The Polar Connection | Home of Polar Research and Policy Initiative

THE IDITAROD IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS: One look inside the Covid-19 Storm

© Anita Parlow, 2020. Anita Parlow The Iditarod Committee, located in Wasilla, Alaska, has announced that 57 mushers signed up on opening day to compete in the 2021 dogsled race, “The Last Great Race on Earth.” The Committee reported that it is

10: Niels Henriksen: Mapping the Caledonian Fold Belt – the Alps of East Greenland

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear more from Niels Henriksen, emeritus senior scientist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, about his years spent mapping the Caledonian Fold Belt, an ancient mountain belt in remote parts of northeast Greenland. https://youtu.be/QBxNOKC0crY To

09: Kent Brooks – Earliest drilling of the remarkable Skaergaard layered intrusion

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear more from Kent Brooks – Emeritus Professor at the Geological Museum in Copenhagen – about the Skaergaard Intrusion, which he first encountered on a geological expedition in 1966, and which was to become the

08: Brian Upton – Beginnings of understanding plate tectonics, “a hell of an exciting time!”

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear more from Brian Upton, Professor at the University of Edinburgh, about his early years as a researcher when the theory of plate tectonics was being developed, his time at Caltech, in Iceland, in La

07: Niels Henriksen – Lifting the ‘iron curtain’ on geological mapping Northeast Greenland

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear more from Niels Henriksen, emeritus senior scientist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, about the late 1960s, when the survey embarked on an ambitious and very successful campaign of systematic geological mapping

After the British revival of OneWeb, what next for sat comms in the Arctic?

The collapse of OneWeb in March was just the latest in a string of failures in the satellite sector. The company, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, promised universal high-speed broadband and, eventually, 5G for remote areas, including in the

06: Kent Brooks – The Plane Crash

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear from Kent Brooks, Emeritus Professor at the Geological Museum in Copenhagen, about a chance discovery while on a geological expedition to East Greenland in 1966, the implications of which followed him over forty years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52livg2MLCE To

05: Brian Upton – Mapping the unusual alkaline rocks of the Gardar Province

Julie Hollis In this episode of Polar Podcasts, we hear more from Brian Upton, Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Edinburgh, about working on the unusual alkaline igneous rocks of the Gardar Province in South Greenland in the 1950s

04: Bjørn Thomassen – ‘Taken in’ – Beginnings that led to 42 summers exploring Greenland

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear from Bjørn Thomassen, Emeritus senior scientist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, about what drew him to Greenland and kept him coming back for 42 summers, working as an economic geologist and

03: Kent Brooks - The kindling of a 50-year career studying East Greenland

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear from Kent Brooks, Emeritus Professor from the Geological Museum in Copenhagen, about how his fifty-year career, studying the geology of Greenland, was kindled. And about his first – very memorable – field season in

02: Brian Upton - “Ilimaussaq is magic” – Beginnings of a lifelong passion for alkaline rocks

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear from Brian Upton, Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Edinburgh, about starting out in South Greenland with the Geological Survey of Greenland in 1955, and what became a lifelong passion for researching

01: Niels Henriksen - The beginnings of a more than half-century career mapping Greenland

Julie Hollis In this episode, we hear from Niels Henriksen, known to many as Oscar, Emeritus senior scientist with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, where he talks about his early years starting as a student with the Geological Survey

Polar Podcasts: Stories from Greenland's Geologists

Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI) is delighted to partner with Julie Hollis in bringing you Polar Podcasts, a new podcast series where you’ll hear stories from geologists who have spent their careers and their lives exploring and studying the remarkable

Geostrategic Futures in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica

Dr Claire Nettle Rapid political, social and environmental change presents challenges for the management of Arctic and Antarctic regions. Climate change is already affecting national security and has implications for defence planning in Australia and the Antarctic region. The Climate and Sustainability

Greenland in the Middle: The Latest Front in a Great Power Rivalry

Image by Bernd Hildebrandt from Pixabay Mingming Shi and Marc Lanteigne Under normal circumstances, the announcement of an American foreign investment package worth slightly over US$12 million would not be particularly newsworthy. Yet this specific proposal, made by Washington last month,

Transitioning from Yukon College to Yukon University: YukonU President Karen Barnes

Yukon University. © Archbould.com Justin Barnes After years of hard work and dedication, Yukon University (YukonU.ca) was officially launched on 19 May 2020. On the day of the launch, Prime Minister Trudeau celebrated Yukon University, its transition to a degree-granting university, and

COVID-19: Health Policy Challenges and Federal Response in the Canadian Arctic

Doctor in protective medical mask over flag of Canada. © Jernej Furman/Flickr. Justin Barnes Over the past few weeks, Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI) has been tracking the spread of COVID-19 throughout the Arctic. Canada, which has taken strong steps to

Coronavirus Observatory: Tracking the Pandemic in the Arctic and the Antarctic

Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg discusses the COVID-19 pandemic at the Norwegian Government's press conference for children, 16 March 2020. Photo: Eirin Larsen, SMK (Statsministerens kontor/Flickr). Max Daniels and Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes Day by day, hour by hour, all walks of

China's Coronavirus Diplomacy?

Image by Terri Sharp from Pixabay. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway Member of the Advisory Board, Polar Research and Policy Initiative Health systems and emergency services overwhelmed. Supermarket shelves empty. Education, sports,

Total liquefaction: Arctic LNG on the rise?

