Arctic interactions, resilience and global change

The University of Oulu engages in cutting-edge research across disciplines to work responsibly and resolve challenges in the Arctic and globally. Our research helps to combat climate change and safeguard the environment while ensuring ecological, social and economic sustainability for all species. Critical scientific research is key to understanding and responding to these urgent challenges.

Arctic research profile field

Anthropogenic environmental changes have brought unprecedented problems, which threaten entire ecosystems, biodiversity, and human life on a global scale. The arctic region, in particular, is warming four times faster than the global average, which perpetuates devastating environmental and social consequences.

The various marks of global change require research that seeks to understand phenomena such as biodiversity loss and climate change, not just in the arctic region, but across the planet as well. The increased understanding of these phenomena, in turn, calls for resilience research: how can we best adapt for our future and strengthen the resilience of individuals, communities, regions, organisations, and ecosystems?

At the University of Oulu, our research on arctic interactions, resilience and global changes is divided into three main strands: exploring environmental change and promoting sustainable development (Arctic Interactions), investigating biodiversity and multispecies' coexistence on a transdisciplinary level (Biodiverse Anthropocenes), and advancing the systemic approaches needed for resilience building (Frontiers of arctic and global resilience). Within these research areas, scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds are working together to enhance our knowledge of and bring solutions to our world in the era of global changes.