Interact III

Info

INTERACT is a Horizon 2020 project linking 86 Arctic research stations across 16 countries to study and respond to rapid environmental change. The project enhances research, education, and outreach through better field access, standardized monitoring, and new technology. As the Arctic warms twice as fast as the rest of the world, INTERACT coordinates the data and collaboration needed to tackle urgent global challenges and train the next generation.

The Need

The Arctic is undergoing rapid and unpredictable environmental change, creating an urgent demand for coordinated research, reliable data, and shared methodologies across the region. Yet the infrastructures that support Arctic science remain fragmented: stations operate under different national systems, access procedures vary widely, and data are stored and collected using incompatible methods. Many sites lack modern tools for automatic monitoring, long‑term data management, or integrated observation of ecosystem responses to climate change. At the same time, policymakers, local communities, and the global scientific community increasingly rely on accurate Arctic information to understand impacts that extend far beyond the region. These pressures highlighted the need for a unified, well-funded initiative to standardize Arctic environmental observation and response.

The Solution

INTERACT delivers a comprehensive, multi‑layered infrastructure that integrates field stations, researchers, communities, and digital systems into a single operational ecosystem.

• Station Managers’ Forum (SMF): A platform for knowledge exchange, coordination, and best‑practice development across Arctic research stations.
• Joint Research Activities (JRA): Specialists develop and test new methods for automatic data collection, climate‑ecosystem feedback studies, and coordinated data storage, directly addressing methodological gaps.
• Trans‑national, Remote, and Virtual Access (TA/RA/VA): INTERACT provides access to 55 stations through TA, 33 through RA, and 32 through VA, enabling researchers to work in remote Arctic environments and access data from anywhere.
• Integrated Digital Tools: INTERACCESS is the online application, evaluation, and reporting system. The INTERACT Data Portal that provides streamlined access to datasets, station information, and long‑term observations across the network and the INTERAC GIS an interactive mapping environment that visualizes stations, services, and geospatial layers.

State of the Art

INTERACT has become a leading Arctic research infrastructure, supporting hundreds of scientists and unifying stations to better track environmental change. Its Station Managers’ Forum drives best practices and community engagement, while Joint Research Activities advance data methods and climate-ecosystem analysis. The project’s robust Trans‑national, Remote, and Virtual Access system, INTERACCESS, has opened unprecedented opportunities for scientific work across the Arctic, complemented by strong collaboration with Antarctic, alpine, atmospheric, and marine infrastructures. Through extensive educational and outreach initiatives, INTERACT has also helped raise global awareness of Arctic change, and its work packages continue to address critical themes such as extreme weather, pollution, transport, communication, and tourism. Together, these achievements position INTERACT as a cornerstone of Europe’s Arctic research capacity, enabling integrated, multidisciplinary science with global relevance.

Coordinator: LUND UNIVERSITY

Partners: Consortium

Duration: 01 January 2020 – 31 December 2024 (4 years)

Funding: Net EU contribution € 10 000 000,00 – Total cost € 10 000 000,00

GA: 871120