396 projects

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SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Tectono-stratigraphy of Forlandsundet Graben

This project investigates the tectonic evolution of the Forlandsundet Graben in western Svalbard, with a focus on understanding the transition from contractional deformation to extensional rifting. The study area offers a rare geological setting where both the Paleogene rift basin and its Neoprot...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Digital Forlandsundet: Integrated geoscientific data modelling of the Forlandsundet basin, Western Svalbard

Digital Forlandsundet: Integrated geoscientific data modelling of the Forlandsundet Basin, Western Svalbard The Forlandsundet region in western Svalbard provides an exceptional natural laboratory for investigating how the Earth’s crust evolves from compressional to extensional deformation – a ke...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Diet variation in Arctic Snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) through DNA-metabarcoding of fecal samples, RiS ID 2272

The project "Diet variation in Arctic Snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) through DNA-metabarcoding of fecal samples" is a continuation of the snow bunting long-term monitoring project conducted yearly since 1998, assessing the reproductive success of snow buntings breeding in Adventdalen (RiS ...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Snowpack Energy and Water Balance at Scott Turnerbreen (Svalbard): Modelling and Observing Early-Season Melt Hydrology under Climate Change

The goal of this project is to characterize early-season hydrology in the Scott Turnerbreen catchment, an increasingly important yet poorly understood phase of the melt season. The project combines detailed field observations with distributed snow hydrological modelling. Fieldwork will include de...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

(In)visible Changes: Glacial Methane and its Impacts on Fjord Ecosystems

Arctic marine-terminating glaciers are retreating rapidly due to climate change, creating new methane emission hotspots in shallow fjord waters. In Svalbard, where warming exceeds twice the Arctic average, methane once trapped beneath glaciers is now being released. Yet, the ecological impacts of...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2027

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

ReinAir: Seasonal airborne mapping and modelling of Svalbard reindeer habitat in Reindalen

It is urgent to predict the effects of climate change on Svalbard reindeer, since population dynamics have been driven by the contrasting effects of summer and winter warming over the past 30 years: Winter warming has led to an increase in the frequency of rain-on-snow (ROS) events, which alters ...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Svalbard reindeer spatial ecology - from individuals to populations

Populations’ dynamics and distributions change in response to climate and habitat changes, yet our current knowledge is based mostly on correlational evidence. What each animal does depends on its physiological state and immediate environment, meaning that the processes by which climate change af...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Characterization of shale-dominated caprocks in the context of CO2 storage: A multi-disciplinary approach

As atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rise globally, attention towards CO2 storage is increasing. For safe storage in subsurface sedimentary formations, organic-rich shales/mudstones are being targeted as suitable caprocks due to their proven track record by trapping hundreds of hydrocarb...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Temporal variability of gas seepage and hydrogeological changes in a retreating glacier system, Fridtjovhamna

The Cryo-Seep project investigates the spatial and temporal variability of gas emissions in climate-sensitive, near-shore fjord environments in the Arctic of Svalbard. The goal is to identify the controlling factors enabling rapid methane escape and understand how these factors change across diff...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Tensile and shear failure controls on calving dynamics in Svalbard

This project investigates the fracture processes responsible for calving events at tidewater glaciers in Svalbard. High-resolution 3D observations of ice cliff geometry (before and after calving events) collecting in this fieldwork will be used to setup and calibrate a discrete element model (HiD...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Tundra diets: tracking seasonal and inter-annual diet quality dynamics of Svalbard reindeer

Climate change reshapes the Arctic environment, with warmer and wetter winters leading to more frequent rain-on-snow (ROS) events and extensive ground icing. This project investigates how the changing winter conditions influence diet quality and foraging behavior of Svalbard reindeer. More freque...

Awarded: NOK 97,999

Project Period: 2026-2027

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Rapid permafrost thaw can quickly change the landscape and make organic carbon available for degradation and export

Rapid permafrost thaw represents a critical hotspot for carbon mobilization and greenhouse gas emissions, yet its episodic and spatially variable nature makes quantification challenging. This project investigates the immediate effects of rapid thaw on carbon export and greenhouse gas release from...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2027

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Quantifying hardening rates of high-arctic vegetation species

Arctic vegetation plays a key role in sequestering carbon at high latitude regions, however, their ability to do so in a changing climate with increasing winter weather extremes is unknown. This is in part due to limited knowledge on plant physiological processes during winter, including hardenin...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Mercury bioaccumulation in Arctic char of Svalbard lakes

This Master's thesis project, "Mercury bioaccumulation in Arctic char of Svalbard lakes," addresses the environmental issue of mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), a sentinel species in Svalbard's vulnerable Arctic ecosystem, also used as an indicator species by Arcti...

Awarded: NOK 81,999

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Arthropod Resurvey (2000-2026) along a receding Arctic Glacier foreland

Over the past two decades, the Arctic has warmed at more than twice the global average, driving profound transformations in cryospheric and ecological systems. As glaciers retreat, newly exposed forelands provide unique natural laboratories to study primary succession and biodiversity responses t...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2027

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Radar scattering horizon experiment - ThawHorizon Svalbard

This project consists of three separate field campaigns collecting measurements of snow over sea ice that act as reference data for relevant European satellite missions. Measurements of snow thickness, snow water equivalent (SWE), temperature and hardness of snow on sea ice will be collected coin...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2026

Location: Svalbard

FORSKNINGSDATA-FORSKNINGSDATA

GHOST Aurora: Solar Wind Drivers, Auroral Activity & Satellite Risks

This project will explore the global conditions and impact of the newly discovered GHOST aurora (Geomagnetically-driven High-bandwidth Optical Spectrum in the Thermosphere). The GHOST aurora is white light embedded in the active aurora. It is a type of continuum emission, which means that it is d...

