New project creates tools for monitoring the Arctic and adapting to the changing environment

Climate change is significantly changing the Arctic. A coordinated and coherent international observation system for the Arctic would be of vital importance for the local and European population alike, as well as for research, politics and the economy. Such a system would make it possible to better monitor the most significant changes, improve forecasting, develop prevention and adaptation strategies, and support sustainable development. The Arctic PASSION project will address these tasks.

The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), is leading the consortium of 35 European and international partners from 17 countries. Several organizations from Finland are involved, including for example Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finnish Environment Institute and Lumimuutos Osuuskunta – Snowchange.

Project aims to create observing system to meet the need of users

Although there have been advances in integrating Arctic observations in recent years, the various components of current Arctic observation systems remain fragmented, and the data are, in part, difficult to access and often not tailored to the needs of the users or stakeholders. Arctic PASSION aims to improve the situation by developing an integrated ‘pan-Arctic Observing System of Systems’ (pan-AOSS) via international collaboration. The project will address, among others, the following:

• Arctic PASSION will expand and better coordinate the Arctic Earth observation capacity and capabilities for the land, ocean, atmosphere, and cryosphere. This will be done through additional measurements and better integration at the international level. For example, the project will establish an international oceanic monitoring network in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic and connect it with a similar existing system in the Pacific sector.

• Measurements from observing programmes that reach back more than a few decades are scarce in the Arctic. Those that date back further, are based on observations by Indigenous communities and few national monitoring programs. To better understand local change, Arctic PASSION will compile those and analyse them jointly with our Indigenous partners.

• To better adapt the observing system to the needs of the people living in the Arctic, Arctic PASSION will extend it by including Indigenous and local knowledge. For example, through a series of panel meetings with local and Indigenous communities, scientists, and political and commercial actors, it will define which data are needed and in what form, with the goal to have them routinely collected.

• Together with local people, from Indigenous communities and Arctic cities alike, as well as local and national decision-makers, Arctic PASSION will combine data from the European and international Earth observation programmes to provide eight new information services. Concrete examples include a forecasting system for air pollution; integrated fire protection management in the Arctic; and improved permafrost monitoring.

• The interoperability and accessibility of application-ready Arctic environmental data for science, policy and business will be improved to better address climate change challenges and sustainable development requirements. Lastly, a quantification of the observation system’s financial and non-financial societal benefits will help to secure international support for its long-term funding.

The Arctic PASSION project will officially start on 1 July 2021. The name stands for ‘Pan-Arctic observing System of Systems: Implementing Observations for societal Needs’.

Further information:

Mikko Strahlendorff, Finnish Meteorological Institute, tel. +35850 359 3795, mikko.strahlendorff@fmi.fi

Adriaan Perrels, Finnish Meteorological Institute, tel. +35850 583 8575, adriaan.perrels@fmi.fi

Tero Mustonen, Lumimuutos Osuuskunta – Snowchange, tel. +35840 737 2424, tero@lumi.fi

Sampsa Koponen, Finnish Environment Institute, tel. +35840 128 2201, Sampsa.Koponen@syke.fi

Participating in the Arctic PASSION project: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research – AWI (Germany), Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Secretariat – AMAP (Norway), British Antarctic Survey UKRI-BAS (UK), CAE (Italy), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique – CNRS (France), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – CNR (Italy), Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut (Denmark), Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (Denmark), Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft (Switzerland), European Polar Board (Netherlands), Gronlands Naturinstitut (Greenland), Ilmatieteen Laitos – Finnish Meteorological Institute (Finland), International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic INTERACT (Sweden), Joint Research Centre – European Commission (Belgium), Lumimuutos Osuuskunta – Snowchange (Finland), Lunds Universitet (Sweden), Meteorologisk Institutt (Norway), National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research – NCPOR (India), Norsk Polarinstitutt (Norway), O.A.Sys – Ocean Atmosphere Systems GmbH (Germany), P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia), Spatineo Oy (Finland), Stiftelsen Grid Arendal (Norway), Suomen Ymparistökeskus (Finland), Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System SIOS Svalbard AS (Norway), the Arctic Institute of North America (Canada), The Inversion Lab Thomas Kaminski Consulting (Germany), Tomskij Gosudarstvennyj Universitet – Tomski State University (Russia), Universitetet i Bergen (Norway), Universitetet i Tromsoe – Norges Arktiske Universitet (Norway), University of Bristol (UK), University of Lapland – Lapin Yliopisto (Finland), University of Maryland Centre for Environmental Science (USA), University of Washington (USA), Women of the Arctic ry (Finland) and the Indigenous communities of Inupiaq and Yupiaq (Unalakleet, Alaska, USA), Tahltan Nation (Dease Lake, British Columbia, Canada), Gwitchin Nation (Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, Canada), Inuit (Attu and Aasiaat, Greenland), Skolt Sámi (Näätämö River Basin, Finland and Norway), Skolt, Ter, Kildin Sámi (Ponoi River Basin, Murmansk, Russia), Khanty, Mansi (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, Russia), Chukchi, Even, Yukaghir, Dolgan (Lower Kolyma, Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia) and members of the community members from the Qaanaaq region (Northwest Greenland).

Further collaborating partners are: Aker Arctic (Finland), Arctic Frontiers (Norway), ArcticNet (Canada), Arctic Mayors Forum (Iceland), BSRN-GCOS (Italy), Copernicus C3S and CAMS (UK), CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna) (Iceland), Canadian Network for the Detection of Change - CANDAC (Canada), CATS-GEOMAR (Germany), CLMS (Italy), Copernicus in Situ Component - EEA (Denmark), EPPR – Arctic Council (Norway), ESA (The Netherlands), EuroGOOS (Finland), Gwich’in Council International (Canada), Inuit Circumpolar Council – ICC (USA), JAMSTEC (Japan), Korea Polar Research Institute - KOPRI (Korea), Kystverket (Norway), Lloyd’s Register (UK), Mercator-Ocean International (France), NIPR (Japan), PAME (Iceland), RAIPON (Russia), SAON (Norway), SIPN2 (USA), Sustainable Development Working Group – Arctic Council (Iceland), The Nautical Institute (UK), The Northern Forum (Russia), T-MOSAiC (Portugal), University of Alaska Fairbanks (USA), University of Hamburg (Germany), Utrecht University (The Netherlands), World Meteorological Organization – WMO and Global Cryosphere Watch – GCW (Switzerland), WWF (Canada), Year of Polar Prediction - YOPP (Germany)