Stefansson Arctic Institute

New Senior Associate Scientist

The Stefansson Arctic Insitute is honoured to welcome Professor Jules Pretty OBE, Emeritus Professor of Environment and Society at the University of Essex and Director of the Centre for Public and Policy Engagement, and a long time friend of the Institute. Among numerous honours Professor Pretty has received an OBE in the UK for services to sustainable agriculture. He is responsible for some 23 books, either as sole or co-author or editor and is particularly well-known as an authority on perspectives of climate change and the intersection between nature and people. Further information on Professor Pretty´s numerous accomplishments, accolades and interests may be found in his entry on the list of Senior Associated Scientists and in more detail on his website www.julespretty.com where he writes a regular series called The Climate Chronicles. Professor Pretty lives on the borders of Suffolk and Essex in eastern England but finds a spiritual home in Iceland.

Kick-off of the Arctic ICEBERG EU Horizon fieldwork in Northeast Iceland

During 21-26 August, the first field season of the Arctic ICEBERG EU Horizon project had a successful kick-off in Northeast Iceland, one of the project’s three field sites. The Stefansson Arctic Institute is one among 16 partner institutions in the project led by Professor Thora Herrmann and Dr. Élise Lépy, University of Oulu.

ICEBERG, which also includes field sites in South Greenland and Svalbard, is an interdisciplinary research project investigating the multifaceted and complex effects that pollution, climate change and human activities have on the coast and ocean in the Arctic and aims to develop strategies for enhancing community-led resilience, as well as pollution-control governance (see arctic-iceberg.eu)

During the first fieldseason in Northeast Iceland the ICEBERG researchers met with various local stakeholders in Akureyri and Húsavík to introduce the project, build partnerships and engage with local communities through community consultations and other activities.

In Húsavík, the ICEBERG team hosted a community consultation meeting to introduce the project and learn about local concerns and environmental observations. The researchers also met with various stakeholders and launched citizen science training with drones used in the project to map marine litter.

In Akureyri, the ICEBERG team attended industry visits and met with several experts from the University of Akureyri, as well as CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna) and PAME (Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment), the two working groups of the Arctic Council located in Akureyri.

The team is now in South Greenland where it has been carrying out fieldwork in Narsaq, Qaqortoq and Nanortalik.