Arctic Data Sets of Global Importance

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Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. Photo: Ekaterina Uryupova

The global research community has been collecting regular data about Earth for decades. With access to modern technologies and the potential to store massive amounts of data, global and national databases are available to many scientists, and they store valuable information which is important for understanding the evolution and health of our planet. The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science,¹⁾UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (2021). https://www.unesco.org/en/open-science/about. Accessed on 29 July 2025. signed by 194 countries in 2021, promotes transparency, collaboration, and accessibility, through open science to accelerate scientific progress and ensure that knowledge benefits everyone. However, even these important research “projects,” such as unique archives of environmental data, can be easily impacted by certain political decisions from varying countries. Who is responsible for this knowledge? And can we still rely on it?

International databases about Earth

Under the duress of climate change, the Arctic region is showing dramatic alterations which are critical for the Earth’s health. Scientists from all over the world collect data which may be used in short- and long-term analyses to describe future scenarios of climate change on our planet. Although all data is considered valuable for the international scientific community, datasets themselves can be divided into different groups: local, national, and international.

The international environmental databases are managed by specialized agencies and organizations (such as the World Meteorological Organization) which are responsible for promoting cooperation and are funded through extrabudgetary contributions from multiple donors around the world. Smaller amounts of data are stored on both local and national platforms that are used as repositories: based on the responsibilities and functions of an institution, it might be a data set focused on specific Earth characteristics and can be locally funded by national institutions.

Local and national data sets, however, may store a very valuable set of samples or information focused on climate change. In general, the access to databases is open and free. However some of the data sets might require access to data which is important for national security, such as the condition of permafrost layers near military bases. In these cases, free access might be restricted to local authorities and institutions.²⁾Bouffard, T.J.; Uryupova, E.; Dodds, K.; Romanovsky, V.E.; Bennett, A.P.; Streletskiy, D. Scientific Cooperation: Supporting Circumpolar Permafrost Monitoring and Data Sharing. Land 2021, 10, 590. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10060590.

In addition, data owners and governments have to decide if they will allow flexibility with sharing data openly – in this case, the strategic value to businesses and national perspectives comes to the fore. Thus, for example, permafrost borehole data are sampled by private organizations and government agencies as part of the geologic exploration activities in certain countries and areas. Surely, this data may be considered as a national security concern, and as a result it may require foreign competitors to submit an access application.³⁾Buch, E. Arctic In Situ Data Availability. In Copernicus Programme Services; European Environment Agency: Kobenhavn, Denmark, 2019; p. 86 As such, sampling and making boreholes in the vicinity of military bases in some cold areas, such as Pituffik (formerly Thule) Air Base in Greenland⁴⁾Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (2025). Thule Air Base. https://um.dk/en/foreign-policy/the-arctic/greenland-and-the-faroe-islands/thule-air-base. Accessed on 29 July 2025. or Franz Josef Land Air Base in the Russian Arctic, are restricted.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data has been saved on the PANGAEA platform

The recent budget cuts under the US administration have impacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) archive of unique data sets, including recordings of global air and ocean temperatures.⁵⁾Sainto M. (2025). Trump administration has set NOAA on ‘non-science trajectory’, workers warn. The Guardian, 23 April 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/23/noaa-non-science-trump-cuts. Accessed on 3 May 2025. This data has been collected by scientists for decades, and used to describe climate change and to create models of the Earth’s evolution.

Amid fears of the oceanic and atmospheric research divisions at NOAA being closed, the entire archive of valuable weather analysis and irreplaceable environmental data, such as recordings of global air and ocean temperatures, might be lost as well. This trajectory has a larger impact on scientific predictions and models, as it is not only about weather in general, since using the data can help in fisheries management, shipping, conservation and endangered species, permafrost monitoring, natural disaster prediction, safety at sea, and more. Therefore this data is very important for polar scientists as climate change is having a great and fast impact on the Arctic region.

