellent opportunities for studies of interactions between and Russia. Building on the concepts of remote access analysis, ecology and society. Together, these factors make West Green- the international SLiCA project team will provide researchers land a study area of international interest by providing insights and policy analysts with the capability of applying a full array of into the effects and interactions between mankind, climate statistical analysis techniques to the dataset while ensuring and ecosystem. that the individual records remain unseen. Contact: Torkel Gissel Nielsen, National Environmental Research Institute, www.arcticlivingconditions.com [email protected], tel. +45 4630 1257 Contact: Birger Poppel, University of Greenland, & Søren Rysgaard, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, [email protected], tel. +299 32 45 66 [email protected], tel. + 299 36 12 00 Photo: Magnus Elander

| 19 | NORDIC Magazine | A Brief History of IPY

On three occasions over the past 125 years, scientists Second International Polar Year (1932-1933): from around the world have come together to organize The International Meteorological Organization proposed concentrated scientific and exploration programmes and promoted the second IPY (1932–1933) as an effort in the Polar Regions. Each polar year was a hallmark of to investigate the global implications of the newly dis- international cooperation in science and extended our covered ‘Jet Stream’. The second IPY heralded advances understanding of the many geophysical phenomena in meteorology, magnetism, atmospheric science, and that influence nature’s global systems. The experience in the ‘mapping’ of ionospheric phenomena, which acquired by scientists and governments in international advanced radio science and technology. Forty perma- cooperation also paved the way for several political nent observation stations were established in the Arctic, accords. IPY 2007-2008 will expand upon this legacy creating a gradual expansion in ongoing scientific Arctic of scientific achievement and societal benefits. research. Stations were also operated in the Antarctic. A total of 40 nations participated, even though the IPY First International Polar Year (1882-1883): coincided with the economic depression. The first IPY was inspired by the Austrian explorer Karl Weyprecht, who became aware that solutions to the The International Geophysical Year (1957-58): fundamental problems of meteorology and geophysics The IGY’s research, discoveries, and vast array of synop- were most likely to be found near the Earth’s poles. tic observations revised or ‘rewrote’ many notions The key concept of the first IPY was that geophysical about the Earth’s geophysics. One long disputed theory phenomena could not be surveyed by one nation alone. - continental drift - was confirmed. The world’s first Altogether 12 nations participated and, beyond the satellites were launched, which led to the discovery advances to science and geographical exploration, of the Van Allen Radiation Belt encircling the Earth. a principal legacy of the first IPY was in setting a Geophysical traverses over the Antarctic ice-cap yielded precedent for international science cooperation. the first informed estimates of the total size of Ant- arctica’s ice mass. A notable political result with its foundations in the IGY was the ratification in 1961 of the Antarctic Treaty, which dedicated the continent to peace and science and ensured the protection of its environ- ment for coming generations.

Photo: Norwegian Polar Institute

| NORDIC Magazine | 20 | Photo: Lehtikuva Oy/Pekka Sakki Oy/Pekka Lehtikuva Photo:

FINLAND PROMOTES NORDIC POLICY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) will also be taken into consideration. Nordic Cooperation and the of Ministers in 2007 is, among other things, Northern Dimension are complementary and mutually determined to improve the capacity of the reinforcing. The Nordic Countries operate right out of Nordic Region to meet global challenges. the heart of the Northern Dimension, in the EU, in each of the four Regional Councils (BEAC, NCM, CBSS, AC), bilat- erally and between themselves, neighbouring countries, As far as the EU’s Northern Dimension is concerned, the United States and Canada. The Nordic Countries attention will be focused on the challenges faced in can make a great contribution to developing and the environmental sector. The Northern Dimension is strengthening the Northern Dimension; they open up making great strides forward and the various regional their expertise on a cold climate, a sparse population, bodies in northern Europe are also working ever more resources, differences, opportunities and challenges closely together and dividing responsibilities between for everyone’s use without forgetting their common them in an ever more sensible manner. denominator: their proximity to Russia. The Presidency will also advocate the Nordic perspec- The Nordic Cooperation and the Northern Dimension tive in the international debate on climate change, with both have a wide scope and many dimensions, concrete due regard to established practice in energy co-opera- projects and financing. Cooperation under the Northern tion. Dimension is inclusive. Under this umbrella concept, Finland will promote a Nordic policy of environmental Baltic Sea cooperation, the issues of the Far North and protection that takes into account opinions from various those of north-western Russia are not challenged. sectors. During the Presidency, the environment poli- Focus on one does not diminish the other. cy’s priorities will be determined by the Nordic Council Systematic cooperation between Governments and of Ministers’ environment programme for 2005-2008. down-to-earth approaches with new ideas and projects As the programme is implemented, co-operation that are also needed as well as the involvement of non- transcends individual administrative sectors will be governmental organisations and people-to-people emphasised. contacts. Finland will also take account of the Council of Min- isters’ action plan for the Arctic, and the environment Mr Stefan Wallin sector’s Arctic strategy. Nordic methods of affecting The Finnish Minister for Nordic Cooperation and adapting to climate change and the Arctic Council’s

