The International Tundra Experiment is a network of researchers examining the impacts of climate change on tundra vegetation throughout the Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine regions of the world. The goals of the networks are to document, understand and forecast changes in the tundra biome. Most members of the network do research at sites established in the early 1990s using standardized measurement protocols and a common warming experiment. The power of the network allows researchers to pool their data and make statements about the fate of the tundra biome as a whole. The four main areas of activity as part of the International Polar Year are: 1 vegetation change; 2 changes in the timing of key biological events (phenology); 3 changes in nutrient cycling; and 4 changes in carbon balance. Each of these areas is described below with a photograph and caption.

The goal of ELOKA is to facilitate the collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge of the Arctic by providing data management and user support, and to foster collaboration between local and international researchers. Over the last decade, Arctic residents and indigenous peoples have been increasingly involved in, and taking control of, research. Through Local and Traditional Knowledge (LTK) research and community-based monitoring, Arctic communities have made, and continue to make, significant contributions to understanding recent environmental change.

POLENET will deploy an ambitious array of geophysical instruments across the polar regions in order to study the complex interplay between climate, ice sheets, geodynamics, and global sea level change. POLENET geodetic and seismic observations, paired with other types of geophysical measurements, will greatly improve our understanding of high latitude Earth systems. This international collaboration of 24 countries will involve scientists, students and educators at all levels, and will further advance our capability to deploy autonomous instruments in extreme environments

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.

There are over 4 million wild and 1.8 million domestic reindeer and caribou inhabiting the earth’s arctic regions. This keystone species has been an economic and cultural mainstay of nearly every indigenous group in the Arctic. Recent profound changes have been occurring in the North with the potential to jeopardize the relationship forged over countless generations between Rangifer, the land and the people. The CARMA Network network defines its mission:

To monitor and assess the impacts of global change on the human/Rangifer system across the Arctic through cooperation, both geographically and across disciplines.

CAVIAR - Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in the Arctic Regions – is an international research consortium consisting of partners from the eight Arctic nations. The main goal of CAVIAR is to identify how projected changes in climate interact with changes in social and natural conditions, and how such interactions shape vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Arctic Regions. Comparable case studies across Arctic communities will provide a basis for synthesizing knowledge of vulnerabilities and for exchanging experiences with adaptation.

Indigenous youth will inherit large portions of the north and the responsibility for protecting its natural resources. They will choose future livelihoods in a world where economic, political and environmental decisions occur in multinational global forums. This project will develop future environmental decision-makers and indigenous community leaders who understand and appreciate conservation issues and the roles of science, indigenous knowledge and politics in conservation decision-making.""