The SITES infrastructure offers research opportunities relating to mountain heaths, alpine areas and environments affected by glaciers, with many different types of measurement installations. Measurements includes glaciers, meteorology, hydrology, snow chemistry and permafrost. Unique measurement series of environmental data from over 100 years of observations, and data from one of the most studied glaciers in the world, Storglaciären, are available.

Read more about what the Abisko and Tarfala stations can offer you as researcher.

Abisko is an important site for arctic research due to its favourable location in northern Sweden, relatively low precipitation, and long, unique measurement series from over 100 years of observations. Data collection at the station comprises many different environmental variables, such as climate, snow depth, and ice thickness and duration on Lake Torneträsk. The research area lies between 345 and 1700 metres asl, and comprises a subarctic environment with alpine and glacier-influenced areas.
 
The effect of climate change on the environment is a theme for research, with great potential for studies.

The Tarfala valley is a typical subarctic high-alpine environment, extending between 800 and 2098 metres asl. Environmental measurements includes glaciers, meteorology, hydrology, snow chemistry and permafrost. There are four glaciers in the valley, including one of the most studied glaciers in the world, Storglaciären.
 
The measurements programme at Tarfala includes measuring the mass balance of five glaciers and the positions of the snouts of 20 glaciers. Hydrology, alpine meteorology and permafrost are also measuered. Storglaciären was first measured in the winter of 1946. Since then, there have been annual measurements of snow accumulation during the winter, and ice melt during the summer (ablation). This measurement series is the longest of its type in the world, and provides important data for international scientific glaciological and climatic studies.
 
Research at Tarfala is dominated by climate and glaciology, but interest in ecological research has been growing in recent years.