The workshop was organized by Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in collaboration with partners in the UAK and HiAOOS projects. The venue was Hotel Terminus in Bergen.
Background: There is increased focus on assessing how field-based research activities have impact on the environment in the Arctic, and what actions should be taken to reduce the impact of vessels, aircraft, land stations including numerous instruments and tools. In many projects it is required to carry out an environmental assessment before the field research is conducted to ensure that instruments and platforms are operated with minimum impact on the marine, atmospheric and terrestrial environment. Various science disciplines are developing best practices and guidelines how used to conduct responsible research in the Arctic.
The workshop included presentations on environmental assessment by Norwegian governmental institutions and by research institutes working in the Arctic. Kathleen Vigness Raposa from INSPIRE, with many years experience in assessment of acoustical sources in the ocean, gave a course as preparation for upcoming field experiments in UAK and HiAOOS. The workshop also addressed ethical aspects of Arctic field research.
Some of the participants in the workshop