part of the Top-level Research Initiative (TRI), aiming to strengthen research and innovation regarding climate change issues in the Nordic Region as one of the three Nordic Centres of Excellence that are funded within the sub-programme "Interactions between climate change and the cryosphere".

The aim of DEFROST is to understand how climate change induced changes in the cryosphere influence the ecosystem/geosphere processes which directly affect climate. We will focus on key terrestrial, lacustrine and marine cryospheric components that have the potential for giving rise to substantial changes in climate feedback mechanisms both in terms of surface-atmosphere energy exchange and exchanges of greenhouse gases. DEFROST seeks to bridge existing gaps between climate modeling, cryospheric science, and Arctic ecosystem science.