Pallas Atmosphere-Ecosystem Supersite

The Pallas Supersite consists of versatile research infrastructure for monitoring and studying the atmosphere, ecosystems and their interactions. Pallas is located 170 km north of the Arctic Circle, partly in the area of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has a long history of atmospheric monitoring at Pallas: the first weather station was established near Lake Pallasjärvi in 1935. The measurements of atmospheric composition were started in 1991, and the Sammaltunturi station was established as a node of the Pallas–Sodankylä Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station in 1994. Currently, Pallas comprises one of the most important research infrastructures in Finland and in the wider circumpolar region, contributing to numerous European and global research programmes, such as GAW, ICOS, ACTRIS and EMEP. Pallas also serves as a platform for scientific collaboration with international as well as national research institutes (LUKE, SYKE and GTK).

Small log building on the top of a mountain, on the roof measuring equipments
One of the research stations in the Pallas area is located on the top of Sammaltunturi. Photo: Pia Anttila

A wide range of top-class research is conducted at the various research stations and measurement sites established within the Pallas area by the FMI. The main research themes include greenhouse gas concentrations and ecosystem–atmosphere fluxes, the climate effects of atmospheric aerosols, aerosol–cloud interactions and air quality. Pallas is one of the sites of the Finnish network for monitoring the concentrations of mercury and other heavy metals, benzo(a)pyrene, ozone and other air pollutants, as required by the European legislation on ambient air quality. Over the years, research projects have produced a huge amount of information about the sub-Arctic atmosphere and its interactions with ecosystems, as evidenced by the exhaustive list of scientific peer reviewed articles.

More information

Greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases research

Current GHG concentrations at Pallas–Sammaltunturi

Atmospheric Composition

Atmospheric chemistry research

Atmospheric aerosols research

Air quality monitoring

Current air pollutant concentrations in Pallas (and elsewhere in Finland)

Sodankylä Supersite

Sodankylä node of the Pallas-Sodankylä GAW station