| 21 | NORDIC Magazine | By Nikolaj Bock, Senior Adviser, Nordic Council of Ministers Nordic Council of Ministers - Arctic Cooperation

The Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) is extensively involved in the Arctic. The Nordic engagement in the Arctic Region is primarily managed through an Arctic Cooperation Programme. During 2006-08, the NCM will focus on the living conditions of indigenous peoples, Nordic research with a special view to the International Polar Year, and climate change and environmental pollutants in the Arctic. The annual budget for the Nordic Arctic Cooperation Programme is approx. €1 Million.

NCM Arctic Cooperation Programmes are based on 3-year During the current programme period from 2006-08, periods and started in 1996. The current programme the NCM is focusing on three main fields of activity, covers the period 2006-2008. The framework for the namely: i) Promoting the living conditions of indigenous activities is broad in scope and includes such fields as peoples and their opportunities for improving their environmental protection, health, research, culture, economic and cultural conditions; ii) Improving the education, economic development and indigenous conditions for Nordic research with a special view to the peoples. International Polar Year 2007-2008; and iii) Improving The Arctic Cooperation Programme is used by the NCM the conditions for Nordic cooperation on climate change for cooperation purposes vis-à-vis other regional coun- in the Arctic, and acting to prevent the proliferation of cils, in particular the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro- environmental pollutants in the Arctic. Arctic Council and the EU. Furthermore, the programme also supplements the NCM’s Programme for Northwest NCM Arctic Expert Committee Russia which in geographical terms covers parts of the Nordic activities in the Arctic are coordinated by an same area. Arctic Expert Committee (AEC). The members of the AEC include the Senior Arctic Officials (SAO’s), the permanent Objectives Nordic representatives in the Arctic Council. The self- The Nordic Council of Ministers’ overall objectives for governing areas are also represented on the Commit- activities in the Arctic include the development and tee. Through the members’ involvement in regional improvement of the quality of life for the population of organisations covering the Arctic Region, the AEC has the the Arctic by protecting the environment and improv- necessary overview of the policies and activities taking ing conditions for business and industry. The NCM will place in the Arctic, and is therefore able to give the NCM also contribute to and support the social and cultural valuable advice. development of the Arctic population. Sustainable use of The main task of the AEC is to assist and advise the the resources in the region and conserving Arctic nature NCM with information and knowledge on national, and biological diversity are other important objectives. bilateral and multilateral projects and activities in the Finally, the Nordic countries will follow up on existing Arctic. The AEC takes part in the preparations for, and knowledge on environment pollutants, heavy metals follow-up to, the Arctic Cooperation Programmes, as and climate change as well as their impact on human well as advising the Nordic Cooperation Committee on and animal living conditions in the Arctic. concrete project applications relating to the initiatives of the NCM in the Arctic.

