We are pleased to let you know that the 2nd CHARTER project newsletter is now out. You can read it here on this website, or read and subscribe to the newsletter, as well as read the previous newsletter from this page. Recent events have meant that all future field work in Russia has been cancelled, which has meant for an
The invasion of the sovereign country of Ukraine by Russia has been a system shock to the international order, including academic and research cooperation. For CHARTER, fieldwork in Russia and cooperation with Russian partners were key parts of planned project activities. As a research project funded by EU Horizon 2020 program, CHARTER strictly follows the guidelines
Lumen päälle satava vesi ja lumipeitteen jääkerrokset ovat CHARTER- hankkeessa erityisen kiinnostuksen kohteena. Jäiset kerrokset vaikuttavat kasvien talvehtimisoloihin ja vaikeuttavat eläinten kaivautumista lumen läpi. Tällä on merkitystä myös pohjoisen elinkeinoille, muun muassa poronhoidolle. Lumipeitteen kerrosrakenne ja jääkerrokset havaitaan paikan päällä tehtävien lumikuoppien avulla. Näitä havaintoja hyödyntävät satelliittiavusteisten lumihavaintojen kehittäjät sekä lumi- ja ilmastomallinnuksen tekijät. Havaintoaineistoa voisivat käyttää myös alueen asukkaat
An important new article with substantial CHARTER input has just been published in the journal Nature Communications. The article is titled New climate models reveal faster and larger increases in Arctic precipitation than previously projected. In other words, climate models are predicting that snowfall will be replaced by rain fall in the future, and this will occur at a faster rate than previous models suggested. You can download the article here (open access)
This phenomena is referred to as ‘Rain on Snow’ or ROS and it is something that is predicted to happen more often with potentially disastrous impacts on biodiversity in the Arctic. By way of example, tens of thousands of reindeer have died as a result of repeated ROS events in the Yamal peninsula and Finland in recent years, with potentially catastrophic consequences for reindeer herding peoples and cultures. The phenomona is also hazardous for other wildlife as rain refreezes and turns to ice, creating a physical barrier to pastures and nutrition. While ROS events are not unheard of, the frequency with which they are happening is.
The CHARTER project is now entering its second year and this makes it time for our 1st General Assembly! This will be held in Helsinki, Finland, October 4-7 and will be a hybrid in person/virtual meeting but we are really excited, and thankful, to note that over 40 people will be in attendance, with about 20 people joining virtually. With
Late spring and summer is normally a busy time for fieldwork in the Arctic. The conditions are more amenable, work routines allow for extended periods away from teaching and administrative duties and the fieldwork season is one which many eagerly look forward to – a chance to leave the office, get out in the field and spend time with colleagues
Three Horizon2020 projects in a common Rovaniemi event by Markku Heikkilä. CHARTER was one of the three new EU Horizon 2020 projects on stage during a Arctic Café discussion event in Rovaniemi on 25thNovember. The event was organized together with the Arctic Centre and Horizon2020 projects CHARTER, JustNorth and ArcticHubs. All three projects have a strong presence in Rovaniemi research
The CHARTER project has launched a Working Papers series. Working Papers are pre-publication versions of academic articles, book chapters, or reviews. They also may include project status reports and policy briefs and project pre-completion findings. Working papers are cited by author, are not refereed and will be numbered sequentially. They may be in multiple languages. The content of these Working
The CHARTER kick off meeting is now 3 weeks behind us and since then we have been busy updating the website and several CHARTER folks have been participating in the European Polar Science Week, a virtual event which has been running all last week. You can watch replays of the entire virtual event here, and track it on social media
The EU funded CHARTER (Drivers and Feedbacks of Changes in Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity) will hold our kick off meeting tomorrow (October 6-8). While all of us were greatly looking forward to gathering and brainstorming together, as in-person communication is so valuable for science, creativity and new thinking, these extraordinary times require adaptation and new approaches and due the ongoing risks associated with COVID-19,
