At the Zackenberg research station, which is located in Northeast Greenland, Asiaq collects weather, climate and hydrology data. This data is crucial for being able to monitor and understand the long-term changes in ecosystems. In recent decades, the temperature in the Arctic has risen four times as fast as in the rest of the world.
Two of Asiaq’s employees have just been inspecting the measuring stations at Zackenberg.
- We inspect the measuring stations at Zackenberg once a year. Much of the research that takes place at Zackenberg is linked to Asiaq’s climate data, so it is crucial that the measuring stations run well. We care a lot about data quality.
- Workdays in the field are exciting. We must be able to climb high up in the mast to inspect the equipment and have an eye for detail when we need to connect the electronics just right.
- The timing of the visit to Zackenberg this year coincided with spring, the melting of snow, the breakup of the river ice, the arrival of migratory birds and a single polar bear, which wandered in between the research station’s buildings before calmly moving on, so it is in every way fantastic to go to work so far north, Kirsty Langley and Roman Ackle from Asiaq conclude.
The Zackenberg Research Station was built in 1995-1996 and officially opened in 1997. The station is owned by the Government of Greenland and managed by Asiaq. Asiaq participates in national and international research projects in climate, hydrology and glaciology.