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FORINFRA-Nasj.sats. forskn.infrastrukt

Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System - Knowledge Centre (SIOS-KC)

Alternative title: SIOS-kunnskapssenter

Awarded: NOK 22.2 mill.

SIOS (Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System) is a regional observational system for long term measurements in and around Svalbard, addressing questions related to Global Change. The SIOS Knowledge Centre provide an efficient use and better integration of the observing systems, provide open access to research facilities, observations, data and logistics. The Centre also facilitate scientific integration by providing better knowledge management, training and meeting places for scientists and students. The Centre is is organised as a three year project at the University Centre in Svalbard, and located in Svalbard Forskningspark, Longyearbyen. Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, The Norwegian Polar Institute, Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany), Consiglio Nazionale delle Recherche (Italy), Finish Meteorological Institute (Finland), Polar Research Institute of China (China), British Antarctic Survey (UK), National Institute of Polar Research (Japan), Institute Polaire Francais (France), University of Stockholm (Sweden), Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) are the project partners. It is the ambition of the centre to establish itself as and independent organisation after three years.. The ambition is to create added value for the partners and the broader polar research community. It will link with other infrastructures across the Arctic to share data and best practice, leading to a pan-Arctic observational structure that will facilitate a better understanding of the role of the Arctic in the Earth System. By building on existing networks, infrastructures and services the scope and scale of the Knowledge Centre is unique by providing coordination and integration between scientific fields, access and use of research infrastructure and data to the observational platforms in Svalbard and the surroundings.

SIOS will be a regional observational system for long term measurements in and around Svalbard. SIOS shall ensure that the observational system is useful for global change studies. The SIOS-KC will develop and implement methods to make this possible. SIOS will set an example for how to systematically construct observational networks in the Arctic. SIOS will supply added value to all participants well beyond what their separate investments will provide by themselves. SIOS will enhance the scientific environment in Svalbard by providing a core measurement program and coordination and support through the special expertise of the Knowledge Centre. The Knowledge Centre will use the observations and knowledge to continuously develop the core program. The core observational program of SIOS will be stable over time, yet dynamic, as new methods and questions from society appear. An important capacity-building activity at the SIOS-KC will be to stimulate the development of new observational techniques for environmental monitoring that are clean, energy efficient and robust in the Arctic environment. The SIOS-KC will provide an intellectual environment where sampling strategies and observational practices are developed with an ESS perspective. The SIOS-KC will thus become a unique international meeting place for developing the science of long term environmental monitoring in Polar Regions. The Knowledge Centre will continuously inform users and society about the accrued knowledge within its field of expertise.

Funding scheme:

FORINFRA-Nasj.sats. forskn.infrastrukt

Funding Sources