ARIA funds arctic-hardened mobile observatory that is set to redefine polar research

Scientists are set to start building a pioneering polar observatory, which will deliver critical insights into the impacts of climate change in some of the most remote and under-sampled regions of the Arctic.

Until now, researchers have had to overcome logistical challenges, extreme weather, and a reliance on low powered and basic weather stations which often lack the means to make all the precise atmospheric and ice measurements they require – or extremely resource intensive manned research stations.

By leveraging advancements in renewable energy, remote-sensing and in-situ instruments, automated aerial robotics, satellite communications, and machine learning, a brand new Arctic-hardened and self-sustaining modular observatory will be designed and built in 2025.

The NCAS-led team has been funded to develop this new observatory by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency, better known as ARIA, which is sponsored by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology.

Co-led by Programme Directors Gemma Bale and Sarah Bohndiek, ARIA’s Forecasting Tipping Points programme looks to create an early warning system capable of equipping us with the information, understanding and time we need to accelerate proactive climate adaptation and mitigation. Backed by £81m over five years, the programme (which the GAMB2LE project is a part of) will unite 27 international teams in a collaborative effort to detect the earliest signs of climate tipping points.