Application

The Unique Hornsund Arctic Field Laboratory is part of the research infrastructure of the Polish Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Polar Research (PolarPOL). The PolarPOL research infrastructure provides technical and organizational support for interdisciplinary scientific research into natural phenomena occurring in the Arctic and Antarctic. PolarPOL enhances Poland’s involvement in the global network for researching and monitoring the terrestrial and marine polar zones, which are crucial areas for understanding the dynamics of global environmental change, including climate warming and rising sea levels.

CLIMEV’s research equipment enables continuous observations and research:

  • measurements and observations of key meteorological elements according to the World Meteorological Organization standards,
  • observations of changes in winter snow and ice cover in glaciated and non-glaciated catchments, on the foreland of glaciers flowing into the sea, and in the Hornsund Fjord,
  • atmospheric optics measurements at the Polish Polar Station Hornsund,
  • systematic monitoring of aerosol particle content in the atmospheric boundary layer,
  • measurements of the degree of depolarization of laser light,
  • studying cloud consistency – determining whether they are composed of water droplets or ice crystals, or the degree of ice crystal content in the cloud,
  • detection and determination of the height of the first floor of existing clouds, measured from the ground,
  • identification of cloud-free days or periods between clear spells.

The research realized using the CLIMEV set complements the monitoring carried out at the Polish Polar Station Hornsund:

  • surface water chemistry and precipitation,
  • variability of anthropogenic pollutants in the polar regions,
  • total aerosol optical thickness of the atmosphere,
  • variability of aerosol concentration in the troposphere and lower stratosphere,
  • electrical properties of the atmosphere.

Technical data

The CLIMEV set includes: an All-Sky Camera, a radioactivity measurement kit, a pyranometer, a NANOSCA aerosol particle condensation spectrometer, a ceilometer, a lidar, UV-B and UV-A biometers, field meteorological stations adapted to polar conditions, and a portable kit for measuring and recording the electric field.

Source of financing

Targeted subsidy from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to finance investments in extensive research infrastructure

Project title

PolarPOL – Polish Multidisciplinary Polar Research Laboratory

Stage I: Unique Hornsund Arctic Field Laboratory

Repository

hornsund.igf.edu.pl

Contact person

dr hab. Mateusz Moskalik

Location

Department of Polar and Marine Research