Theme: The Arctic

New book tells the origins of Arctic cooperation and the ups and downs in Finland´s Arctic policy

27.2.2019 10:00

A new book published by the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland opens the Finnish perspective to the developments in the Arctic from the 1980s to the present day.

Fulbright Arctic Research in Action: International Collaboration to Address Shared Challenges

18.2.2019 9:18

The Arctic is facing profound social, economic, and environmental change and communities are increasingly confronted with critical policy challenges related to issues of health and wellness, Indigenous rights, energy resources, environmental protection, sustainability, infrastructure, education, and regional governance. The social and economic impacts of rapid environmental changes and globalization in the Arctic demand new research approaches and greater public participation.

Study: China seeks to become an Arctic partner and player

12.2.2019 9:35

Over the past decade, China has undertaken an effort to demonstrate its growing knowledge of, and commitment to, the Arctic region. Some actors and experts are concerned about China’s aims and actions in the region, while others express hope for Chinese institutions, investors and companies to contribute to regional development and knowledge-building. The study commissioned by the Government of Finland presents a balanced and multifaceted, although necessarily not fully comprehensive, picture of China’s rise as an actor in the Arctic.

Arctic agriculture conference for the first time in Lapland

8.2.2019 13:00

The 10th Circumpolar Agriculture Conference will take place in Rovaniemi 13 – 15 March 2019. The conference will address local agriculture and bioeconomy, northern local breeds, reindeer herding, and the effects of climate change on agriculture. The topics also include Arctic foods and natural products, food quality, food security, business opportunities and sustainability.

The second Arctic5 Arctic Inclusive Pedagogy workshop gathered together educators and students in Rovaniemi

29.1.2019 9:07

The second two-days workshop of Arctic5 project was held on January 23-24 at University of Lapland in Rovaniemi. The workshop gathered together twenty professors, researchers, educators and students from five Nordic Arctic universities.

Climate Change and the Future Generations themes of Arctic Conference in Rovaniemi

17.1.2019 12:25

The Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference, fourth in a series, focuses on climate change in the Arctic, especially from the point of view of young people. The conference, which will take place on 12-13 November 2019, wants the voices of the future generations to be heard.

Doctoral dissertation: Ageing and Gender in the Nordic Arctic

4.1.2019 11:06

LLM Shahnaj Begum’s doctoral thesis explores how ageing and gender in the Nordic Arctic interact with equality and social justice.

New project studies structural inequality in reindeer herding Sámi communities

30.12.2018 12:46

The new project of the University of Lapland will promote dialogue on gender-specific structural inequality, and will develop concrete recommendations to support gender equality in the reindeer herding Sámi communities. The project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ (NCM) Gender Equality Fund (NIKK).

Call for applications: Summer School on Arctic Studies 2019

18.12.2018 13:01

Summer School on Arctic Studies 2019 will be held at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The summer school is dedicated to advanced level undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at the University of Lapland, the University of Oulu and the University of Helsinki. Application deadline is 28 February 2019.

Publication: Current Developments in Arctic Law

17.12.2018 9:27

The UArctic Thematic Network on Law is pleased to announce release of the volume 6 of the Current Developments in Arctic Law. The latest publication highlight contemporary Arctic related developments in areas of law, social sciences and politics. The Issue also describes ongoing projects, and report on events which took place during the year 2018.

Same genes allow humans and domestic animals to survive in Arctic conditions

13.12.2018 10:38

If a Yakutian cattle bull refuses to go out when the temperature has dropped down to -50°C, he will not be qualified as a breeding animal in Yakutia, Eastern Siberia. Both humans and domestic animals have adapted to the Arctic conditions, which can be identified in their genes. As a result of human-made and natural selection Arctic domestic animals have been adapted to these harsh conditions, which has been now investigated and described using approaches of genetics, anthropology and art.

Group photo - HuSArctic-Final-Conference-Afroja Khanam_www.jpg

Researchers: Policy-making related to the Arctic needs a new mindset

12.12.2018 10:40

‘Solutions to common human security issues must be contextual at the local level, and address the unique concerns of diverse identities within communities,’ state researchers in the final report of the HuSArctic project. The main objective of the four-year project in 2015–2018 is to address human challenges of the Arctic population and to find tools to improve human security within Barents region. The project is funded by the Academy of Finland and hosted by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, which is part of the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland.

According to reindeer herders, winters with basal ice are experienced more often than before

5.12.2018 0:05

In approximately half of the herding districts in Finland, basal ice events occurred more frequently in the period 1983–2016 than in the period 1948–1982. Researchers collected practitioners’ knowledge of herders from the period 1948–2016. During this period, seven winters with extensive basal ice formation were identified. Five out of seven of the most extensive basal ice formation events occurred between 1991 and 2016. Approximately one fourth of all reported mold formation events co-occurred with basal ice formation.

Face of the Month: Helsinki-born researcher is now studying everyday urban life in the Arctic region

26.11.2018 8:00

When we refer to Rovaniemi as an Arctic city, we tend to forget two essential things: in Rovaniemi, the link between arcticity and the history and locality is weak, and the city does not take advantage of the Arctic urban nature as part of its identity in the best possible way.

Face of the Month: Melting ice sheets can raise sea levels, but we still have time to act!

18.10.2018 8:00

Rupert Gladstone hopes that our generation have will to make right decisions in order to secure favorable living environment also for the future generations.

Rupert Gladstone appointed Adjunct Professor of Computer Modelling in Glaciology

15.10.2018 13:59

Based on the decision of the Rector of the University of Lapland, PhD Rupert Gladstone has been appointed for the position of Adjunct Professor of Computer Modelling in Glaciology in the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland. Gladstone is part of the Global change research group of the Arctic Centre.

The new Barents Studies bring economic, social and political margins on focus

10.10.2018 13:22

The new issue of the international peer-reviewed journal Barents Studies covers topics around marginal phenomena. The issue 1/2018 features three peer-reviewed scientific articles, two research communications, a book review of the Encyclopedia of the Barents Region, and introductions of young scholars of the region.

Fieldwork on Ellesmere Island, Canada: Measuring the size of individual plants. The study combines over 50,000 individual plant measurements with 30 years of plant community monitoring to understand how tundra ecosystems are responding to warmer temperatures. Photo: Anne Bjorkman

New plants on the block: Taller species are taking over in a warming Arctic

26.9.2018 20:00

Until now, the Arctic tundra has been the domain of low-growing grasses and dwarf shrubs. Defying the harsh conditions, these plants huddle close to the ground and often grow only a few centimeters high. But new, taller plant species have been slowly taking over this chilly neighborhood, report an international group of nearly 130 biologists in Nature. This has led to an overall increase in the height of tundra plant communities over the past three decades.

frozen_icebergs_near_thwaites_glacier_in_west_antarctica_credit_nasa_jim_yungel.jpg

Glacial engineering could limit sea-level rise, if we get our emissions under control

20.9.2018 15:00

Targeted engineering projects to hold off glacier melting could slow down the collapse of ice sheets and limit sea-level rise, according to a new study published in the European Geosciences Union journal The Cryosphere.

Face of the Month: A researcher from Sicily who lost his heart to Sámi shaman stories

17.9.2018 11:23

Nuccio Mazzullo left Sicily for Lapland to meet the opposite of his own culture, but ended up meeting his mirror image. An anthropologist specialising in Lapland and in Sámi reindeer herding wants to remind people that humans are a part of nature, and nature is a part of us.