ECN Cairngorms has been part of the EU-funded INTERACT community since 2011. The group brings together research stations from the arctic and alpine biomes to facilitate better science and science infrastructure. In that time INTERACT's transnational access programme has supported international scientists from around the world to undertake research at our Cairngorms site on a range of subjects including ecology, plant physiology, pollution and ecosystem services.
As the currently-funded INTERACT project draws to a close, Jan Dick and Chris Andrews, who manage ECN activities at the Cairngorms site, attended the final consortium meeting and station managers' forum in Sweden to reflect on the achievements of the past 14 years, in the company of friends old and new. This is not the end of the story, as UKCEH have agreed to join the newly formed INTERACT Non-Profit Association (INPA). This will continue to provide exciting opportunities for transnational access and research at this unique long-term ecological research platform.
Further information
- ECN Cairngorms is in the UK's sub-arctic zone and plays an important role, not only as part of the wider ECN and air pollution networks, but also provides a link to sites in the Alps and Pyrenees (GLORIA network) and to research in the Arctic. ECN operations at the site are undertaken by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
- INTERACT Non-Profit Association (INPA) is the legacy of INTERACT, a network of 94 terrestrial field bases scattered across all Arctic countries and in adjacent northern boreal and alpine areas. INTERACT has been recognised as an 'EU Success story' and INPA offers the INTERACT stations as a long-term science platform to implement scientific priorities and address societal challenges at local to global levels.
[Photo: Chris Andrews, UKCEH]