| NORDIC Magazine | 22 | Photo: NCM

Budget with a budget of approx. €3 million in 2007, and an The annual budget for the Nordic Arctic Cooperation Pro- NGO-programme with a budget of approx. €0.7 million gramme is approx. €1 Million. Nordic funding contribu- in 2007. tions are also extended to Arctic activities from many of the 10 Nordic sector Councils of Ministers which initiate Coming activities additional projects in the Arctic areas. The aggregated The Nordic Council of Ministers has in January 2007 de- financial allocations from the sector Councils are in the cided to support 22 new Arctic projects under the Arctic same order of magnitude as that of the Arctic Coopera- Cooperation Programme, many of which are relevant to tion Programme, thus ensuring a significant Nordic level the International Polar Year which officially begins on 1 of activity in the Arctic. March 2007. On 17 January 2007 the Finnish Presidency of the NCM hosted a conference on ‘The Northern Arctic evaluation Dimension and Nordic Cooperation’ in Finland. At the The NCM constantly strives to improve its work and conference the newly appointed Secretary-General of partnerships, and in order for the NCM to increase the Nordic Council of Ministers, Halldór Ásgrimsson, its effectiveness and ensure that it adheres to the underlined the strategic interest in the Arctic, not least objectives and policies set out by the Nordic Ministers, due to climate changes. The NCM proposed to take part the Arctic Cooperation Programme from 2003-05 was - in cooperation with others - in organising a second recently evaluated. The report was positive and very Northern Dimension ‘Arctic window’ seminar as a constructive with regard to the Nordic activities in the follow-up to the one held in Greenland in August 2002, Arctic. The evaluation report and its recommendations and encouraged other regional partners, countries and are now being considered in the NCM. The report will the EU to participate in highlighting the challenges in hopefully serve to improve the effectiveness of NCM the Arctic area and work towards concrete results and work with Arctic issues. improvements in the Arctic. www.norden.org NCM Russia Programme The NCM has, in addition to the Arctic Cooperation Pro- Contact: Senior Adviser Nikolaj Bock, Nordic Council of Ministers, gramme, a special Russia Programme which consolidates [email protected], tel. +45 3396 0281 the guidelines for co-operation with Northwest Russia. Two separate sub-programmes have been developed, namely a program for mobility and network activities

| 23 | NORDIC Magazine | By Ragnar Baldursson, Chairman of the Icelandic IPY National Committee & Arctic Portal Project Leader Iceland Providing an IPY Hyperspace Venue

Iceland presents the Arctic Portal which will provide a wealth of useful information about IPY-activities.

It has been argued that much of the ongoing research in Iceland is in fact ‘Arctic research’, as a result of Iceland’s geographic position. It comes therefore as no surprise that Icelandic participation is noted in sixty of the full IPY proposals. While IPY will hardly lead to a great increase in the number of Icelandic scientists involved in Arctic research (as much of their research is already Arctic in nature), it provides an opportunity for intensified international cooperation in their research. Icelandic scientists are acutely aware of the importance of communication and networking for enhancing the value of their work. This is one of the reasons why Iceland is concentrating on the creation of an Arctic Portal, providing a gateway to the Arctic on the internet which can function as a venue for IPY projects. The Arctic Portal is an endorsed IPY project developed by an Icelandic project group lead by Iceland’s Senior Arctic Official in consultation and co-operation with other members of the Arctic Council and its working groups and permanent participants, the Northern Forum, UArctic, the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of ing integrated calendar, web-casting, project websites Roshydromet, the International Centre for Reindeer Hus- and workspaces, data management and other functions. bandry and others. Initially, it was mainly focused on The results of IPY projects will be introduced on the needs of the Arctic Council and its working groups the Arctic Portal, keeping it open as an interactive and it is already functioning as such, with an integrated instrument for follow-up IPY activities, education and calendar of events, integrated document library and an outreach. The aim is to create a venue in hyperspace integrated project directory, advanced search, interac- at the disposal of the Arctic community, which would tive mapping, homepages for AC projects, etc. become a part of the IPY legacy. The Arctic Portal is now being broadened, with IPY providing an important focus for its development in www.arcticportal.org coming years. An agreement has been made with the IPY International Programme Office on using the Arctic Contact: Ragnar Baldursson, Portal as a venue for IPY activities and projects provid- [email protected], tel. +354 545 9945 NORDIC