Tundra Degradation in the Russian Arctic

The TUNDRA project is supported by the Environment and Climate Programme of the European Commission (contract nr. ENV4-CT97-0522), Climatology and Natural Hazards

Arctic Feedbacks to Global Warming: Tundra Degradation in the Russian Arctic (TUNDRA) 1998-2000

What is TUNDRA ?

TUNDRA stands for Tundra Degradation in the Russian Arctic. It is a research project funded for a period of 3 years (1998-2000) by the IVth Framework 'Environment and Climate' Programme of the European Commission. TUNDRA studies the effects of Global Change in the East-European Russian Arctic. The magnitude of expected climatic changes and the fragility of the environment make the Arctic a priority area to study the effects of global change.

The tundra near the town of Vorkuta. Photo P. Kuhry

The main focus of TUNDRA is to assess feedback processes to the global climate system that originate in the Arctic. Emphasis is given to changes in greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere and in freshwater runoff to the Arctic Ocean taking into account Global Warming, industrial pollution and the public perception of environmental degradation. The project is interdisciplinary in nature and involves climatologists, soil scientists, ecologists, palaeoecologists, hydrologists, pollution specialists and social anthropologists from Denmark, Finland, Russia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

	Why the Arctic ?
	The TUNDRA Study Area
	What is Global Change ?
	What do we study in TUNDRA ?
	TUNDRA Research Objectives
	TUNDRA Fieldwork Images
	List of TUNDRA Partners

Prepared for the TUNDRA project by Dr. Peter Kuhry and Ms. Tuija Holm, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, P. O. Box 122, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland. Last update: Janyary 22, 2002