Previous Network

Polar North Atlantic Margins – Late Cenozoic Evolution

PONAM (1989-1994)

Proposed by Anders Elverhøi of the University of Oslo, PONAM ran from 1989 to 1994 under the European Science Foundation as one of the first integrated efforts to understand Arctic climate history. Its mission was to reconstruct climate and ice sheet development through the last interglacial-glacial cycle, grounded in the principle that marine and terrestrial scientists must work together in close collaboration.

Guided by a steering committee including J. A. Dowdeswell, S. Funder, J. Mangerud, and R. Stein, the programme secured an estimated 7 million Euros from various sources, with a vital 0.2 million Euros from the ESF enabling regular meetings that fostered cross-disciplinary dialogue. The scientific output included over 200 papers, four special volumes, and a capstone collection in Quaternary Science Reviews (1998). Some 25 PhD and 36 Master's theses were completed, training a new generation of Arctic researchers.

Quaternary Environment of the Eurasian North

QUEEN (1996-2002)

As PONAM drew to a close, a realization emerged: most Western scientists knew little about Arctic Russia, its vast continental shelf, and the remote Arctic Ocean beyond. A decision was made to establish a new project—parallel in spirit to PONAM, but with an expanded vision. The focus would shift eastward, aiming to unravel environmental changes across the last two glacial cycles, from continental Arctic Russia to the deep Arctic Ocean.

That vision became QUEEN. Led by Jörn Thiede of Germany, the project brought together an international steering committee uniting voices from Russia, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Switzerland. As with its predecessor, ESF funding enabled regular meetings that fostered trust and intellectual exchange across disciplines. A significant boost came from an EU project coordinated by J. I. Svendsen, Ice Sheets and Climate in the Eurasian Arctic at the Last Glacial Maximum (1998–2000), which funded much of the fieldwork on land. QUEEN generated a rich legacy: numerous papers, four special volumes, and a landmark collection of 11 multi-authored synthesis papers published in Quaternary Science Reviews in 2004. In bridging the Eurasian Arctic with Western scientific networks, QUEEN helped forge a new era of circumpolar collaboration.

Arctic Palaeoclimate and its Extremes (APEX)

APEX (2004-2012)

At the QUEEN closing meeting in October 2004 in Brofelde, Denmark, a group of younger scientists was appointed to shape the programme's legacy. Chaired by Martin Jakobsson of Sweden, the team included Igor Demidov, Ólafur Ingólfson, Kurt Kjær, Gerhard Krinner, Antony Long, Juha Pekka Lunkka, Robert Spielhagen, and John Inge Svendsen. From their brainstorming emerged a new vision: a project dedicated to understanding past Arctic climate variability, with a focus on extremes. The Arctic Palaeoclimate and Its Extremes (APEX) programme was born.

APEX emphasized marine and terrestrial science, modelling, and field observations. Formally endorsed by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), it became a key coordinating programme for palaeoclimate research during the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007/2008. The steering group was later expanded with Dmitry Subetto, Thijs van Kolfschoten, Brenda Hall, and Claus Andreasen. What began as a handover to the next generation had become a truly circumpolar endeavour.