0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Glacial and Permafrost Interactions: The Origins of Ice in Svalbard (RiS ID:11836

GAPOI seeks to close the knowledge gap between glacial & permafrost interaction within Svalbard’s glacial moraine landscapes, with particular attention to the uncertainty & potential of permafrost aggradation due to anthropogenically forced warming climate in the Arctic. Glacier forefields are ho...

Awarded: NOK 53,000

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Coastal Erosion modelling in Hiorthhamn, Longyearbyen (Svalbard)

The field work activities will be located in the shoreline of Hiorthhamn, to the northeast shore of Adventfjord, 3 km far from Longyearbyen. This area retains the archaeological remains of coal-mining activities dating from 1902. One of the objects of cultural heritage in Hiorthhamn is Taubanesta...

Awarded: NOK 33,313

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Mercury Levels in Svalbard Reindeer's Tissue and Faeces in Relation to Diet and Season

Mercury (Hg) is toxic and a concern for the terrestrial Artic environment due to potential release of Hg from the thawing permafrost. For this master thesis the levels of Hg in summer and winter faeces sample form Svalbard reindeers (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) will be compared to investigat...

Awarded: NOK 15,335

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Predicting plant trait plasticity in response to warming across a changing tundra biome in the high Arctic, RiS ID: 11498

Predicting how plant communities will respond to environmental change has been described as the ‘holy grail’ of ecology. Understanding which factors determine whether a species responds positively or negatively to a particular environmental change allows us to anticipate future shifts in communit...

Awarded: NOK 72,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Subglacial mercury cycling and associated export from Jan Mayen to the North Atlantic, RiS ID 11817

The MerJM project looks to establish baseline concentration and temporal behavior of the toxic element mercury (Hg) in natural streams emerging from glaciers overlying an active volcano on Jan Mayen. The importance of natural sources of Hg in regional mercury cycling in the North Atlantic will be...

Awarded: NOK 72,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

HAPPINESS IN TIMES OF CHANGE: "FRILUFTSLIV" AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN SVALBARD

The project «Happiness in times of change: 'Friluftsliv' and climate change in Svalbard» is a collaboration between social anthropologists Tomas Salem (University of Bergen) and Alexandra Meyer (University of Vienna). Through ethnographic research we will examine how climate change in Svalbard is...

Awarded: NOK 26,000

Project Period: 2022-2024

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Climate change drives fluctuations of glacier lakes in Svalbard - Crammebreane case study, RiS ID 11620

Since the 1990's, the number and size of glacial lakes have been observed to increase as a consequence of climate warming. Most research on glacial lakes has focused on high mountain areas such as the Himalayas or along the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. To date little is known about the deve...

Awarded: NOK 77,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbard coastal zone pollution with microplastics from local and distant sources

This project is devoted to sampling microplastic in the coastal waters of Svalbard using the same technology that is used in the ongoing projects “Model-based mapping of marine litter and microplastic in the Barents Sea (MAMBA)“ funded by Klima- og miljødepartementet KLD and NFR/SSF project "Harm...

Awarded: NOK 93,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Climatic shifts derived from lacustrine sediment cores, Richardvatnet, nw Spitsbergen. RIS ID 11652

The overarching aim is to contextualise glacier activity across a transect of the Svalbard Archipelago to reconstruct and infer the past climatic and atmosphere-ocean interaction during the Late Quaternary, thus enabling the determination of temperature and precipitation gradients across the arch...

Awarded: NOK 80,000

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Gravity profiling across the Central Spitsbergen Basin

The aim of this project is to produce geological profiles across the Central Spitsbergen Basin in Svalbard, by collecting gravity data and integrating it with existing seismic, borehole and geological data. From the integrated data the location of basins, structural heights and the geometry of th...

Awarded: NOK 50,503

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effect of glacial recession on N2O fluxes in high arctic lakes and catchments, RiS ID 11818

Ongoing global warming particularly effects Arctic ecosystems with increased glacial retreat and associated changes in run-off. However, how aquatic nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes will change in High Arctic lakes and catchments remains uncertain. As the third most important greenhouse gas and major o...

Awarded: NOK 68,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Seasonal mercury concentrations and the microbiome (de)methylation gene expression profile in the Svalbard reindeer

This project aims to study the contributions of the Svalbard reindeer to mercury concentrations in the terrestrial trophic chain. We hypothesize that the reindeer are exposed to mercury loads via their diet and that both seasonal variations in mercury intake and microbial processes in its digesti...

Awarded: NOK 13,179

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Nutrient availability through decomposing plant litter (litterbag). Ris ID 11863

Arctic breeding barnacle geese affect the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients by providing an accelerated pathway of decomposition through digestion and the return of plant matter in the form of faecal pellets and so affecting the transfer of nutrients to their forage species. As such, geese chan...

Awarded: NOK 53,652

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Dispersal of antibiotic resistance and antibiotics in arctic water ecosystems and aquatic wildlife (RiS ID 11824)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as one of the greatest threats to animal and human health and it leads to elevated costs for the individual and society. Urban settlements and wastewater treatment have a central role in the AMR occurrence in the environment. However, the information a...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The Timanian Orogeny in Western Spitsbergen

The main goal of the TOWS project is to investigate potential traces of the Timanian Orogeny (ca. 650–550 Ma) in Kongsfjorden, western Spitsbergen. The primary target of the project is the probable continuation of the WNW–ESE-striking Kongsfjorden–Cowanodden fault zone, a several kilometers thick...

