GIS Explore stations and their surroundings

About

Dear user,

POLARIN, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, is an international network of polar research infrastructures and their services, aiming at addressing the scientific challenges of the polar regions. The network includes a wide array of complementary and interdisciplinary top level research infrastructures: Arctic and Antarctic research stations, research vessels and icebreakers operating at both poles, observatories, data infrastructures and ice and sediment core repositories.

We are pleased that you’ve found your way to POLARIN GIS, let us briefly explain what it does and who made it work. POLARIN GIS has been developed from INTERACT GIS and may be called a geographic metadata information system – its basic functionality is to collect metadata regarding the activities performed at Polar field-stations, and to disseminate the information for station administration, public outreach, and inclusion in other metadata repositories. Its current focus is set on research and monitoring regarding polar, and northern boreal and alpine environments, having been prototyped at the subarctic research and monitoring stations at Abisko and Tarfala in northernmost Sweden. It is a truly networked system, allowing the public to query information across any selection of stations. It is due to OPEN development. More than 100 stations are included in the system covering networks from POLARIN, INTERACT infrastructure project (www.interactassociation.org), and the Swedish SITES consortium (www.fieldsites.se/en/). The scientific aim of POLARIN GIS is to offer information regarding station facilities and surroundings for decision support when new activities are planned. In addition, it may contribute to turning historically isolated stations into collective collaboration regarding research and monitoring across polar regions.

INTERACT GIS was invented by Dr. Tomas Thierfelder, a senior scientist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who has acted as principal investigator and entrepreneur through the entire 6-year period of system specification, development and implementation. INTERACT GIS is legally owned by SLU, with Dr. Thierfelder owning the intellectual property. INTERACT GIS is developed and operated by ICT Services and System Development at Umeå University (UmU ITS), Sweden.

We are very grateful to our financial sponsors:

The main contributing people are:

  • Tomas Thierfelder, Initiator and principal investigator.
  • Britta Löfvenberg. IT-leader at UmU ITS.
  • Per Hörnblad. IT-architect at UmU ITS.
  • Anders Printz. Systems developer at UmU ITS.
  • Lisa Hörnberg. Systems developer at UmU ITS.
  • Anton Lindfors. Systems developer at UmU ITS.
  • Elmer Topp-Jørgensen. INTERACT representative.
  • Morten Rasch. INTERACT representative.
  • Hannele Savela. POLARIN and Oulu University.
  • Blaize Denfeld. SITES/SLU.
  • Holger Villwock. SITES/SLU.
  • Mohsen Bashang. Former systems developer at SLU.
  • Sofia Bryntse. Former IT-architect at SLU.
  • Christer Jonasson. Former manager at Abisko Scientific Research Station.
  • Gunhild “Ninis” Rosqvist. Manager at Tarfala Research Station.
  • Magnus Augner. Manager at Abisko Scientific Research Station.
  • Annika Kristoffersson. IT-Officer at Abisko Scientific Research Station.
  • Terry Callaghan. Former manager of Abisko Scientific Research Station.
  • Lots of exam workers, students, and trainees.
The coordinative work with developing INTERACT GIS was performed at the Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU, Uppsala branch. Systems development and operation is performed at ICT Services and System Development at Umeå University, Sweden.

INTERACT GIS is the intellectual property of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU.

INTERACT GIS captures and processes personal data that fall within the framework of EU’s General Data Protection Regulation GDPR.

Funded by the European Union