Mission Statement

The overarching goal of UNH Arctic is to identify opportunities, synergies, and collaborations that:

  • Enhance the Arctic research capacity at UNH (terrestrial, coastal, and ocean)
  • Better position UNH as a national and international leader in Arctic research and education
The rapid amplification of warming in the Arctic is already having powerful and enduring impacts, not only for the 4 million Arctic residents but also for non-Arctic populations around the world. Given the urgency to prepare people to respond to change in the Arctic, UNH is developing the resolve and capacity to identify, understand, and communicate the critical science necessary to address the emerging question:

“What do changes in the Arctic mean for human communities?”  

UNH will organize its interdisciplinary Arctic research around understanding the complex interactions involved in two broad themes:

I. Arctic Feedbacks: Humans, the Water Cycle, and Carbon Cycles

II. Where People Live: Land-Coast Connections 

To achieve these goals, UNH is pursuing strategies to grow convergence research, an interdisciplinary and purpose-driven approach to problem solving that strategically tackles the technical, organizational, and logistical challenges of collaboration in order to enable sustained collaboration across disciplines. The university will also promote existing exiting and new connections and strategic relationships with state, national, and international partners.