Antarctic research

Finland joined the Antarctic Treaty in 1984 and became a consultative party in 1989. According to the international treaty, the region is intended exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes. The parties to the Antarctic Treaty are committed to protecting the unique environment of the region (see Finnish Act on the Environmental Protection of Antarctica).

Consultative membership requires Finland to carry out significant scientific research in Antarctica. The Coordination Committee for Antarctic Research appointed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture adopted Finland’s new Antarctic Research Strategy (PDF) at its meeting on 28 March 2014. The strategy defines a vision according to which Finnish Antarctic research is at a high international level, recognised as such, and open to new directions.

Finland has established the research station Aboa in Antarctica (established in 1988/1989). Expeditions to Aboa are organised on an annual basis. FINNARP, the Finnish Antarctic research programme operating under the Finnish Meteorological Institute, is responsible for Finland’s Antarctic logistics and for maintaining Aboa. FINNARP also takes care of the fieldwork arrangements for funded projects.

Funding for Antarctic research

The Research Council of Finland is responsible for funding Finland’s Antarctic research projects. Since 1998, the Research Council has regularly organised a call for applications in Antarctic research. The latest call was opened in April 2024. The Scientific Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering is responsible for organising the call.

The aim of the funding is to generate internationally significant new breakthroughs in Antarctic research. The research may be global or circumpolar, focusing on both Polar Regions, but it must be research that cannot be conducted without Antarctic data. The scope of the call covers all relevant areas of Antarctic research.

In accordance with Finland’s Antarctic Research Strategy (2014), the funding supports interactive and multidisciplinary research. Only projects that involve international collaboration are eligible to receive funding. The funding may be applied for by individual research teams or consortia composed of two or more research teams.

The review of applications follows the Research Council’s general review criteria. The review also focuses on how the project implements the objectives of the call and the quality of the project’s international cooperation. In addition, the funding decisions take into account how well the proposed project supports Finland’s Antarctic Research Strategy and how feasible the project is in terms of logistics.

The logistical feasibility is examined in cooperation with FINNARP.