0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Determine the snow cover distribution of a High Arctic area using UAV, digital photogrammetry and numerical simulation (Sub-project 1)

This project aims at combining different methods to determine the depth distribution and characteristics of the snow cover of a High Arctic area by mean of UAV, digital photogrammetry and numerical modellling. The success of this technology in High Arctic region could lead to simple, affordable a...

Awarded: NOK 33,175

Project Period: 2015-2016

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effects of summer and winter warming on CO2 efflux in high Arctic tundra, RiS ID 10116

The main goal of this project is to understand ecosystem C balance with summer and winter warming in Arctic tundra ecosystem by observations of ecosystem CO2 fluxes. I will collaborate with ongoing ITEX projects along with the developer of new soil efflux techniques to conduct continuous observat...

Awarded: NOK 40,022

Project Period: 2015-2016

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Speleological investigation of englacial structures found in Svalbard polythermal glaciers, RiS ID 10061

This study aims to employ speleological techniques to directly observed englacial structures in polythermal glaciers, an approach that has several distinct advantages over surface and borehole structural investigations. Meltwater conduits incise into an ice mass creating vertical sections that ac...

Awarded: NOK 18,231

Project Period: 2015-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Outcrop-scale faults and micro-structures affecting the LYB C02 Reservoir

Extensive water injection tests in the Longyearbyen C02 reservoir show the presence of flow barriers. The most likely cause is the presence of impermeable faults too small to be imaged by seismics. This proposed study will take a closer look at these faul ts and investigate their influences on fl...

Awarded: NOK 7,403

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Present and future tourism development of Russian settlements on Svalbard: Exploring practices, perspectives and possibilities

Russia's vast Arctic territories are playing a vital role in the process of country's overall socio-economic development and not least when it comes to tourist development. Svalbard's two Russian settlements (Barentsburg and Pyramiden) are targets to Russ ia's renewed interests when it comes to t...

Awarded: NOK 17,999

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

A survey of root-associated fungal communities on Svalbard

Mutualistic mycorrhizal fungi mediate nutrient acquisition for the majority of land plants. Mycorrhizal fungi release, absorb and transfer inorganic nutrients and water from the external environment into the plants and in return receive photosynthates. Ec tomycorrhizal symbiosis (ECM) is mutualis...

Awarded: NOK 51,413

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Paleomagnetic Synchronization: A transect of sedimentological archives from N-Svalbard towards Arctic-Norway

Continental ice sheets and sea level in the Svalbard - Barents Sea - Arctic-Norway region were near their modern configurations at least by 8000 years ago, and the pre-industrial climate system was essentially established, including its feedbacks. The maj or difference was the large summer insola...

Awarded: NOK 34,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Reconstructing Holocene climate variability from lake sediments of Amsterdamøya, RiS ID 6655

There are gaps in our knowledge of Holocene paleoclimate in the High Arctic due to a lack of well-resolved records and limitations of existing proxy data. Our understanding of High Arctic climate variability can be improved with the application of new bi ogeochemical methods and chronologic tool...

Awarded: NOK 32,934

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

A high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction from Lake Erlingvatnet, NW Svalbard. RiS ID: 6676

The goal of this research is to carry out a high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction from Lake Erlingvatnet in NW Svalbard. This study would form part of my PhD thesis at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Fieldwork and subsequent analysis would be carried out in cooperation with colle...

Awarded: NOK 40,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Shifting Climate States of the Polar Regions - field campaign at Svalbard 2014

This cross-disciplinary proposal will collect and produce data on glacier and climate variability throughout the last 10 000 years, a research effort that will be carried out at Svalbard. Arctic lakes represent natural systems that are particular sensitiv e to climate change and the sites chosen ...

Awarded: NOK 43,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The influence of flea infestation on the reproductive success of barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) in Kongsfjord, Svalbard.

The aim of this project is to investigate the effect that infestation of nests by fleas (Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus Boheman, 1866) has on the incubation, and hatching and fledging success of barnacle geese on the Lovén islands in Kongsfjord. Nes ts will be mapped and a minimum of 20 nes...

Awarded: NOK 35,999

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Workshop on collaboration and coordination within the Ny-Ålesund Atmospheric Flagship Programme

Ny-Ålesund offers an excellent location for observing key climate and atmospheric parameters from the atmospheric boundary layer up to tens of km above Earth. Many such atmospheric measurements have been performed in Ny-Ålesund for decades already by rese archers from many nations. In 2008 a SSF...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Radar mapping of the bed of tributary glaciers of Kronebreen, Svalbard, RIS ID 6660

This planned fieldwork is part of the modelling project of the subglacial conditions of Kronebreen. It will provide supplementary data to feed the model of Kronebreen subglacial processes. My goal is to inverse the surface velocities of Kronebreen to retr ieve a seasonal evolution of the basal dr...

Awarded: NOK 69,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Holocene environmental change of Svalbard

We will analyse the Holocene environmental history in Kongsfjorden since deglaciation. At least three Ny-Ålesund flagships have identified the need for long-term climate records. Up to date no integrated temperature, precipitation or glacial variability r ecord exists for the entire Holocene for ...

Awarded: NOK 0.40 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Lunar Arctic-coordinated remote sensing of aerosols: LUNAR photometry close the gap in ARCTIC aerosol climatology and satellite validation

In the context of a rapidly changing environment, collaborative efforts are essential to understand and to mitigate agents that contribute to modifications in the polar regions. Arctic aerosols have been studied intensively since many year. Nevertheless, there remain recognized deficiencies in A...