Equinor (formerly, Statoil)’s Hammerfest LNG in Melkøya in northern Norway. © Joakim Aleksander Mathisen/Flickr. Nadia French It is not a secret that the global demand for natural gas, converted into a liquid by cooling, has been increasing, fuelled by Asian economies. 2019 was

Listening to Arctic Voices in Extractive Industries

Rachael Lorna Johnstone and Anne Merrild Hansen in Tasiilaq. Dr Rachael Lorna Johnstone Adjunct Professor of Law, Ilisimatusarfik, Greenland; Professor of Law, University of Akureyri, Iceland Extractive industries bring both opportunities and risks to Arctic communities. While they can contribute to human development, by

40 @ -40°: Veteran Negotiators Distill Yukon Treaty's First Principles in Whitehorse

Tony Penikett Former Premier of Yukon As the Territory’s minister responsible for Yukon First Nations treaty negotiations and the Umbrella Final Agreement of 1990, I have been haunted by two facts. The 1789 “We the people…” Constitution of the United States, the most

Is this the End of the Arctic Council and Arctic Governance as we know it?

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland, on May 7, 2019. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain] Prof Timo Koivurova Research Professor and Director of the Arctic Centre at the

Should We Plan for Polar Humanitarianism?

Dogs to the rescue in a whiteout on Svalbard? By Ilan Kelman Prof Ilan Kelman The polar regions are often represented as being isolated, dangerous, and replete with disasters and misery, particularly due to the harsh and unforgiving environment. This storyline is

Alaska’s Changing Oil Landscape and the BP-Hilcorp Deal: What’s at stake?

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline spans 1,300 km from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska. Photo by Luca Galuzzi [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)] Erin Willahan In August 2019, London-headquartered oil and gas company BP announced it would be selling all of its Alaska

India's SaGHAA: Where the Arctic, Antarctic and Himalayas meet

Hriday Sarma Hriday Sarma, India Fellow at Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI), recently spoke to Dr Sulagna Chattopadhyay, President of Learning in Geography, Humanities, Technology and Science (LIGHTS), a New Delhi-based non-profit that has been working on advocacy and research

From Dales Voe to Scapa Flow: Scotland, a Leading Marine Hub for the Arctic

Scapa Flow © Damien Entwistle/Flickr. Peter Sherwin On Monday, 23 September 2019, the Scottish Government launched Scotland's first Arctic Policy Framework in Stromness, Orkney. You can read the policy document here. To mark the occasion, Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI) will be

The North holds the Key: Unlocking Canada-Scotland Trade Potential

Dr Dwayne Menezes and Dr Karen Everett On Monday, 23 September 2019, the Scottish Government launched Scotland's first Arctic Policy Framework in Stromness, Orkney. You can read the policy document here. To mark the occasion, Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI) will be

Scottish Land Reforms: Lessons in Community Regeneration for the Arctic?

Ulva. © James Stringer/Flickr. Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes (with thanks to Max Baring of Thomson Reuters Foundation for the film) On Monday, 23 September 2019, the Scottish Government launched Scotland's first Arctic Policy Framework in Stromness, Orkney. You can read the policy document

The Rural North - Opportunities and Challenges for Scottish and Arctic Communities

Image by Bill Kasman from Pixabay. Dr Nikolas Sellheim On Monday, 23 September 2019, the Scottish Government launched Scotland's first Arctic Policy Framework in Stromness, Orkney. You can read the policy document here. To mark the occasion, Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI)

THE IDITAROD IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS: One look inside the Covid-19 Storm

After the British revival of OneWeb, what next for sat comms in the Arctic?

Polar Podcasts: Stories from Greenland’s Geologists

Geostrategic Futures in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica

Greenland in the Middle: The Latest Front in a Great Power Rivalry

Transitioning from Yukon College to Yukon University: YukonU President Karen Barnes

COVID-19: Health Policy Challenges and Federal Response in the Canadian Arctic

Total liquefaction: Arctic LNG on the rise?

Coronavirus Observatory: Tracking the Pandemic in the Arctic and the Antarctic

China’s Coronavirus Diplomacy?

Listening to Arctic Voices in Extractive Industries

40 @ -40°: Veteran Negotiators Distill Yukon Treaty’s First Principles in Whitehorse

Is this the End of the Arctic Council and Arctic Governance as we know it?

Should We Plan for Polar Humanitarianism?

Alaska’s Changing Oil Landscape and the BP-Hilcorp Deal: What’s at stake?

India’s SaGHAA: Where the Arctic, Antarctic and Himalayas meet

From Dales Voe to Scapa Flow: Scotland, a Leading Marine Hub for the Arctic

The North holds the Key: Unlocking Canada-Scotland Trade Potential

Scotland’s New Arctic Policy: Deepening Collaboration With Canada

Scottish Land Reforms: Lessons in Community Regeneration for the Arctic?

Research Services

Policy Services

Trade Services

Latest Projects

Polar Podcasts: Stories from Greenland’s Geologists

Geostrategic Futures in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica

Coronavirus Observatory: Tracking the Pandemic in the Arctic and the Antarctic

40 @ -40°: Veteran Negotiators Distill Yukon Treaty’s First Principles in Whitehorse

Maritime Futures 2035: The Arctic Region. SALIENSEAS Scenario Workshop, Denmark

PRPI in the News

Search