Pallas-Sodankylä Research Station

Pallas is located in western Lapland (67°58’ N, 24°07’ E) in Pallas fell. The station is part of a national park with limited access to the public. The Sodankylä facility (67°22’ N, 26°39’ E) is located in central Lapland within the boreal forest region. The station is not part of any national park, but the area (c. 2 km2) is dedicated to atmospheric and geological research, and therefore has limited public access. The area is surrounded by forest and swamps owned by the Finnish government.

The Finnish Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station Pallas-Sodankylä has been operating since 1994. The Sodankylä Station was established in 1949, but continuous homogenized synoptic weather records have been made since 1908. The facility now consists of multiple buildings (1500 m2 in total).

The area around Pallas Station is boreal forest. Willow grouse, rabbit, and reindeer are the most typical animals. Sodankylä Station is located at a river bank in the middle of a boreal forest. Black grouse, rabbit, and reindeer are the most typical animals.

Nearest village is Sodankylä (7 km). Sodankylä has c. 6000 inhabitants (8,500 in the municipality). Main employers are the military, mining industry, smaller industry, agriculture, reindeer farmers, and research institutes.

Seven km from the research station is the bus station in Sodankylä. The distance to the nearest airport and railway station in Rovaniemi is 130 km. A helicopter station is located 4 km from the station. Travel time from the airport is typically less than 2 hours by car/bus.