Iceland has faced ever-increasing environmental pressures caused by both climate change and intensified human activities. ICEBERG conducts research in two locations in Northern Iceland, Akureyri and Húsavík.
With its location in the central part of the North Atlantic, Iceland is a crucial research site for researching Arctic pollution.
In Akureyri and Húsavík, ICEBERG researchers study pollution and co-create solutions for it with the local communities.
Both climate change and intensified human activities cause increasing environmental pressures in Iceland, particularly in its coastal areas.
With the influx of pollutants into the fjord systems due to expanding maritime traffic—including fishing vessels, whale-watching boats, and especially cruise ships—Iceland’s coastal and marine ecosystems are under significant challenge.
Another trend is the ‘Atlantification’ of the Arctic Ocean. This means that the characteristics of the Atlantic are now also to be seen in the Arctic Ocean. For example, some species that previously lived near Iceland are moving northwards.
ICEBERG’s goal is to understand how these changes are affecting ecosystem health and communities—socially, economically, and environmentally.
We conduct research in two coastal locations in Northern Iceland, Akureyri and Húsavík.
In recent years, ocean-based tourism in these locations has grown significantly, increasing marine traffic and associated pollution in these fragile ecosystems.
“In Iceland, there is a real need to create policies that are more effective in order to deal with marine and coastal pollution,” says Thora Herrmann, Project Scientific Coordinator of ICEBERG.
ICEBERG conducts field research in Akureyri and Húsavík.
Through interviews with local stakeholders such as municipal leaders, tourism operators, fishers, farmers, youth and women’s groups, and environmental agencies, we aim to collect a wide range of experiences and perceptions.
Equally important is the local people’s participation in doing research and co-creating solutions for pollution.
In addition to contributing to workshops and interviews, local people can participate in gathering research data by, for example, flying drones, and photographing pollutants they see and reporting these findings to the project’s Community Monitoring Platform (uMap).
“Findings from Iceland will be combined with results from Svalbard and Greenland. This way we can build a broader understanding of regional challenges and work together on practical solutions that fit each area’s needs,” says Élise Lépy, Project Scientific Co-Coordinator of ICEBERG.
“We are also planning community scenario workshops which will be carried out in spring next year. We invite local people to attend these workshops and discuss about the future of the coastal environment of Húsavík and Akureyri and together develop strategies for adapting to the upcoming conditions,” adds Herrmann.
Main photo: Victor Lion.
Photos of ships in the harbor of Akureyri (left) and Húsavík (right): Tahnee Prior.
Photos of beaches in Akureyri (left) and Húsavík (right): Victor Lion.
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SubscribeProf. Thora Herrmann
University of Oulu
thora.herrmann@oulu.fi
Dr Élise Lépy
University of Oulu
elise.lepy@oulu.fi
Marika Ahonen
Kaskas
marika.ahonen@kaskas.fi
Innovative Community Engagement for Building Effective Resilience and Arctic Ocean Pollution-control Governance in the Context of Climate Change
ICEBERG has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and innovation funding programme under grant agreement No 101135130
