New research centre to focus on interaction between climate, permafrost and nature in Greenland

That the climate is undergoing significant change is a fact. The Arctic region, in particular, has already seen considerable shifts in the complex interaction between vegetation, microorganisms and soil. Over the next six years, a new basic research centre at the University of Copenhagen will further highlight these changes with focus on Greenland. The Danish National Research Foundation has granted DKK 60 million to the Centre for Permafrost dynamics in Greenland (CENPERM).

 

Climate change and how nature adapts to this are two inseparable issues. The Arctic region is, among other things, experiencing permafrost thawing as well as changes in precipitation, nutrients and vegetation. Changes are also seen in the release of a number of greenhouse gases which are produced as a result of microbial decomposition of organic matter. Even though these changes are taking place in the far north, they have a large impact on the global climate. But the changes also impact the lives of the local populations in the Arctic regions, for example in terms of changes in infrastructure, agricultural production and catches.

 

Interdisciplinary approach

According to Bo Elberling, Professor and Centre Director, Department of Geography & Geology, what is needed is coherent and interdisciplinary research efforts in Greenland.

- CENPERM is a unique opportunity to integrate different scientific disciplines in an ambitious and long-term initiative. The processes which we will be studying are central for predicting changes in the entire Arctic region. We have decided to focus on Greenland, as we have already been conducting research there for more than 15 years and also have a well-developed infrastructure, explains the professor, whose CV includes more than 15 expeditions to the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Svalbard and Antarctica.

 

Current knowledge and useful solutions

The Danish National Research Foundation has granted DKK 60 million to the Centre for Permafrost dynamics in Greenland (CENPERM). Here, employees from the Department of Geography & Geology, University of Copenhagen, will be collaborating with researchers from the Department of Biology and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS).

 

According to Professor Bo Elberling, CENPERM will both be gathering new and topical knowledge in close collaboration with national and international organisations and proposing solutions in collaboration with administrators and authorities.

- Some of the major challenges will be starting up field activities in a number of locations and ensuring the interaction between field observations and laboratory testing. Another challenge will be ensuring that new knowledge gathered can be upscaled, thus becoming relevant for Greenland and the Arctic region as a whole, says Bo Elberling.

 

EU partnership

Concurrently with the establishment of CENPERM, the research team at the Department of Geography & Geology has become a partner in a new large EU project, PAGE21, the largest European initiative ever aimed at predicting future permafrost thawing and related greenhouse gas budgets on a global scale.

 

The funding of CENPERM starts on 1 February 2012, and on 1 April, the centre will move to Øster Voldgade 10 in Copenhagen.

 

For more information, please contact Centre Director Bo Elberling.
Mobile: +45 23 63 84 53.