Arctic fjords are social-ecological systems
Glacier fronts and sea ice systems are hotspots of biodiversity. Their retreat will pose threats to Arctic coastal ecosystem function and eventually local livelihoods. The Arctic is a harbinger of the consequences of multiple global and regional environmental change on ecosystems and livelihoods: The overarching objective of FACE-IT is to enable adaptive co-management of social-ecological fjord systems in the Arctic in the face of rapid cryosphere and biodiversity changes.
Check out this video introduction to FACE-IT: The Changing Arctic Fjord Systems
14
International
institutions
7
Unique
sample sites
8
Countries
Latest Updates
Master thesis project at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources GINR, Nuuk
March 22, 2023
Phytoplankton primary production is the base of the marine food web. Consequently, productive areas are often important for benthic ecosystems, as well as fishery. Northern Melville Bay, in Northwest Greenland is north of the currently exploited fishing grounds, but important for vulnerable benthic organisms, including corals, sea pens, and sponges.
Successful Policy Briefing “Arctic Biodiversity, climate and food security” in Brussels
March 21, 2023
CHARTER, ECOTIP and FACE-IT, three EU-funded projects that are researching on biodiversity in relation to ice loss in the Arctic, organized jointly with the EU Polar Cluster a policy briefing in Brussels on 15 March 2023.
Two Master theses on plankton available at UNIS, Svalbard
March 5, 2023
The University Centre in Svalbard UNIS is running the northernmost high-frequent time series of plankton in the world studying the seasonal community development and biodiversity in Adventfjorden on the west coast of Svalbard. Since 2018, UNIS has expanded this timeseries to also cover the entire Svalbard archipelago by regularly sampling fjords in western, northern, eastern and southern Svalbard during summers using cruise ships as platform.
Successful FACE-IT contributions at the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2023
February 26, 2023
Conference from 17 to 24 February 2023.
Managing Svalbard Tourism: Inconsistencies and Conflicts of Interest
February 22, 2023
The Svalbard Archipelago has experienced a rapid increase in tourism-related activities over the past few decades. The Norwegian Government’s ambition to develop the Archipelago’s tourism industry offers multiple socio-economic opportunities.
Glacial retreat and rising temperatures are limiting the expansion of temperate kelp species in the future Arctic
February 1, 2023
Kelps act as ecosystem engineers on many polar rocky shore coastlines. The underwater light climate and temperature are the main drivers for their vertical and latitudinal distribution. With temperatures rising globally, an Arctic expansion of temperate kelp species and an accelerating glacial melt is predicted.
Policy Briefing “Arctic Biodiversity, climate and food security”
February 1, 2023
FACE-IT, ECOTIP and CHARTER, the three Horizon 2020 projects working on Arctic biodiversity and ice loss are conducting a policy briefing on 15 March 2023, 2 pm, in Brussels.
To Live Up to Our Name “Greenland”: Politics of Comparison in Greenland’s Green Transition
January 19, 2023
In 2021, the Government of Greenland made an active, discursive shift in the political discourse regarding Greenlandic development. Since the last general election, the political agenda has changed from prioritizing industrialization and the development of extractive industries (with little focus on ratifying international treaties and commitments to lower CO2 emissions to limit global warming) to suddenly wanting to “live up to our name, Greenland” by kickstarting a green transition with the ambition to be an exporter of hydropower and mining rare earth elements (REE) to support the technology for the green transition.
Drivers of Change in Arctic Fjord Socio-ecological Systems: Examples from the European Arctic
January 13, 2023
Fjord systems are transition zones between land and sea, resulting in complex and dynamic environments. They are of particular interest in the Arctic as they harbour ecosystems inhabited by a rich range of species and provide many societal benefits. The key drivers of change in European Arctic (i.e. Greenland, Svalbard, and Northern Norway) fjord socioecological systems are reviewed here, ...