Toolik Field Station has partnered with the new Polar Research Infrastructure Network to boost international collaboration in polar science. 

The project, coordinated by the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, will increase international access to 64 field stations, vessels and other polar research facilities across Europe, the Americas and Antarctica. Researchers from the U.S. will be able to apply for in-person or remote access to complete research at partnering PolarIN sites.

Toolik Field Station, operated and managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology, is located in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range, 370 miles from Fairbanks and just off the Dalton Highway

“This new network will enhance Toolik Field Station’s profile to international researchers and provide opportunities for U.S. researchers to branch out to polar research infrastructures in other nations,” said Syndonia Bret-Harte, a UAF professor and the station’s science co-director. 

As one of two U.S. partners in the network, Toolik Field Station will receive almost 64,000 euros (about $70,000 at recent exchange rates) from the European Union across four years to support international scientists at the station. 

By facilitating cross-border access to polar regions, PolarIN will promote interdisciplinary research to address the rapid changes happening in the Arctic and Antarctic. Changes in these two regions are globally critical for understanding future climate.

“For the first time, we’ll be offering access to research infrastructures in the Arctic and Antarctic alike through a single project,” said Nicole Biebow, the project’s coordinator at the Alfred Wegener Institute. “We’ve created a network of interdisciplinary research infrastructures that encompasses all related research areas — from marine and terrestrial research to the atmosphere. It’s the only project of its kind.”

PolarIN will also improve online services and data access to boost cross-site collaboration and improve earth system modeling. The network plans to organize training opportunities to expand knowledge within the community on polar infrastructures. Seminars will be held to cover topics like fieldwork planning, sustainable research practices, data management and field safety training.

“The network will offer exciting, new opportunities for international collaboration in Arctic and Antarctic research,” Bret-Harte said.

University of Alaska-Fairbanks

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