ABOUT US

 

 

 

ABOUT ILLUQ

Permafrost underlies 22% of the Northern Hemisphere's exposed land surface and is thawing at an alarming rate as a direct consequence of climate change. When thawing, permafrost releases large quantities of organic matter and contaminants into the environment. In addition, permafrost thaw dramatically impacts infrastructure in local communities with wide-ranging consequences for health, economy, and society.

ILLUQ is an answer to these complex issues. By bringing together an interdisciplinary consortium committed to participatory research with local stake- and rightsholders, it will provide the first holistic look at permafrost thaw, pollution and human and environmental well-being in the Arctic and deliver information on the risks from contaminant release, infrastructure failure and ecosystem changes to stakeholders.

The project is based on the holistic One Health concept, which aims to sustainably balance the health of people, animals and ecosystems.

Key Numbers

ILLUQ is an EU-funded Horizon Europe project.
Visit CORDIS, the platform for EU funded research results.

Science

Our Work Packages

Permafrost has been a continuous sink for pollutants released by humankind since the beginning of the industrial age. ...

Arctic ecosystem health and productivity is a key contributor to living subsistence of local communities and is impacted by permafrost degradation. ...

Thawing permafrost increases erosion along coasts, rivers, and slopes, threatening infrastructure in Arctic communities. ...

Permafrost thaw changes the delivery of carbon, nutrients, heavy metals, organic pollutants, microorganisms and particles to the surface water systems, potentially developing health risks. ...

Permafrost thaw impacts cultural ecosystem services (recreation and tourism, religious, spiritual or emotional experiences) in various ways that are crucial for healthy communities. ...

Ecosystem changes due to permafrost degradation impact the availability of Ecosystem Services to permafrost communities. ...

One Health recognizes that human, animal and ecosystem health are interrelated and dependent in complex ways, especially in the Arctic. ...

Essential part of climate adaptation is to develop partnerships and solutions with local stake- and rightsholders. ...

Publications

Project related publications and data are collected to the ILLUQ page in the Zenodo Open Access repository.

Visit the Zenodo repository >

News

ILLUQ shares news from the project and from the wider permafrost research community. Researchers also blog from their field expeditions in real time. Read blogs from the expeditions here >

Documentary

ILLUQ will produce a documentary film on the consequences of permafrost thaw in Arctic Canada, Greenland and Svalbard. You can follow the making of the documentary in here >

COORDINATION TEAM

ILLUQ is coordinated by Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Potsdam Germany.

Prof. Hugues Lantuit
Project coordinator
Hugues.Lantuit@awi.de

Alfred Wegener Institute
Telegrafenberg A45
D-14473 Potsdam
Building A45 S-307
Tel: +49(331)288-2216

Dr. Paul Overduin
Co-coordinator
paul.overduin@awi.de

Alfred Wegener Institute
Telegrafenberg A43
D-14473 Potsdam
Building A45-107
Tel: +49(331)288-2113

Dr. Michael Fritz
Coordination team
Michael.Fritz@awi.de

Alfred Wegener Institute
Telegrafenberg A45
D-14473 Potsdam
Building A45 S-304
Tel: +49(331)288-2203

Leena Viitanen
Project Manager
Leenakaisa.Viitanen@awi.de

Alfred Wegener Institute
Telegrafenberg A45
D-14473 Potsdam
Building A45-109
Tel: +49 (0)331-58174 5439

Maren Gerdes
Grant Manager
Maren.Gerdes@awi.de

Alfred Wegener Institute
Am Handelshafen 12
D-27570 Bremerhaven
Building E-3365
Tel: +49(471)4831-1066

Steering Committee

Image

See all Information about the steering committee of the ILLUQ project here >

OUR PARTNERS

Image

EU Polar Cluster

ILLUQ is part of the EU Polar Cluster. The EU Polar Cluster is a network of Horizon Europe funded polar research projects. The objective of the Cluster is to bring the state-of-the-art insights from various areas of expertise together in order to increase synergies between research disciplines and provide one entry point to EU funded Polar research. The Cluster aims at providing policy-relevant information and supporting the EU in implementing its integrated policy for the Arctic.
www.polarcluster.eu