Awarded: NOK 93,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Monitoring seawater CO2 release from thawing permafrost mobilized by Bayelva proglacial stream RiS ID 11654

The Arctic already shows many signs of global change, including warming, reduced sea-ice cover, permafrost thawing and related changing in freshwater and organic carbon flux from rivers. It remains to be determined how these changes will enhance or mitigate rates of air-sea CO2 flux and acidifica...

Awarded: NOK 53,000

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

PLasticizers, Additives, miCroplastics in sEawater in SvalBard ArchipealgO (RIS ID: 11842)

Microplastics (> 100 µm - MPs) have been analysed in several studies while small microplastics (< 100 µm - SMPs), additives and plasticizers (APs) presence in the seawater of the Svalbard has not yet been investigated in detail. Surface and bottom samples will be collected along the Kongsfjorden ...

Awarded: NOK 70,289

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Drivers of flagellate dominance in Arctic fjords, RiS ID 11813

The project aims to identify drivers of phytoplankton community structures in Arctic fjords. In particular, I study under which conditions a bloom is dominated by flagellates and under which conditions by diatoms. I will combine multivariate statistics on existing time series data in Greenland an...

Awarded: NOK 98,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Long-term exposure to contaminants of Arctic seabirds

Arctic seabirds, as migratory species, spend summer in the Arctic and winter in marine environment in southern areas. Therefore, they are exposed to contrasted concentrations of pollutants like Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and mercury (Hg). In Kongsfjorden, the five glaciers have all been...

Awarded: NOK 99,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Modelling organic pollutants in permafrost soils

Persistant Organic Pollutans (POPs) are toxic chemicals that adversely affect human health and the environment. They persist for long periods of time in the environment and can accumulate and pass from one species to the next through the food chain. Understanding the factors that determine change...

Awarded: NOK 38,557

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Documenting scientific expeditions and cultural heritage on Svalbard

This project will document the scientific itinerary of huts, field camps and cultural environments (protected, unprotected and partially protected cultural heritage) on Brøggerhalvoya. Although considerable efforts have been made to protect certain sites dating from the contemporary period, no fo...

Awarded: NOK 75,598

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effects of Reindeer Carcasses on Tundra Ecosystem - Modelling spatial distribution of reindeer cadavers in the Arctic tundra (RiS ID 11512)

The main goal of this project is to model the spatial distribution of reindeer cadavers in the arctic tundra. The effects of reindeer cadavers can be long lasting in the nutrient poor arctic ecosystem. However, the spatial distribution of these cadavers is not random, which means that these cadav...

Awarded: NOK 20,034

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Nordland - Nordlánnda

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Mercury dynamics in Svalbard terrestrial ecosystems, RiS ID 11828.

Frozen Arctic soils have been found to store large amounts of mercury (Hg), a highly toxic metal. As the permafrost is thawing due to climate change, it is suggested that this mercury could release from the soil, potentially becoming available to the terrestrial food web. Methylated mercury (MeHg...

Awarded: NOK 73,300

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Arctic marine mammals and climate change ("ARK" ) RIS-ID: 11501 (SPACE USE BY MARINE MAMMALS AND POTENTIAL DIETARY CHANGES DUE TO CC)

The project is part of a case study of the ecosystem in Kongsfjorden and aim to fill knowledge gaps on fish abundance, community composition, distribution and role in the food web. It will also include dietary studies of key fish species and their roles in the diet of resident marine mammals. The...

Awarded: NOK 51,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Diet change in black-legged Kittiwakes due to the current Atlantification of the Arctic in course of climate change. RIS ID:11844

My master´s thesis will be about the change in the diet of kittiwakes over time. With incoming Atlantic waters, Atlantic species comes further north. I will investigate how the energy content of available food/prey changes with changing species ranges. I will be taking part in the field work in K...

Awarded: NOK 47,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

SOURCES AND LEVELS OF MERCURY IN TERRESTRIAL AND FRESH WATER RESOURCES RELATED TO FEEDING AREAS FOR REINDEER AT SVALBARD

Reindeer feeds on vegetation and drinks from water sources that could be contaminated with Hg. Although previous studies have determined low levels of mercury exposure on the Svalbard reindeer, the mercury released from thawing permafrost could change the current situation. This project aims to ...

Awarded: NOK 17,215

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Who is there? - Unravelling the biodiversity of sympagic meiofauna in Svalbard

It is undeniable that sea ice conditions and extent are changing. Formation of fjordic sea ice has become unreliable, the season has changed with later onset of freezing and earlier melt, and much uncertainty evolves around how this will affect the community that inhabits the microscopic brine ch...

Awarded: NOK 48,073

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Holocene climate influence on methane cycling by microbes in high-Arctic lakes

Arctic lakes release large -but not well constrained- amounts of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. This project delineates the main field campaign within my postdoctoral project aimed at capturing methane cycling archives from lakes in the rapidly warming Arctic. I will participate in the j...

Awarded: NOK 56,585

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Gravity profiling across the Billefjorden Fault Zone, RiS-ID 11832

This project is a part of a 30 ECTS master thesis conducted at the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. The fieldwork consists of gravity measurements along several profile lines around the area of Billefjorden on 20-24 of April 2022. The gravity data will be complemented with magnetic measurem...

Awarded: NOK 55,814

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Drone-mapping Surging Glaciers in Svalbard, RIS-ID 11861

Surging glaciers are of great interest as their behavior gives insights into glacier dynamic processes. Svalbard is one of the few clusters in the world where surging glaciers exist. Recently, two glacier systems that are easily accessible from Longyearbyen started surging. This project will use ...

Awarded: NOK 50,000

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Svalbard