Climate warming is resulting from disruption of the global carbon (C) cycle. The Arctic is already warming significantly and the region governs some critical feedbacks in global change, including release of huge C stores from high-latitude soils, shift in albedo due to changes in vegetation and snow cover, and potential effects on the thermohaline circulation as a result of alterations in river discharge to the Arctic Ocean. However, the links between climate, the C cycle, energy balance, and hydrology are complex and our understanding of them – and their impact on Arctic ecosystems – is poor. ABACUS aims to provide answers to these critical questions.

The Overarching problems to be adressed by the project relates to the impact of globalization, privatization and liberalization. The Arctic regions still in most cases are characterized by economic dependence on centres in the South, which dominate trade patterns and capital movements. Hence, the main research question is related to both positive and negative impacts of the global economy

The polar environments are rapidly changing and leaving a lasting impact on the freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems within them. However the region is so vast and diverse that the knowledge of what drives these changes is limited. This project will assess how terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and environments have changed in the past and record their current status and biodiversity. IPY provides a timely opportunity for passing on knowledge to new generations of researchers and forming a new and authoritative baseline of environmental characteristics with which to examine future changes. Among the sites to be studied are some first examined during the ICSU-sponsored International Biological Programme, which will allow some assessment of changes over recent decades.

There is increasing recognition that multiple environmental changes are occurring in the northern regions of Europe. Some of these environmental changes, for example climate warming, levels of UV-B radiation, and habitat fragmentation, are projected to continue leading to impacts on the lands of the Nordic countries unprecedented since deglaciation some 10,000 year ago. Three ENVISNAR projects studying these processes are profiled below:

The present project integrates natural and socioeconomic sciences in describing past, natural variability of multi-year-ice (Storis) and its impact on present and future activities in the coastal communities in South and East Greenland. Both regions, but the south Greenland region in particular, is characterized by a complex composition of activities.

The International Tundra Experiment is a network of researchers examining the impacts of climate change on tundra vegetation throughout the Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine regions of the world. The goals of the networks are to document, understand and forecast changes in the tundra biome. Most members of the network do research at sites established in the early 1990s using standardized measurement protocols and a common warming experiment. The power of the network allows researchers to pool their data and make statements about the fate of the tundra biome as a whole. The four main areas of activity as part of the International Polar Year are: 1 vegetation change; 2 changes in the timing of key biological events (phenology); 3 changes in nutrient cycling; and 4 changes in carbon balance. Each of these areas is described below with a photograph and caption.

The food-borne parasites Trichinella nativa, Toxoplasma gondii, and Anisakis simplex are significant Arctic human zoonoses; endemic to some regions and directly related to the consumption of country foods. Many Northerners remain reliant on wildlife as a source of food, financial income and cultural identity and are demanding programs which will provide greater security in the safety of country foods and programs that ensure the long-term sustainability of wildlife populations. Changing climatic conditions are predicted to alter wildlife habitat, facilitate the northward migration of wildlife diseases and parasites, and alter contaminant cycling and fate; all of which have the potential to detrimentally affect the health and long term sustainability of wildlife populations and ultimately the source and safety of country foods (ACIA 2004; Boonstra 2004; Derocher et al. 2003; Harvell et al., 2002; Hoberg et al., 2002; Kutz et al. 2004; Lie et al. 2004 & 2005). Adequate baseline data (benchmarks) regarding the current health conditions of wildlife (including zoonotic pathogens) is therefore urgently needed for the assessment and prediction of wildlife health impacts resulting from the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors associated with climate change and exposure to anthropogenic contaminants.

POLENET will deploy an ambitious array of geophysical instruments across the polar regions in order to study the complex interplay between climate, ice sheets, geodynamics, and global sea level change. POLENET geodetic and seismic observations, paired with other types of geophysical measurements, will greatly improve our understanding of high latitude Earth systems. This international collaboration of 24 countries will involve scientists, students and educators at all levels, and will further advance our capability to deploy autonomous instruments in extreme environments