PolarRES aimed to close critical knowledge gaps on the influence of Polar changes on the global climate system.
The Polar Regions play a crucial role in balancing the global climate system, yet there are still critical knowledge gaps regarding the impact of their processes on multiple scales and how they are evolving with our changing climate.
PolarRES studied the interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, and sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. The project sought to enrich our understanding of the interacting nature and feedback of Polar processes and their consequences in both regional and global contexts. By understanding these processes and interactions, PolarRES assessed how to make climate projections in the Polar Regions more reliable and what these projections mean for society and the environment.
The project explored the key physical and chemical process in the Polar Regions to help us gain a better understanding of the two-way interactions between the Polar Regions and lower latitudes. Our research also explored how changes in Polar climate will affect the surrounding regions through a number of environmental systems such as Boreal forest fires, permafrost thaw, and marine ecosystem productivity.
Thanks to its unique and innovative approach, PolarRES was able to comprehensively investigate the multi-scale nature of changing polar climates. This was carried out through the use of storylines that significantly improved understanding of how the projected changes in the global circulation influence the climate of the Arctic and Antarctic, and vice versa.
PolarRES is a multi-partner project, and a member of the EU Polar Cluster.
Impacts
The current generation of climate models (e.g., CMIP6) provide a nonspecific, unified response from multiple models rather than the true diverse response we experience with climate change. In response, the storyline approach developed by PolarRES enabled us to study multiple outcomes of climate change and analyse a wider range of environmental changes. With this storyline approach we improved the quality of information obtained from climate models.
PolarRES’s storylines are connected to environmental risks which helped us understand the Arctic and Antarctic climate systems. The impact from the storylines on these environmental risks vary by hemisphere and their individual dynamics.
Tools & Solutions
The research data and knowledge generated by PolarRES were made openly available through open-access publications, including Polar climate projections data. This will support impact assessments in all Arctic nations, both European and International.
PolarRES has produced a legacy web portal where all results and deliverables are available per theme, impact, and target group. This will ensure a lasting valuation of PolarRES’s findings.
The Polar (change) Explorer tool is here.
Knowledge sharing
PolarRES helped close important knowledge gaps on the Polar climate system in a global context. This improved understanding of the underlying causes of climate change in Polar Regions and helped us raise awareness about the value of polar climate systems.
Through different events, such as workshops, webinars, and conferences, as well as engagement with various stakeholders, sister projects, and early-career scientists, we disseminated the PolarRES framework and advocated for the project’s impact-focused approach and quality climate model solutions.