0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

An Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Observation Network (ARC-BON) development workshop

På grunn av intensiv klimaoppvarming eroderes de arktiske kystene raskt, og avrenningen fra isbreer og elver øker. Virkninger av klimaendringer på land og i havet kombineres i kystsonen og resulterer i et komplekst og raskt skiftende miljø. Virkningene av denne endringen på kystens biologiske man...

Awarded: NOK 0.25 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Investigating Spatial and Temporal Variability in Dust Deposition onto Svalbard Glaciers

Målet med dette prosjektet er å gi viktig informasjon om mineralstøvavsetning på isbreer på Svalbard, hvor konsistent støvavsetningen er over Svalbard, og hvilken rolle støv og andre lysabsorberende partikler har på snø og bresmelting. I løpet av vinter-vår 2025 vil vi samle ~10 m dype firn kjer...

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2026

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Autonomous long-range under-ice missions for light and water column characterisation

Arktisk underiseksplorering med autonome glidere Et internasjonalt team har som mål å revolusjonere studier av fjerne arktiske underismiljøer ved å bruke autonome undervannskjøretøy kalt hybridglidere. Ettersom havisen minker på grunn av klimaendringer, står økosystemene under isen overfor nye ut...

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

From winter time to summer time – what ends the "hunger gap" for Svalbard reindeer?

The term "hunger gap" (no: “vårknipa”) traditionally used in agricultural communities, refers to the period at the end of winter when winter provisions are depleting, yet the growing season has not yet started. In contemporary usage, the term also describes the food situation for wild animals, wh...

Awarded: NOK 58,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The role of energy budget in a changing world: Are forecasts missing an important aspect for Arctic insects?

The ongoing climatic changes will have undisputable effects on biodiversity and ecosystems. For small ectotherms (e.g. insects) the current state-of-the-art focusses on physiological performances (often measured as critical thermal limits), warming tolerance (resilience) and phenotypic and evolut...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Shallow waters around Svalbard as nursery areas for fish stocks and an index of environmental changes

Arktis opplever stigende vanntemperaturer over tid, noe som fører til en nordover vandring av atlantiske arter til arktiske farvann. Vil de grunne kystnære sjøområdene på Svalbard bli viktigere som oppvekstområder for de kommersielle fiskebestandene i fremtiden? Det er dette prosjektet ønsker å f...

Awarded: NOK 0.25 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

SVALCLIME - Deep-time Arctic climate archives

Svalbards bergarter registrerer jordens historie over mange millioner år og kan informere oss om hvordan klimaet endret seg tidligere. Disse inkluderer noen av verdens store masseutryddelser, som den som skjedde for rundt 252 millioner år siden på slutten av permperioden, den største masseutrydde...

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2026

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Unravelling diversity and abundance of freshwater fish in Svalbard through molecular-based monitoring

Alle levende organismer avgir DNA- og RNA-spor i miljøet, for eksempel fra hud, hår, egg, blod eller slim. I akvatiske habitater er det mulig å samle inn disse sporene gjennom vannprøver, og brukes for å identifisere alle arter som lever der. Også kalt miljø-DNA (eDNA) og RNA (eRNA) basert overvå...

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2026

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Mercury dynamics in Arctic fjord marine food webs

Marine chemical pollution poses known threats to human health and to biodiversity, ecosystem and societal services. The Arctic region is a major sink of global mercury (Hg) pollution. Arctic sediments, sea and glacial ice constitute vast Hg reservoirs. Recent studies raise concerns about their ...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Kongsfjorden System Flagship: Working together to understand an Arctic sentinel fjord

Kongsfjorden, på den vestlige kysten av Svalbard, er en vokter av klimaendringer i Arktis, med oppvarming som skjer raskere enn de fleste steder på jorden. Forskere har studert ulike deler av økosystemet i tiår, blant annet havtemperatur, vannkjemi, sjøis, plante- og dyreplankton, sel og sjøfugl....

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2026

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Characterising geogenic nitrate source areas in Adventdalen

There has been great emphasis on quantifying the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane from melting permafrost. However, research on links between melting glaciers and permafrost and nitrogen release has been limited, despite its potential as a direct or indirect greenhou...

Awarded: NOK 78,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Breeding phenology of Svalbard snow buntings in relation to arthropod abundance

In my master thesis, I will investigate the reproductive success of a Svalbard breeding population of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in relation to food abundance. The snow bunting is the world’s northernmost breeding passerine species. Assessing how species like the snow bunting are able...

Awarded: NOK 75,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Intertidal ecosystem response to an increasingly ice-free Arctic

Warming temperatures and a reduction of sea-ice scour opens the Arctic intertidal as habitat for colonization by both seaweeds and marine invertebrates. Indeed, large increases in the biomass of seaweeds and invertebrates on Arctic coasts have already been documented in the past decades and are p...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbard Research Integration for Data and Environmental Modelling

Hva er det store konseptet? Vårt prosjekt stimulerer samarbeid for å forbedre vår forståelse av miljøet i Arktis, med fokus på Isfjorden-regionen. Ved å forene ekspertisene til flere organisasjoner (NIVA, UNIS og SIOS), forbereder vi felles overvåkingsdatasett - fra elvestasjoner til havbøyer og ...

Awarded: NOK 0.24 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Wastewater Management in the Arctic – search for synergies in pan-Arctic perspectives for sustainable development of Arctic settlements.

