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RESEARCH

Arctic site to aid studies amid climate change

If you are planning an expedition to the Arctic or are just interested in the area, you may want to check out new website ‘Isaaffik Arctic Gateway,' which is being launched in Copenhagen on Wednesday to facilitate research in the wake of climate change.

Published: 8 April 2015 11:42 CEST
Arctic site to aid studies amid climate change
A polar bear is being trapped on land as the ice is melting rapidly in the Arctic. Now Denmark wants to boost research into the area with the launch of a new website. Photo: Colourbox

Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands are launching the website Isaaffik Arctic Gateway, with the aim of creating a dynamic forum for everyone with work related to the Arctic area.

The name Isaaffik means “the big gate” in Greenlandic.

“Now it is also the name of the web portal, which is going to help all of us who are planning an expedition to the arctic areas. It is also going to function as a forum for the exchange of ideas and contributions to teaching, research and education,” the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science wrote in a press release.

An expedition to Greenland and the Arctic could sound tempting to many. But although the website will be a first step for those planning to go, it will not provide an open invitation for everyone fancying a trip. It will focus on research and not tourism, the ministry told The Local

“Everyone is able to visit the site and view the calendar and its activities. However, only registered researchers are able to see the contact info of the activities, just to avoid having the whole Internet applying for research expeditions,” a ministry spokesperson told The Local in a statement.

With the ice melting and the environment changing rapidly, the time is right to join forces when it comes to research and the Arctic, the ministry said.

“The Arctic environment is changing a lot these years and there is a need for substantially more research into how we can best handle these upheavals. With this website, it will become easier to exchange our knowledge and strengthen our collaboration across the Danish Realm, so that we together can start fighting the climate changes,” Danish Minister of Higher Education and Science, Sofie Carsten Nielsen said in a press release.

A Commonwealth of Realm project

Universities and research institutions across Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands as well as the Danish Army have pulled together all information available about Greenland and have collaborated in setting up the new website, according to the ministry. It will be available on the website.

The Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science hopes the site will become “a dynamic tool for everyone working with the Arctic.”

Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands constitute The Danish Realm or the Commonwealth of the Realm, also referred to as the Kingdom of Denmark.

The website was to be formally launched at a Copenhagen opening reception event on Wednesday afternoon. 


 

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ENVIRONMENT

Greenland passes law banning uranium mining

Greenland's parliament voted Tuesday to ban uranium mining and exploration in the vast Danish territory, following through on a campaign promise from the ruling left-wing party which was elected earlier this year.

Published: 10 November 2021 09:31 CET
Greenland's parliament voted on November 9th to ban uranium mining. Prime Minister Mute Egede, pictured, said earlier this month he wanted to join the Paris climate agreement.
Greenland's parliament voted on November 9th to ban uranium mining. Prime Minister Mute Egede, pictured, said earlier this month he wanted to join the Paris climate agreement. File photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party won snap elections in April that were originally triggered by divisions over a controversial uranium and rare earth mining project.

The IA won 12 seats in the 31-seat Greenlandic national assembly, beating its rival Siumut, a social democratic party that had dominated politics in the island territory since it gained autonomy in 1979.

On Tuesday 12 MPs in the national assembly voted to ban uranium mining, with nine voting against. 

The IA had campaigned against exploiting the Kuannersuit deposit, which is located in fjords in the island’s south and is considered one of the world’s richest in uranium and rare earth minerals.

The project, led by the Chinese-owned Australian group Greenland Minerals, has not yet been officially abandoned.

But French group Orano announced in May it would not launch exploration despite holding permits to do so.

The massive natural riches of the vast island — measuring two million square kilometres, making it larger than Mexico — have been eyed by many, but few projects have been approved.

The island is currently home to two mines: one for anorthosite, whose deposits contain titanium, and one for rubies and pink sapphires.

While Greenland’s local government is not opposed to all mining activities, it has also banned all oil exploration over concerns for the climate and the environment.

Earlier this month Prime Minister Mute Egede said he wanted to join the Paris climate agreement, which Greenland is one of the few countries not to have ratified.

READ ALSO: Greenland seabed scoured for marine diamonds

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