The project will provide the most comprehensive account so far of the types, amounts, and location of the on-and off-shore biological and mineral resources, including oil and gas, of northern and Arctic Russia from northern Norway in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. How can these resources be exploited sustainably over the next 10-20 and 20-40 years to ensure the economic development and social welfare of the regions concerned and their peoples?

The “Inuit Voices” traveling exhibition relates the story of climate change through the eyes of the Inuit, Arctic peoples who are witnessing changes to the environment that has sustained them for a thousand years. The National Snow and Ice Data Center and the University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, collaborated on the development of “Inuit Voices,” which opened in April 2008.

The central idea of NOMAD is the establishment of a mobile observation platform. This is facilitated by a nomadic tent camp that houses an interdisciplinary group of researchers. They follow the annual migration of semi-domesticated reindeer in Kola Peninsula, Northwest Russia. This is a novel effort, putting social and other scientists on the reindeer trek on a long-term basis. By positioning themselves in close contact with migrating reindeer herds the researchers observe the delicate ecology and conditions of renewable resource use in the subarctic. Updates on the progress of the project, photographs and fieldwork diary entries can be found on this website.

“Environmental Monitoring: an Indigenous Perspective” is a four-day forum scheduled for 2007 (fall), in Ottawa. It will provide an opportunity for Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples to voice their issues and concerns on the monitoring of their environment. The forum will demonstrate how the capacity, knowledge and viewpoints of Indigenous Peoples can guide environmental monitoring and decision-making processes in the Arctic.

OASIS will study the chemistry in the air over the Arctic Ocean. The health of mammals and humans is at stake, and a future change in climate will undoubtedly introduce unknown changes. OASIS will make use of a variety of platforms (icebreakers, ice islands, buoys) to obtain year-round information on the behavior of such key chemicals as ozone, mercury, and carbon dioxide. As the nature and extent of snow and ice cover is changing OASIS will assess the associated impact on, and by, climate change, and the human and ecosystem impacts of these chemicals.

Global Warming will have a large impact on glaciers in the Arctic region. Sea level will be affected, and substantial changes can be expected in sediment and fresh water supplies to embayments and fjords. In GLACIODYN we study the dynamics of Arctic glaciers by means of field observations, remote sensing from satellites, and computer modelling. This will deliver tools to make more accurate predictions about future changes.

"ENVIROVET ARCTIC will provide four weeks of lecture, laboratory and field experiences in Northern Norway and Svalbard to wildlife biologists, veterinarians, students on the university level and managers in the area of Arctic marine and terrestrial wildlife and ecosystem health. It course will highlight international cooperation and the transdisciplinary nature of work required for effective wildlife and ecosystem research and problem-solving in the Arctic. "

25 artists will travel Arctic waters summer 2006, celebrating Amundsen's 1906 navigation of the Northwest Passage. Following earlier Arctic artists, they will paint their northern impressions and return south to share the images across Canada and beyond. With this historical body of artwork created for the new millennium, they hope to increase interest and awareness in the Arctic and bring attention to its beauty and fragile nature.

The Arctic Ocean environment is undergoing tremendous changes over the last decreased with shrinking sea ice cover and increased freshwater run-off and coastal erosion. The documentation of the current state of Arctic marine biological diversity is urgently needed to understand and evaluate the impact of climate change. The Arctic Ocean Diversity project (ArcOD) is an international collaborative effort to inventory biodiversity in the Arctic's three realms (sea ice, water column and sea floor) from the shallow shelves to the deep basins.

Global Toxic Pollution, Arctic Contamination - Making the Link
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury are toxic chemicals carried by air and water to the Arctic. There, they accumulate in wildlife, as well as in northern people who eat traditional foods. This project will gather information on:
·the source of these pollutants,
·how climate affects where they end up; and
·impacts on northern ecosystems and people.