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MaReMa researchers in IPY

The MaReMa Centre by associate professor Jahn Petter Johnsen (picture) is one of the partners in the IPY project "Is the Arctic Human Environment Moving to a New State?"

According to the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Plans for Implementation During the International Polar Year and Beyond, the goal of SEARCH is to “understand the nature, extent, and future development of the system-scale changes presently observed in the Arctic [such as] increasing average annual surface air temperatures, decreasing summer sea ice extent and sea ice mass, changing ocean circulation, northward movement of tree lines and vegetation zones, thawing glacial ice masses and permafrost, and changing socioeconomic dynamics” (SEARCH 2005, vii). A main question for SEARCH is whether the Arctic system is moving to a new state. The Plans for Implementation notes key secondary questions that must be addressed to answer this main question, including “How do cultural and economic systems interact with Arctic environmental change?”

The multidisciplinary project is funded by National Science Foundation (USA) and chaired by University of Alaska and University of New Hamshire. MaReMa is one of several other partners, including National Marine Mammal Laboratory in USA, University of Roskilde (Denmark), Laval University (Quebec, Canada), University of Iceland, University of Western Ontario (USA) and Stefanssons Arctic Institute in Iceland.