As the best example of international cooperation, data from the NOAA has been copied to the PANGAEA platform by the University of Bremen and the Alfred Wegener Institute, and the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) recently.⁶⁾AWI (2025). University of Bremen and AWI rescue valuable U.S. scientific database. 5 May 2025. https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press/single-view/default-39df890363ad770d468f7bc8b4b0451e.html. Accessed on 9 May 2025. The focus has been on unique data on earthquakes and hot springs in these restored data. The PANGAEA platform also serves as an open access archive of environmental data available to the scientific community in the long term.⁷⁾PANGAEA (2025). https://www.pangaea.de. Accessed on 9 May 2025.

Working together instead

Governments are imposing new rules and restrictions on international scientific collaboration, while focusing on national interests. However, there are plenty of examples when the scientific community and related industries are on the same page when it comes to work under pressure of political decisions. No doubt, biological resources such as (add a few examples here) are among the most vital ones for governments, and might even become a potential source of conflict in the Arctic region.⁸⁾Evans J. & Østhagen A. (2021). Fisheries Disputes: The Real Potential for Arctic Conflict. The Arctic Institute. 3 June, 2021. https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/fisheries-disputes-real-potential-arctic-conflict/. Accessed on 29 May 2025.

Additionally, since the beginning of the 2022 conflict in Ukraine, many international research agreements between Russia and Western countries have been terminated, including those related to the use of scientific data and infrastructure.⁹⁾European Commission (2022). International cooperation with Russia in research and innovation. https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-research-and-innovation/europe-world/international-cooperation/bilateral-cooperation-science-and-technology-agreements-non-eu-countries/russia_en. Accessed on 30 May 2025. Various restrictions to exchange data between Russian and Western scientists have covered different areas of research – from field sampling to satellite imaginary and big data on climate change. The discontinuation of cooperation with Russia in the Arctic Council has severely impacted Arctic climate science and the multiple Arctic Council’s projects.¹⁰⁾Andreeva S. (2023). Science at Stake – Russia and the Arctic Council. Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 14, 2023, pp. 112–131. https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/5455/8705. Accessed on 29 May 2025.

The strength of the scientific community is in passion and unity. There are positive examples of the discontinuous cooperation focused on environmental data in the Arctic region. For instance, in the 1970s, the USA and USSR signed important agreements on polar bear monitoring and conservation, and while since 2022 the programs have shrunk a lot,¹¹⁾Grandoni D. (2023). Why Russia’s war in Ukraine is bad for polar bears? // The Washington Post, 15 April 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/04/15/polar-bears-russia/. Accessed on 30 May 2025. the five countries-signatories to the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the States) had a meeting in Canada in May 2023.¹²⁾Misund O. A. (2025). On ice but not broken: Norwegian–Russian relations in polar science since 24 February 2022. Polar Research, 44. https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v44.10944

In addition, a bilateral cooperation between Norwegian and Russian institutes and scientists, even in a reduced form, including an important series of climate and ecological data from the Arctic and the Barents Sea, is still maintained. When Norway took over the Arctic Council chairmanship in 2023, a number of efforts were made to gradually include Russian scientists in discussions of various scientific questions. Fisheries also remain one of the best examples of strong cooperation between two countries on topics related to the environmental issues and preparation of recommendations to the Joint Norwegian–Russian Fisheries Commission, as meetings between parties are held digitally on a regular basis.

The Arctic is entering a phase of renewed geopolitical tension, but thanks to scientists, not all bridges of communication have been burned yet, and valuable environmental data are still being collected! Research should not be seeding the political ground as it would lead to wrong understanding of environmental challenges and climate initiatives. Nevertheless, international cooperation in the area of climate sciences should be distant from any political decisions at any time.

Conclusion

International scientific cooperation in different areas of environmental research and data exchange and collection must not be affected by political decisions at any time. This is global data, which is vital for humanity, and must be carefully protected by all interested parties. Science diplomacy and simple professional etiquette must be advised as a good practice worldwide. Environmental data brings knowledge and understanding of many complex processes and gives answers related to climate change on Earth. Knowledge “gaps” and sanctions add even more uncertainty to the interpretation of climate change mechanisms and other global processes. In an increasingly globalized and integrated world, the data which play such an important role for humanity has to be protected by international protocols, and agreements must be signed as a way to safeguard data during times of geopolitical tension, conflicts, and other unpredictable situations.

Ekaterina Uryupova is a Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute.