ARCPATH - Arctic Climate Predictions (2017-2020)

Arctic Climate Predictions: Pathways to Resilient, Sustainable Societies (ARCPATH)

ARCPATH logoThe international and multidisciplinary project Arctic Climate Predictions: Pathways to Resilient, Sustainable Societies (ARCPATH) was one of four, out of 34 applications, to be awarded a grant of 28 million NOK for 5 years as a NordForsk Nordic Centre of Excellence in Arctic Research (Award 76654). The duration of the project is 01.01.2017 - 31.12.2020.

The project’s home and leadership is shared by the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre (NERSC) in Bergen, Norway (Dr Yongqi Gao as lead) and the Stefansson Arctic Institute, in Akureyri, Iceland (Dr Astrid Ogilvie as co-lead). The Project Co-PIs from Iceland are: Dr Níels Einarsson, Director of the Stefansson Arctic Institute; Dr Marianne H. Rasmussen, Director of the University of Iceland Research Centre in Húsavík; and Dr Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, Professor at the University of Iceland and Director of the School of Environmental and Natural Resources.

Project Focus and Goals: The ARCPATH project seeks to combine improved regional climate predictions with enhanced understanding of environmental, societal, and economic interactions in order to supply new knowledge on Arctic "pathways to action".
This will be achieved through extensive cross-disciplinary collaboration including: climatology (regional and global modelling; dynamic downscaling; historical climatology); environmental science; environmental economics; oceanography and cryosphere research; marine and fisheries biology; fisheries management; anthropology; governance systems; human eco-dynamics; and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).
Drawing on these separate but interlinking disciplines will enable ARCPATH to form a truly synergistic Nordic Centre of Excellence where the overarching goal is to foster responsible and sustainable development in northern communities.

Further Icelandic representatives include: Dr Edward Huijbens, Professor at the University of Akureyri and Senior Scientist at the Stefansson Arctic Institute (SAI); Dr Tom Barry, Executive Secretary of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF); Embla Eir Oddsdóttir, Director of the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network and Researcher with the SAI; Dr Gunnar Már Gunnarson, Researcher at SAI; Dr Catherine Chambers, Programme Director, University Centre of the Westfjords; and David Cook, PhD Candidate at the University of Iceland.

Other Nordic team members are from the following institutes and countries:

  • Norway: The University of Bergen (UiB); The Arctic University of Norway (UiT); and The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU).
  • Denmark: The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).
  • Sweden: The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI).

Other International Collaborators: Professor Leslie King, School of Environment and Sustainability, and Director, Canadian Centre for Environmental Education, Royal Roads University (RRU), Canada; Professor James R. McGoodwin, Department of Anthropology, and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado, USA; Dr Shari Fox Gearheard, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Colorado; Professor Sergey Gulev, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Science (IORAS), Russia; Dr Vladimir Semenov, Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Science (IAPRAS), Russia; Professor Ke Fan, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Professor Guðrún Magnúsdóttir, Chair Earth Systems Science, University of California; Dr Michael Karcher, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany; Dr Baoqiang Tian, Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre, China; Dr Francois Massonnet, University College London, UK; Professor Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT); Professor Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Barents Chair in Politics, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT); Dr Yvan Orsolini, Senior Scientist, Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Norway; Professor Françoise Breton, The Autonomous University of Barcelona and the CER ARCTIC Research and Studies Centre; Dr Anniken Førde, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway; and Dr Margaret Willson, Affiliate Associate Professor of Anthropology and Canadian Studies at the University of Washington, USA.

ARCPATH Advisory Board Members: Professor Cecilia Bitz, University of Washington, USA; Michael Bravo, Fellow of Downing College, and Senior Lecturer, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, and Head of the Circumpolar History and Public Policy Research Group at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge; Lawrence C. Hamilton, Professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire, USA; Dr Burkhardt Rockel of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Institute for Coastal Research, Germany.

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