Abisko Scientific Research Station

The station is owned by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat.

Abisko research station is an easily accessible, year-round station in the (sub)Arctic region with 80 guest beds. It is well equipped with different kinds of laboratories, workshops, greenhouses, and gardens. Cars, snowmobiles, and boats are available for the users. About 70-80 projects visit the station yearly, ranging from ecology, and climate, to physical geography, and space physics.

ABISKO has observatory activities for ICOS, SMHI, SITES-Water, and SITES-Spectral and provides observatory infrastructures for SMHI and SGU, Sweden, and SGO, Finland.

Contribution to POLARIN key research challenges:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Contact:Station manager Margareta Johansson: margareta.johansson[at]polar.se

WebsiteÂ

https://www.polar.se/en/research-support/abisko-scientific-research-station/
https://eu-interact.org/field-sites/abisko-scientific-resarch-station/

Location

The station is located about 200 km north of the Arctic Circle and approximately 385 m a.s.l. on the south shore of the lake Torneträsk, in a 46-hectare nature reserve bordering the Abisko National Park, which covers 75 km2. The station is located in birch forest and the nearby area offers a great variety in topography, geomorphology, geology, and climate, as well as flora and fauna.

Facilities

The station can host almost 80 visitors. Accommodation is available in 28 double rooms and seven 4-bedrooms. In addition, there are also laboratories, offices, workshops and lecture theaters. Meals are either prepared by the visiting scientists themselves in one of the self-catering kitchens available at the station or, during the tourist season, obtainable at tourist hotels and guest houses within 15 minutes’ walk. There is a well-equipped grocery store In the nearby village of Abisko.

Services offeredÂ

For Transnational Access, Abisko research station offers accommodation and full use of the facilities at the station and in the field. For both in-person use and virtual access to data, the station has extensive data series and is one of WMO’s centennial stations. Yearly, about 250 international researchers and students visit the station.

What is included in the Access

Unit of access: User/day

Modalities of access offered: In-person access, remote access

For Transnational Access, the full usage of all facilities and accommodation (no meals) is covered in one unit. The typical duration of work is 13 days. Research always has priority over courses and conferences. Transnational Access projects have the highest priority when it comes to bookings.

Availability for access in the 2024 call

The station is open year-round.

Time frame for access preparations

If POLARIN Transnational Access is granted, additional information for preparing to visit the Abisko research station is available at:

https://www.polar.se/en/research-support/abisko-scientific-research-station/apply-for-research/

Permits, licenses and training

For any study that may have a significant effect on the environment, you may need to apply for a permit from the Norrbotten County Administrative Board/Länsstyrelsen Norrbotten (https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/norrbotten.html).

Further, permits are required for work planned to be conducted in protected areas (e.g. national parks, nature reserves, bird sanctuaries) or for work that requires construction or installation of permanent structures or buildings. The process of obtaining a permit may take time. For questions about permits, please contact the Norrbotten County Administrative Board directly and submit your application to Abisko research rtation well in advance of the start of the project.

Medical guidelines

No specific medical requirements.