The overarching objective of FACE-IT is to enable adaptive co-management of social-ecological fjord systems in the Arctic in the face of rapid cryosphere and biodiversity changes. The project will identify ways to manage the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere and marine biodiversity, and the interaction with other drivers of change. FACE-IT will contribute to IPCC assessments as well as key Sustainable Development Goals. The concept of FACE-IT rests on a comparison of selected Arctic fjord systems at different stage of cryosphere loss in Greenland, Svalbard and Finnmark, Northern Norway. The underlying two-pronged hypothesis is that the biodiversity of Arctic coastal zones is changing in accordance with the rates of cryosphere changes, and that these changes affect local communities, food production, livelihoods and other ecosystem services. FACE-IT approaches European Arctic fjords as local social-ecological systems. It gathers a strong interdisciplinary team of internationally recognised experts from both natural and social sciences. FACE-IT is organized in eight interdisciplinary work packages focusing on the drivers of change (WP1), their effects on biodiversity (WP2), ecosystem functioning (WP3), food provision and indigenous livelihoods (WP4), nature-based tourism (WP5), the co-production of knowledge to identify governance strategies for adaptive co-management (WP6), and public outreach and policy input (WP7), and project management (WP8). It includes the participation of Arctic stakeholders to ensure that Indigenous and local knowledges, perceptions and concerns about ongoing changes are taken into account in defining innovative and adaptive co-management approaches towards a more sustainable future. In this way FACE-IT will deliver significant contributions towards the implementation of the new integrated EU policy for the Arctic.

The recent changes of the Arctic and the increased economic activity in the region have triggered a demand for accurate sea-ice and weather predictions, for information on the status of the Arctic Ocean, and for complex predictions of future scenarios. To address these issues of particular environmental and societal concern and to develop policy recommendations for a sustainable usage of the Arctic Ocean and its resources, the Arctic science community needs world-class research icebreakers (RIs) to access the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. The current shortage of availability of RIs and a not optimally coordinated polar research fleet impedes Europe’s capacity to investigate this region. There is thus an urgent need for providing European researchers with better RI capacities for the Arctic. ARICE aims at reaching this goal with the existing polar fleet by: 1) Networking ARICE will develop strategies to ensure the optimal use of the existing polar research vessels at a European and international level, working towards an International Arctic Research Icebreaker Consortium which will share and jointly fund operational ship time on the available RIs. 2) Trans-national access (TNA) ARICE will provide TNA to six key European and international RIs for European scientists, based on scientific excellence of submitted proposals: - PRV Polarstern, Germany - IB Oden, Sweden - RV Kronprins Haakon, Norway (under construction, to be operative in 2017) - RRS Sir David Attenborough, United Kingdom (under construction, to be operative in 2018) - CCGS Amundsen, Canada - RV Sikuliaq, United States of America 3) Joint research activities ARICE will improve the RIs’ services by partnering with maritime industry on a “ships and platforms of opportunity” programme and by exploring into new technologies that will lead to an improvement of ship-based and autonomous measurements in the Arctic Ocean. ARICE will implement virtual and remote access of data via an innovative 3D Virtual Icebreaker.

The overall objective of INTAROS is to develop an integrated Arctic Observation System (iAOS) by extending, improving and unifying existing systems in the different regions of the Arctic. INTAROS will have a strong multidisciplinary focus, with tools for integration of data from atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and terrestrial sciences, provided by institutions in Europe, North America and Asia. Satellite earth observation data plays an increasingly important role in such observing systems, because the amount of EO data for observing the global climate and environment grows year by year. In situ observing systems are much more limited due to logistical constraints and cost limitations. The sparseness of in situ data is therefore the largest gap in the overall observing system. INTAROS will assess strengths and weaknesses of existing observing systems and contribute with innovative solutions to fill some of the critical gaps in the in situ observing network. INTAROS will develop a platform, iAOS, to search for and access data from distributed databases. The evolution into a sustainable Arctic observing system requires coordination, mobilization and cooperation between the existing European and international infrastructures (in-situ and remote including space-based), the modeling communities and relevant stakeholder groups. INTAROS will include development of community-based observing systems, where local knowledge is merged with scientific data. An integrated Arctic Observation System will enable better-informed decisions and better-documented processes within key sectors (e.g. local communities, shipping, tourism, fisheries), in order to strengthen the societal and economic role of the Arctic region and support the EU strategy for the Arctic and related maritime and environmental policies.

INTERACT aims for a geographically comprehensive and excellent state-of-the-art terrestrial research infrastructure throughout the Arctic and adjoining forest and alpine regions to identify environmental change, to facilitate understanding and prediction of future change and to inform decision makers about societally-relevant impacts. INTERACT is the fundamental building block and one-stop-shop for EU and international projects, programmes and organisations requiring access to northern lands, data and services, and includes a rapid response capability to potential hazards. INTERACT is pan-Arctic, multidisciplinary and crosses EU call domains by linking to forest, coastal, marine and atmospheric communities. INTERACT uniquely unites 77 research stations in a Station Managers’ Forum ensuring inter-comparability of information and excellent science support. A Data Forum improves availability of data by bringing data providers together with data users. Physical (7780 days) pan-Arctic Trans-national Access is offered by 43 stations and virtual access is offered by 29. An innovative TA User Community will stimulate new collaborations and improved information flow while new state-of-the-art educational resources will encourage young scientists. Joint research activities will ensure close cooperation between the Arctic Council’s biodiversity monitoring programme and station activities; develop new technology in a WP led by Industry to enlarge the research stations’ environmental observing footprints; and produce guidance for local communities to adapt to change. INTERACT’s incalculable legacy and societal impact includes aiding people to adapt to local and global environmental changes, recruiting the next generation of environmental scientists, offering access and opportunities to researchers world-wide and providing data and information to high level regional and global organisations and decision-makers.