Arctic Space Centre (FMI-ARC)
Satellites are a superior device to observe a wide range of environmental conditions and changes. The Arctic Space Centre (FMI-ARC) of the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Sodankylä receives, archives and stores satellite data, which is further refined into products and services.
Sodankylä location (67°22 N, 26°39 E) north of the Arctic Circle is excellent for receiving data from all polar orbiting spacecrafts.
The Arctic Space Centre (FMI-ARC) hosts the National Satellite Data Centre (NSDC) focusing on fast delivery of various remote sensing products.
FMI-ARC is Finland's primary infrastructure for the utilization, calibration, and validation of data by Earth Observation (EO) satellites.
This includes direct data reception from polar orbiting EO satellites, processing and archiving of satellite data products, and the housing of the satellite instrument's ground-based reference systems.
Operational units of FMI apply Arctic Space Centre's data and products for supporting sea ice navigation in the Baltic, air control e.g. in cases of volcanic eruptions, flood monitoring in springtime, and space weather services during solar storms.
The co-operative partners and funding agencies of FMI-ARC and NSDC include international space agencies (ESA, EUMETSAT, NASA, NOAA), European Union and national agencies and research institutes, such as the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).
In the Arctic areas the influence of climate change is being felt at a higher degree than elsewhere. Enabling a better understanding of the environment in region is now utmost importance.
