Terry V Callaghan

Biography

Terry Callaghan started as an arctic plant ecologist in 1967. Over 50 years, he has worked in every arctic country and been in the field each year. His research developed from plant ecology into ecosystem science and environmental change. He has developed several scientific fields and has led many initiatives, contributing to major arctic and global organisations and environmental assessments, including IPCC. He participates in high-level arctic initiatives and is an adviser to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Polar Regions (Arctic and Antarctic). He is developing international collaboration to understand environmental change in Siberia, and his current interests are in Arctic system science and assessment of change. In 1967, Terry became part of the International Biological Programme Tundra Biome Project and developed networking skills. Founder of the UK NERC Arctic Station on Svalbard, he coordinated its first 5-year science programme. For 14 years, he led the Abisko Scientific Research Station in Swedish Lapland. In 2001 he developed and coordinated a network of nine research stations in the North Atlantic Region, which developed into INTERACT (a network of currently 80 stations - see: www.eu-interact.org). Terry now contributes as the Science Coordinator.

Research Interest

My research focuses on relationships between the arctic environment and the ecology of arctic plants and animals including ecosystem processes. The research has two components: seeking to understand mechanisms of survival and adaptation to arctic environments, and assessing the responses of organisms and ecosystems to changing environmental conditions such as climate, UV-B radiation and atmospheric CO2 concentrations.