INTERACT: FAIR Data from Cold Region Research Stations

The International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT) is a EU Horizon 2020 funded infrastructure project seeking to provide a geographically comprehensive infrastructure for arctic and high altitude research stations. The overall objective of the project is to facilitate the identification of environmental and ecological change, the understanding of change and prediction of future changes. The second phase of the project commenced October 2016. One of the major tasks in the project is to create a coordinated and unified data management approach that would optimize potential future reuse, sharing, and guarantee data and metadata stewardship and preservation. Herein we present the preliminary plan to carry out this objective by focusing on four principles: Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (FAIR). Currently, 79 sites in arctic and northern alpine areas are part of the INTERACT network. Data collected at these stations are from different scientific disciplines, e.g. geo-sciences (including the atmosphere and cryosphere), hydrology, biology, ecology, and to some extent anthropology. These data are generated as a result of monitoring activities or short term projects. A survey of data management practices in INTERACT was conducted at the beginning of the project. The main finding is that data management at INTERACT stations is highly heterogeneous. In order to establish a unified view on all the data collected by INTERACT stations and through this show the benefit of INTERACT, interoperability at the discovery metadata and data levels is required. The first step towards this is taken through a Data Management Plan (DMP) which is identifying the general principles, common standards to apply and data dissemination principles. The DMP for INTERACT is a living document oriented towards international data management frameworks like World Meteorological Organization Information System (utilized by e.g. Global Cryosphere Watch, Global Atmosphere Watch), and aligned with the activities of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and Sustaining Arctic Observing Network (SAON) Arctic Arctic Data Committee (ADC). INTERACT emphasizes long term data preservation (as promoted by ICSU-WDS), community driven best practices (e.g. RDA), and the principles outlined by the ADC, that promote free, ethically open, sustained, and timely access to Arctic data. This approach should provide easy integration with the H2020 Open Research Data Pilot, and ensure data access to a variety of stakeholders (e.g. ESA DUE, GlobPermafrost, etc.). The initial data management effort focuses on discovery metadata, utilizing internationally accepted standards, protocols and vocabularies, ensuring the interoperability with international systems and frameworks, and the preservation of scientific legacy. Datasets will be documented using the Global Change Master Directory/Directory Interchange Format or ISO19115 standards. To provide interoperability at the data level, long term archival of data across different national repositories with long term mandates in self-explaining file formats (e.g. NetCDF, HDF/HDF5) is envisioned eventually. Therefore, our goal is to establish a unified approach to metadata and data generated by stations in the INTERACT network. This will be beneficial for scientific purposes, but also for monitoring activities. The latter is particularly important as Arctic monitoring to a large degree rely on the effort of the scientific community

Synthesis Report on the Environmental Impacts of Research and Logistics in the Polar Regions

Polar sciences are crucial to understand the effects of climate change. 6 out of 9 eco-tipping points identified by the IPCC are situated in the polar regions. Potential rising sea levels, altered weather patterns and changes in sea-currents are all connected to environmental change in the polar regions

Detecting and predicting forest degradation: A comparison of ground surveys and remote sensing in Tanzanian forests

Funder: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100013724Funder: Global Environment Facility; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011150Funder: Danish International Development Agency; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011054Funder: Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services DivisionFunder: Finnish International Development AgencyFunder: Leverhulme Trust; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000275Societal Impact Statement: Large areas of tropical forest are degraded. While global tree cover is being mapped with increasing accuracy from space, much less is known about the quality of that tree cover. Here we present a field protocol for rapid assessments of forest condition. Using extensive field data from Tanzania, we show that a focus on remotely‐sensed deforestation would not detect significant reductions in forest quality. Radar‐based remote sensing of degradation had good agreement with the ground data, but the ground surveys provided more insights into the nature and drivers of degradation. We recommend the combined use of rapid field assessments and remote sensing to provide an early warning, and to allow timely and appropriately targeted conservation and policy responses. Summary: Tropical forest degradation is widely recognised as a driver of biodiversity loss and a major source of carbon emissions. However, in contrast to deforestation, more gradual changes from degradation are challenging to detect, quantify and monitor. Here, we present a field protocol for rapid, area‐standardised quantifications of forest condition, which can also be implemented by non‐specialists. Using the example of threatened high‐biodiversity forests in Tanzania, we analyse and predict degradation based on this method. We also compare the field data to optical and radar remote‐sensing datasets, thereby conducting a large‐scale, independent test of the ability of these products to map degradation in East Africa from space. Our field data consist of 551 ‘degradation’ transects collected between 1996 and 2010, covering >600 ha across 86 forests in the Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal forests. Degradation was widespread, with over one‐third of the study forests—mostly protected areas—having more than 10% of their trees cut. Commonly used optical remote‐sensing maps of complete tree cover loss only detected severe impacts (≥25% of trees cut), that is, a focus on remotely‐sensed deforestation would have significantly underestimated carbon emissions and declines in forest quality. Radar‐based maps detected even low impacts (<5% of trees cut) in ~90% of cases. The field data additionally differentiated types and drivers of harvesting, with spatial patterns suggesting that logging and charcoal production were mainly driven by demand from major cities. Rapid degradation surveys and radar remote sensing can provide an early warning and guide appropriate conservation and policy responses. This is particularly important in areas where forest degradation is more widespread than deforestation, such as in eastern and southern Africa

INTERACT Station Catalogue

INTERACT (International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic): The INTERACT network is a one-stop shop for access to research infrastructures in the Arctic and mountain areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The main objective of the INTERACT network is to build capacity for identifying, understanding, predicting and responding to changes throughout the wide environmental and land-use envelopes of the Arctic and mountain areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The INTERACT network of field stations provides a unique platform for terrestrial sciences and the network hosts and operates top level research and monitoring projects and programmes within a wide range of scientific disciplines. In this catalogue you will find details of all the INTERACT stations that can be used for selecting research infrastructures that suit your specific scientific needs. It is our hope that you will find this catalogue useful in the planning of your scientific activities or simply enjoy an interesting tour of a variety of terrestrial field basis in the INTERACT network