SINTEF, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet og Universitetet i Århus (DK), vil arrangere et to-dagers arbeidsverksted i Longyearbyen, Svalbard, høsten 2024, med tema strategier for håndtering av avløpsvann i Arktis. Arbeidsverkstedet vil samle nasjonale og internasjonale forskere, myndigheter, frivilli...

Awarded: NOK 0.25 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Drone surveys of ice associated seals hauled out on sea-ice during the moulting period (part of ARK)

The most recent population survey of Arctic ringed seals conducted in Svalbard was in 2003. Over the past 5 years, the Norwegian Polar Institute has been developing the techniques, methodologies and field competence to survey marine mammals using UAV. In 2023 a full-scale survey of all ice-cover...

Awarded: NOK 96,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Assessing Jan Mayen past fauna and flora through sedimentary ancient DNA (RiS ID 12341)

Here, we aim to collect sediment cores in Nordlaguna (freshwater lake) and in Sørlaguna (lagoon) to analyze the DNA and pollen left by past fauna and flora in the sediments. Sediment coring will be performed using a Nesje piston corer in Nordlaguna and universal core sampler in Sørlaguna, and sed...

Awarded: NOK 77,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Shrub Growth and Permafrost Insulation in a Warmer, Rainier Arctic - RiS ID 11968, 12016 & 12331

Air temperatures are increasing, and more precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow on Svalbard. We still know little about the role of rainfall events in the thermal stability of permafrost and growth of Svalbard plant communities. Plant growth and permafrost thaw also affect each other,...

Awarded: NOK 62,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Response of benthic invertebrates to the Permo-Triassic climate crisis (RiS ID 12072)

The Permo-Triassic (P/T) climate crisis caused the most catastrophic extinction in Earth’s history, with a species loss of 81-95%. Intensive volcanic activity related to the emplacement of the Siberian traps caused several environmental changes, such as an increase in temperature, ocean acidifica...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Ice-wedges as late Pleistocene winter paleoclimatic archives on Prins Karl Forland (RIS ID: 12313)

Apart from Greenland and Canadian Arctic ice-core records, late Pleistocene and Holocene paleoclimatic reconstructions in the northern latitudes are mainly based on proxies that record summer air temperatures. This seasonal bias has resulted in model-data mismatches, highlighting the need to reco...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Comparing the thermal tipping point of the overwintering and summer Arctic Calanus copepods in response to copper pollution

One of the main threat for arctic species is ocean warming, the arctic ocean warming 4 times faster than the others, at a pace unprecedented over the last million years. Even more concerning are marine heatwaves, i.e. sudden peak in maximal temperatures, that can last several weeks and should inc...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The geomorphic signature of ancient ice shelves in Isfjorden, Spitsbergen, RiS ID12367

This research project aims to explore the historical presence of ice shelves along Isfjorden, Svalbard, and their impact on regional and global climate systems. It plans to investigate unexplored topographies that indicate to reveal the interaction between an ice shelf with an ice-free coast duri...

Awarded: NOK 57,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The effect of grubbing and heavy winter rainfall on mycorrhizal mycelium production

Mycorrhizal fungi play a crucial role for both plant nitrogen uptake and ecosystem carbon dynamics and storage. Most of the stored carbon in Arctic soils could be derived from mycorrhizal mycelium rather than from plant litter. As the Arctic carbon storage is suspected to be a crucial factor for ...

Awarded: NOK 51,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The role of vegetation distribution on facies architectural and sequence stratigraphic development of the Palaeocene Firkanten Formation.

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 63,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Calanus species complexity in the transitional fjord system Isfjorden: from cold Arctic to warm Atlantic climate.

The West Spitsbergen Current carries warm and salty Atlantic water (AW) northwards, and with high input of AW, more Calanus finmarchicus is transported to the Arctic. Isfjorden is strongly impacted by Atlantic inflow and is ice-free year-round, except the innermost part, Billefjorden, with a sha...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Arctic CH4 consumption responses to future vegetation regimes, RiS ID: 11990

The Arctic tundra is currently undergoing rapid changes with thawing permafrost and changing vegetation. One of the most pronounced effects among the vegetation is a shift towards taller plant communities and higher biomass, which can lead to increased evapotranspiration and drier soils. Methane ...

Awarded: NOK 79,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Unravelling biogeochemical,microbial and vegetation feedbacks driving soil development and Arctic greening under a warming climate,RIS 11961

With the help of this smaller project that is part of the Arctic Greening project (RIS 11961), I want to find out if and how the Arctic cushion plant Silene acaulis adapts to different climatic conditions. For this, I have already genetic material in form of leaves from several populations across...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Autumn leaf senescence in tundra plants: Do soil nutrients and plant-internal nutrient sinks influence timing? (RiS ID: 12335)

Plant growth season in Arctic regions is currently undergoing changes, with spring advancement across the Arctic. However, there is limited knowledge regarding any corresponding trends in the autumn season, where the timing of end-of-season is mostly unaccounted for. It is important that we take ...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Space use by marine mammals in Svalbard and potential dietary changes due to climate change.

Investigating behaviour of high trophic predators is a fundemental part to understand the ecosystem as they function as a key component through top-down effect. Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), one of a high trophic predators in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard is experiencing dramatic environmental changes ...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Shallow marine prokaryote ecosystems in the Boreal Ocean during the Permo-Triassic climate crisis and their recovery (RiS ID: 12307)

Lipid biomarker samples will be collected to reconstruct the microbial community and environmental conditions during the Late Permian mass extinction and in its aftermath with a focus on the recovery of the microbial ecosystem. The samples will complement the existing biomarker record that is con...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard