The INTERACT III - International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic - Newsletter (May 2024) has now been published.
INTERACT is an infrastructure project under the auspices of SCANNET, an arctic network of 74 terrestrial field bases (with an additional 21 research stations in Russia on pause) in northern Europe, US, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Scotland as well as stations in northern alpine areas. INTERACT specifically seeks to build capacity for research and monitoring all over the Arctic, and is offering access to numerous research stations through the Transnational Access Program.
The project, which is funded by the EU, has a main objective to build capacity for identifying, understanding, predicting and responding to diverse environmental changes throughout the wide environmental and land-use envelopes of the Arctic. This is necessary because the Arctic is so vast and so sparsely populated that environmental observing capacity is limited compared to most other latitudes.
INTERACT is multidisciplinary: together, the stations in INTERACT host thousands of scientists from around the world who work on projects within the fields of glaciology, permafrost, climate, ecology, biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling. The INTERACT stations also host and facilitate many international single-discipline networks and aid training by hosting summer schools.
Top stories of the INTERACT III Newsletter, May 2024 are:
INTERACT in Expert Panel EU-US Arctic Cooperation
INTERACT was invited to an expert panel at the Woodrow Wilson Center to discuss the global importance of Arctic science and research, how science diplomacy supports the safety and stability of Arctic regions, and how the US and EU scientific communities can improve cooperation to build bridges of understanding in a world moving towards strategic competition. See the recordings of the meeting here.
Increasingly Biased View on Arctic Change
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the resulting geopolitical tensions may impact our ability to understand ongoing Arctic change. A recent study published in Nature Climate Change by INTERACT sheds light on the potential implications that such prolonged conflict may have on our current (and future) perspective over one of the world’s most sensitive and dynamically changing regions. Ref: López-Blanco, E et al., 2024. Towards an increasingly biased view on Arctic change. Nature Climate Change
INTERACT on RAI on demand TV
INTERACT's successful docuseries Northwards is now on Italian National TV Channel RAI. The 7 episodes (in English, with Italian subtitles) will be broadcast worldwide at 7:15 AM CET, one episode per day, from Sunday 26th May to Friday 1st June, which happens to be the same week of the INPA GA. Watch the 1st episode here.
Read the INTERACT III Newsletter, May 2024Read the INTERACT III Newsletter, May 2024