Tomsk State University (TSU) and the INTERACT project, which has been launched by the SCANNET network of field stations situated in all eight Arctic countries, have started working on an educational platform to tell users about the Arctic through computer animation, 3D tours, infographics and other tools, the university's press service reported.

The platform will provide information about permafrost, microbes' survival in ice and snow, greenhouse gases and global warming, and how these new conditions affect animals, plants and people. The project has been proposed and is led by Terry Callaghan, a professor at TSU and Sheffield University and the coordinator of the circumpolar network of Arctic and high-altitude stations SCANNET-INTERACT EU.

According to Professor Callaghan, the new educational platform will be open and free. It is designed for the general public, including schoolchildren, students, teachers, lecturers, scientists and people with no connection to science but who nonetheless want to know about the ongoing global changes.

The English language platform will be launched in 2019. To enhance public perception of the information, it will be presented in various formats, including small text files providing short stories, computer graphics, 3D tours of research stations of the INTERACT network and of the Aktru mountain base of Tomsk State University, where Russian and international scientists are conducting research. The platform will also provide information about the latest Arctic research that has been published in specialized magazines, or is due to be published.