Awarded: NOK 0.40 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2016

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Spatial variability of snow and avalanche conditions along a climatic gradient in Central Spitsbergen

This project will study the regional variability of snow conditions around Longyearbyen and how the regional conditions influence snow avalanche potentials. The fieldwork will run over one winter season (January to May, 2014) and will be the basis for an MSc thesis in Physical Geography. System...

Awarded: NOK 12,999

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Fertilisation and carbon sequestration on tundra heath RiS ID 6598

This project will investigate the impacts of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisation on carbon storage and nitrogen fixation in tundra heath by revisiting a long term experiment established at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in 1991. I will investigate the mechanisms by which, after almost two decades: (1) ...

Awarded: NOK 37,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Later snow melt reduces dwarf shrub secondary growth (Salix polaris, Adventdalen), RiS ID 6615

In many tundra regions dwarf trees of the Arctic (i.e. shrubs) are becoming dominant and increasing in cover. Since shrubs can become old (more than 100 yrs old) and its annual ring growth register valuable environmental information, dendrochronological s tudies on tundra shrubs are becoming more...

Awarded: NOK 19,748

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effects of pollution on metabolic rate and physiological blood parameters in arctic kittiwake, RIS ID 6617

I aim to study the physiological effects (both in terms of metabolic rate, endocrine and clinical parameters) of novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), traditional organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) and toxic metals in the light of ecological charact...

Awarded: NOK 20,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Microbial Symbionts of Arctic Peatlands and their Relevance for Present and Future Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling - ArcBiont RiS ID: 6547

The project will investigate microbial communities of the methane cycle that are associated with submerged Arctic peat mosses. The thesis will focus on Arctic samples from the peatlands Twin water, Gludneset, and Knudsenheia in the vicinity of Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard), the Siberian Lena Delta (coll...

Awarded: NOK 52,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Levels and effects of POPs on thyroid hormone levels in glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) breeding in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, RiS-ID: 6672

The aim of the study is to detect levels of selected POPs in glaucous gull breeding in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, and investigated how this may affect the thyroid hormone levels.Its hypothesized that high levels of contaminants will be detected and that ther e will be an inverse correlation between ...

Awarded: NOK 20,697

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Resilience of Arctic plant communities: the potential for recovery from multiyear perturbations, RiS IS 6644

In my masters thesis, I will examine the recovery of previously grazed tundra in ambient-temperature plots and in plots that have undergone long-term summer warming as part of the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). Because a suite of biotic and abiot ic factors determine how plant communitie...

Awarded: NOK 43,593

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Underwater Acoustic Monitoring in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, for bio-glacio-seismo -logical studies, RiS ID 6616

In marine ecosystems, acoustic signals may originate from abiotic (i.e. wind-driven ocean wave, rain, earthquake, ice dissolution/melting, anthropogenic activities) and biotic (marine mammals, fish and crustaceans) sources. To study the noise generated by glaciers for quantification of geo-physi...

Awarded: NOK 38,075

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Internal accumulation at Lomonosovfonna glacier: environmental controls and rates, RiS ID 3395

Proposed field campaign at Lomonosovfonna (1200 and 900 m asl) is planned for April 2014 and continues work started in April 2012. The aim is to derivea dataset on environmental parameters influencing internal accumulation and actual rates of the process. This includes: - Downloading data from ...

Awarded: NOK 9,654

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Fracturing and weathering in basement of the Billefjorden Trough, an analogue to top basement reservoirs

The study will concern a basement reservoir analogue in Billefjorden, Svalbard. The fundamental questions are: How is the fracture system in the basement around the Carboniferous Billefjorden Trough? How is the weathering profile in terms of thickness , intensity and mineralogy in this area?

Awarded: NOK 30,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Detailed mapping of the active layer and top permafrost organic carbon pool and potential carbon release in central Svalbard

In order to investigate spatial distribution and size of permafrost soil carbon pools in central Svalbard, soil samples will be taken in spring 2014. Data from earlier fieldwork (2013) is available to be combined into a detailed map of carbon pools for th e area, which has not been done before. T...

Awarded: NOK 52,999

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The characterization of glacier basal hydrologic systems

The objectives of this study are to deploy 4 (or more) high precision GPS instruments on 2 glaciers through the summer of 2014. Of particular importance is to determine how the basal hydrologic system reacts to perturbances caused from climatic forces, su ch as from the surface mass balance of th...

Awarded: NOK 49,070

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbard reindeer and hunting - what are natural borders for management units

Svalbard reindeer are managed within fairly small management units. Local authorities are concerned that reindeer within the small management units may be subjected to overharvesting. In this project I will investigate the range use of individually GPS-ma rked Svalbard reindeer and see if the spa...

Awarded: NOK 39,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Seasonal dynamics of nitrogen cycling communities associated with Oxyria digyna

My PhD thesis focuses on the diversity and functioning of microbial communities associated with an arcto-alpine plant Oxyria digyna, common in pioneer plant communities. O. digyna harbours a diverse and partially plant specific bacterial community, and in our previous study, we identified severa...

Awarded: NOK 17,780

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Nest microclimate variation and reproductive success in Common Eider (Somateria mollissima), RiS ID 361

A good understanding of the consequences of climate change on Arctic species demography and populations dynamics is of paramount importance and urgently needed. Climatic conditions during breeding may affect reproductive output and/or breeder condition wi th potential long term consequences on th...

Awarded: NOK 58,986

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage