The station is located in Raufarhöfn, a small village on the northeast coast of the Melrakkaslétta peninsula in Northeast Iceland. The peninsula is the northernmost lowland area in Iceland, only 3 km south of the Arctic Circle. The northern part of the peninsula is an important area for conservation, especially as a habitat for many bird species. The area has no protection status according to the Nature Conservation Act, but is listed as an internationally Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International. Most of the area is privately owned but some of the abandoned farms are owned by the Government of Iceland.

The Rif Field Station is in its development stage. Research will include basic monitoring projects on weather/Climate Change, vegetation, and birds. Long-term research will be conducted on arctic species like rock ptarmigan, gyrfalcon, arctic tern, and purple sandpiper as well as on high arctic migratory birds. Data on climate dates back to 1920. Arrival dates for different bird species has been registered since 2001.