0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Dynamics of anthropogenic pollutants in the Arctic fjord environment (Svalbard, Norway), RiS ID: 11872

Multiple drivers influenced the chain of events called "Arctic amplification", reflecting in ecosystem impacts. It is precisely in an Arctic fjord environment, the Kongsfjorden-Krossfjorden system (KKS), located on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen, that also the Atlantification process is occur...

Awarded: NOK 60,217

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Collecting field validation data for remote sensing-based mapping of the growth season and plant productivity

Global temperature is increasing, and particularly so in Svalbard. This has strong impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Sensitive indicators of climate change are the timing of the onset of growth and the annual plant production. Recently a cloud-free time-series of daily Sentinel-2 satellite data ...

Awarded: NOK 48,883

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Microorganisms move in circles: from sea to air to snow

This project builds upon a previously published study (Feltracco et al., 2021), where fjord dynamics were connected to airborne microbial communities and aerosol chemistry. In this initial study, my collaborators were unable to collect surface water samples to indentify aerosolized microorganisms...

Awarded: NOK 59,978

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Thaw consolidation of permafrost soils in high-Arctic environments; RiS ID: 11815

The stability of permafrost soils is highly affected by the prevailing thermal regime. With warming ground temperatures and deepening of the active layer, thaw consolidation and associated ground subsidence are likely to occur. This is also expected for the surroundings of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. ...

Awarded: NOK 76,222

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Oslo

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

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

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

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Automated analysis of wildlife camera monitoring, RiS ID: 11829

During the first part of my thesis, I will be creating a methodology for automated analysis of camera monitoring data of the nests of geese and terns using artificial intelligence. In order to test if this program works, I will need to obtain enough new camera data of nests on Svalbard and put th...

Awarded: NOK 51,904

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbard stories: A qualitative fieldstudy on emplacement under new environmental regulations in the High North

Svalbard is undergoing rapid environmental changes alongside with a developing tourist industry and strict environmental regulations underway, by which residents in Longyearbyen must adjust into. Through anthropological fieldwork and in-depth interviews, this master project will investigate the n...

Awarded: NOK 15,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Impact of added nutrients on the onset of plant senescence, RiS-ID 11865.

The aim of my master’s project is to study how increased nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorous) affect the phenological development of deciduous plants in autumn (specifically: senescence, ie leaf colour change) in High Arctic tundra. Furthermore, it aims to improve methodology for use of...

Awarded: NOK 63,016

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Valley sea breeze in Adventdalen, RIS ID 11839

Renewable energy research is a developing field in the Arctic and especially at UNIS. The environmental and meteorological conditions are different from lower latitudes. In my PhD, I investigate meteorological phenomena which are relevant to renewable energy. One aspect of this are local wind cir...

Awarded: NOK 58,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The Svalbard-political field: power and interests in Norwegian Svalbard politics. Field study 2022.

The research question of this thesis is: Which interests prevail in Norwegian Svalbard politics, and in what ways do they prevail? The thesis aims to 1) describe how Svalbard politics is made and map its key actors, thus contributing to increased knowledge production and better understanding of S...

Awarded: NOK 26,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Nordland - Nordlánnda

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Ice-Free Arctic Ocean: Dead end or new opportunities for Calanus finmarchicus (DENOC), RiS ID 11850

The Arctic Ocean is changing to a warmer and ice-free state, which may lead to substantial changes in biodiversity and ecosystem structures. An Atlantification of the zooplankton community is ongoing, but at which rate is poorly known at present stage. The aim of this project is to 1) determine t...

Awarded: NOK 74,041

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Spatial and temporal shifts in Arctic fjord biodiversity caused by climate changes. RiS ID 11834

This PhD thesis aims to research how the shifts in the cryosphere caused by climate change are affecting fish abundance and distribution. This project will complement the work that took place in 2021, in which we had an extensive field campaign in Billefjorden, where we used innovative and sustai...

Awarded: NOK 95,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Stress-coping strategies in a changing world: how do ground-nesting birds adapt to unpredictive predation threat?

In the Arctic, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely on sea ice to hunt seals. However, sea ice is decreasing due to climate warming, and bears are changing their foraging behavior, increasing egg consumption. This shift in diet can put ground-nesting bird species, such as common eiders (Somateria m...

Awarded: NOK 94,286

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

GLAcier front Mapping with automotive lidar, RiS ID 11860

The goal of the GLAM project is to provide a proof of concept that automotive lidar sensors may be used for mapping of glacier fronts, e.g. at Tunabreen, Mohnbukta, or Nordenskiöldbreen. For that purpose, our developed sensorbox including an automotive lidar sensor, a DGPS and an IMU will be moun...

Awarded: NOK 65,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Implications of terrestrial run-off on kelp ecosystems RiS-ID: 11849

Habitat forming large brown seaweeds (kelps) are dominating many Arctic rocky shore coastlines, structuring benthic and pelagic species communities. On Svalbard, global warming is occurring at a rate far beyond the global average. The increasing terrestrial run-off leads to a darkening of the wat...

Awarded: NOK 92,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Assessing the timing of paleo fluid circulation within the Longyearbyen CO2 Lab: a comparison between field, laboratory, and core data.

The main aim of this project is to constrain the spatio-temporal paleo fluid circulation within the Agardhfjellet Fm., along part of the Billefjorden fault zone, and associated to the early Cretaceous magmatic intrusions of the Diabasodden suit, assessing the long-term permeability behavior of th...

Awarded: NOK 59,000

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The effects of warming climate on parasite-reindeer dynamics in the Arctic.

An ecosystem is shaped by species that interact with each other (herbivory, predation, and parasitism), but species dynamics can be influenced by abiotic conditions as for example increasing temperature due to climate change. However, how climate change affects parasites and consequently their ho...

Awarded: NOK 40,177

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

PERSISTENT, BIOACCUMULATING AND TOXIC COMPOUNDS (PBTS) IN SNOW SAMPLES FROM THE SURROUNDINGS OF LONGYEARBYEN, SVALBARD. (SOL)

This master project will study the contribution of different sources for pollutants in snow in the area surrounding Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Local sources of interests to study are the coal power plant, snow mobile activity, airport, boat and car traffic. Additionally, long-range atmospheric trans...

Awarded: NOK 21,416

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Estimation of snow depth and snow water equivalent based on GNSS-IR method

Global Navigation Satellite System interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) is a method that can enable the determination of many characteristics of the environment that surrounds the measuring antenna. It is based on the characteristics of the reflected radio waves, which vary depending on the ty...

Awarded: NOK 64,124

Project Period: 2022-2023

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

From Svalbard to Mars: subsurface investigation of periglacial landforms with the WISDOM/EXOMARS GPR, RiS ID 11854

On June 2023 the ESA (European Space Agency) rover of the ExoMars mission will land on Mars. The missions’ goal is to search for the existence of past life on Mars. Its payload is equipped with WISDOM (Water Ice Subsurface Deposits Observation on Mars), a shallow Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) ...

Awarded: NOK 87,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Svalbard