The proposed activity aims at establishing a bipolar network to obtain data needed to quantify properties of aerosols at high latitudes, including seasonal background concentrations by measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD), spectral characterizations, and the evolutionary patterns of the natural and anthropogenic processes that perturb the aerosol cycles. An effort to quantify direct and indirect climate forcing by polar aerosols will be made through a set of closure experiments using observations in conjunction with model calculation and satellite data.

OASIS will study the chemistry in the air over the Arctic Ocean. The health of mammals and humans is at stake, and a future change in climate will undoubtedly introduce unknown changes. OASIS will make use of a variety of platforms (icebreakers, ice islands, buoys) to obtain year-round information on the behavior of such key chemicals as ozone, mercury, and carbon dioxide. As the nature and extent of snow and ice cover is changing OASIS will assess the associated impact on, and by, climate change, and the human and ecosystem impacts of these chemicals.

Climate of the Arctic and its role for Europe/Arctic System Reanalysis The overall objective of IPY-CARE (International Polar Year - Climate of the Arctic and its Role for Europe) is to create, co-ordinate and prepare a Pan-European science and implementation plan for Arctic climate change and ecosystems research programme as contribution to the International Polar Year.

DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies) is an integrated ice-atmosphere-ocean monitoring and forecasting system designed for observing, understanding and quantifying climate changes in the Arctic. DAMOCLES is specifically concerned with the potential for a significantly reduced sea ice cover, and the impacts this might have on the environment and on human activities, both regionally and globally.

The project HERMES is designed to gain new insights into the biodiversity, structure, function and dynamics of ecosystems along Europe's deep-ocean margin to underpin the future development of a comprehensive European Ocean and Seas Integrated Governance Policy. It represents the first major attempt to understand European deep-water ecosystems and their environment in an integrated way (geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere of a pan-European range). HERMES aims to compare and contrast selected environments around the European margin from high northern latitudes (focus of this IPY proposal) to the Black Sea.