Awarded: NOK 9.8 mill.

Project Period: 2026-2029

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

SVALBARD LAGOONS: GEOMORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, BIODIVERSITY, AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL AND ECOLOGICAL ROLE

Global warming is accelerating the retreat of polar glaciers, creating new aquatic ecosystems. In Svalbard, which is particularly vulnerable to warming, post-glacial lagoons have formed in coastal areas where glaciers meet the sea. Around 430 coastal lagoons have been identified in Svalbard, some...

Awarded: NOK 0.49 mill.

Project Period: 2025-2027

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Dark Veins of Spitsbergen: Interplay Between Ancient Vegetation and Coastal Geomorphology Exposed in the High Arctic Mines of LYB, Svalbard.

The study focuses on how coastal environments control or are controlled by vegetation distribution; collectively, these are particularly sensitive to climate change, with the geomorphology and position of the shoreline being closely linked with local hydrology and associated vegetation distributi...

Awarded: NOK 85,999

Project Period: 2025-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Early Diagenesis in coarse-grained siliciclastics capped by evaporites in Svalbard and East Greenland: Implications for Reservoir Potential.

This study aims to compare the local variations of early diagenesis of coarse-grained conglomerates overlain by gypsum evaporites using petrographic analysis, to examine whether there is a pattern in the diagenetic processes in this type of stratigraphic setting. The objective is to collect con...

Awarded: NOK 89,680

Project Period: 2025-2025

Location: Svalbard

FRIPROSJEKT-FRIPROSJEKT

Auroral emission intensities — from validation to prediction

The project aims at producing and publishing a long-term dataset of calibrated intensities of visual auroral emissions at two different latitude regions, based on optical ground-based observations of the aurora. To ensure high-quality intensity values for the analysis, only intensities associated...

Awarded: NOK 5.0 mill.

Project Period: 2025-2029

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Nestling diet variation in Arctic Snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) through DNA-metabarcoding of fecal samples, RiS ID 2272

In my master’s thesis, I aim to elucidate the snow bunting nestling diet variation, both in regard to seasonal variation and between-year differences, based on nestling fecal samples. Comparing the diet composition with arthropod communities found in the field throughout the breeding season will ...

Awarded: NOK 40,725

Project Period: 2025-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Measuring and Collecting Above-Ground Vegetation to Investigate Insulative Properties (RiS ID 12331)

Permafrost thaw could release significant greenhouse gases, making it crucial to understand factors that influence this process. Vegetation impacts permafrost temperatures, but we lack a clear framework for how specific plant traits regulate their insulative capacity. This project, part of INSULA...

Awarded: NOK 93,000

Project Period: 2025-2025

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Deploying GLOB, a novel multiface solar irradiance instrument next to the irradiance instrument park in Ny-Ålesund

This project involves deploying the GLOB system in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, to validate its ability to measure solar radiation, including both beam and diffuse irradiance, in Arctic conditions. GLOB is a unique, stand-alone instrument consisting of 25 pyranometers that capture solar irradiance acros...

Awarded: NOK 65,661

Project Period: 2025-2025

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Avalanche Lidar Early Response and Tracking System

This project aims to test the reliability and efficiency of data transmission from a mobile sensoric unit designed for monitoring environmental conditions in rough terrain. The sensoric unit, equipped with the advanced LiDAR sensor Livox AVIA and other sensors, will be deployed in the extreme con...

Awarded: NOK 64,000

Project Period: 2025-2025

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

The structural evolution of pre-Devonian basement along the Billefjorden Fault Zone in Petuniabukta, Svalbard

The Billefjorden Fault Zone (BFZ) is a N-S striking regional-scale long-lived lineament cropping out in central Spitsbergen. This lineament exposes multi-deformational evolution that initiated with ductile deformation preserved in the metamorphic basement. Following several phases of brittle def...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2025-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Vegetation Impact on ThAw-depth progression in SvaLbard RiS ID: 12569

Svalbard is among the regions warming up fastest on earth. Where and to which extent the warming soils will impact the stability of the frozen soils remains uncertain. While the warming will speed up soil thaw over summer, the rate co-depends on surface conditions. For example, well-drained, vege...

Awarded: NOK 90,970

Project Period: 2025-2026

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Svalbard’s lost biodiversity? Molecular study of the poorly known critters living inside sea ice

Sea ice is soon to become a lost habitat in Svalbard fjords within one or two decades, as the continued rise in winter temperatures may result in the complete absence of sea ice or its formation only during short periods.While sea ice’s importance to polar bears and seals is well-known, it also s...

Awarded: NOK 37,513

Project Period: 2025-2025

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Structural evolution of the Billefjorden Fault

Billefjorden Fault Zone (BFZ) in Spitsbergen is a north-south striking long-lived lineament that can be traced in the outcrops over 100 km distance (Harland et al., 1974; Haremo et al. 1990; Braathen et al., 2012; Bælum et al., 2012; Smyrak-Sikora et al., 2021). Multiple deformation events have s...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2025-2025

Location: Svalbard

SVALBARDSF-SVALBARDSF

Svalbard Radar Snow Penetration Experiment

The project shall carry out a three part fieldwork campaign on Svalbard targeting quantification of K-band microwave penetration of radar signal into snow. The radar penetration is one of the most important knowledge gaps for the snow on sea ice thickness measurement of the future CRISTAL satelli...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2025-2026

Location: Svalbard

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