Results from the GHSL products

Arctic regions are expected to be increasingly affected by both demographic and migration processes, as a result of the ever-accelerating climate and socio-economic pressures. Long-term monitoring of the Arctic population dynamics using a consistent harmonised approach can help understand these pressure and effects and explore the linkages between human and natural influences. We use the 40-year Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) spatial grids of built-up – generated from satellite observation – and population density, that allows the monitoring of population in settlements and estimating human and environment exposure to various risks. It enables multi-scale integrated policy analysis thanks to the harmonisation of the data and typologies. The GHSL 1x1 km2 data were used for the first time to analyse Arctic population dynamics, settlement and urbanisation patterns from circumpolar, national and administrative to local levels. Results provide a spatially detailed and cross-scale documentation of the peculiarities and diversity of Arctic population patterns in a robust and consistent way. In a further step, they will be used together with other data layers to monitor both environmental and human threats in selected natural, managed and human systems of interest in the Arctic, such as cities, coastal areas, river basins and vulnerable ecosystems.

KOFFI Brigitte;  WILSON Julian;  EHRLICH Daniele;  DUBOIS Gregoire;  MANDRICI Andrea;  VERNACCINI Luca;  DELLI Giacomo; 

2021-06-14

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC122799

978-92-76-37812-9 (online),   

1831-9424 (online),   

EUR 30707 EN,    OP KJ-NA-30707-EN-N (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC122799,   

10.2760/557115 (online),