The first coordination meeting held at the Greenland Climate Research Centre Published 10.11.2009

The first coordination meeting has been held at the Greenland Climate Research Centre. On 2-4 November the project managers met with the centre coordination at Søminestationen near Isefjorden in Denmark. Thirty-two researchers attended the meeting, and most Danish and Greenlandic research institutions were represented. At the meeting, a detailed research plan was drawn up, covering the next five years. In addition to these activities, in which natural science, technology and society are represented, research in the field of social science will be further strengthened in future.

The Vision of the Centre:
”The Greenland Climate Research Centre will be a leading international centre for studies on the impact of climate change on Arctic systems and societies”.

The Mission of the Centre is:
”To gain, integrate and communicate knowledge on natural, technological and social sciences concerning climate change impacting Greenland”.

The centre will focus especially on effects of climate change, and how societies can be adapted to living with and exploiting them. In the Arctic, visible signs of climate change can be seen already, e.g. in sea ice reductions and melting of the Ice Sheet, and the changes are expected to become even more apparent in future.

With the Climate Research Centre a basis has been formed for Denmark and Greenland continuing to contribute significantly to research into climate changes and their impacts on nature and society in Arctic regions. Strengthening research within Greenland is important, because Greenland’s population is affected directly by the changes. At the same time, it will ensure that Danish and Greenlandic climate research can maintain its position and take on a more distinct and prominent role in future.

Until now, 9 projects have received funding within the Centre:

1. Physical oceanography in Greenland waters under climate change.
2. Climate effects on land-based ecosystems and their natural resources in Greenland.
3. The West Greenland marine ecosystem and climate change – The socio-economic adaptation and governance challenges for fisheries management.
4. Very high resolution coupled regional climate system model simulations for Greenland – Regional climate Model.
5. Arctic plankton dynamics – in a changing climate.
6. The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in Greenlandic waters; past and future under climate change.
7. The Marine Arctic Carbon Cycle: Consequences of changes in climate and sea-ice cover.
8. Satellite observations in Greenland waters.
9. Impact of Glaciers near the coast.

In addition, a number of other projects are already in progress at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, as well as a number of international research projects.