0 projects

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

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

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

AZKABAN experiment for light reaction, RiS ID 11578

Hydroacoustic surveys may be underestimating or overestimating biomass due to species avoidance of vessel light. Therefore we propose a controlled environment experiment to quantify the effect of light on fish behaviour. A small change in the orientation of fish can cause large changes in biomass...

Awarded: NOK 60,000

Project Period: 2022-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The Terrestrial Ecosystem Flagship in Ny-Ålesund: From workshops to research projects

The Ny-Ålesund Terrestrial Ecosystem Flagship focuses on ecosystem-based research on tundra, fresh water and soil in and around Ny-Ålesund (Coulsen et al. 2010; Pedersen et al. 2016). The Terrestrial Ecosystem Flagship group has in the past 3 years successfully organized and held workshops aimed ...

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Research in Svalbard: An APECS workshop 2021

Numerous international and interdisciplinary research projects are carried out in Svalbard every year. Furthermore, such research projects involve both senior and early career researchers (ECRs), some of whom may have never previously set foot on the archipelago. The Association of Polar Early Ca...

Awarded: NOK 0.16 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Fossil fuel contribution to Black Carbon deposition on Svalbard Glaciers

In this project, we aim at improving our understanding of the black carbon (BC) sources and concentration loading in Svalbard snow with an observational-based source apportionment study. BC has been identified as a strong climate forcing factor but still the origin of its sources in the Arctic, a...

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Workshop Proposal: Space and Atmospheric Physics on Svalbard - A science case for an atmospheric radar on Svalbard in the 21st Century

A small, 2 day workshop will be held after the Svalbard Science Conference in November 2021 in Oslo. It has the aim of planning and drafting a White Paper which outlines the scientific case for continued measurements of the atmosphere using an incoherent scatter radar (ISR) on Svalbard after the...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbox 2.0 – FAIR geoscientific data from Svalbard

The Svalbox 2.0 project strives to make digital models from Svalbard across all scales (from "seismic-scale" mountain-sides to digital drill cores) openly and freely available to the geoscientific community through the FAIR EU-funded repository Zenodo. In addition, the portal places these in a re...

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Impact of cryospheric melt-down on submarine slope stability and carbon release in a warmer Arctic (CRYOCARB)

CRYOCARB will establish an inter-disciplinary network of experts to address our overarching goal of maximizing knowledge of the impact of cryospheric melt-down on Arctic slope stability and release of old carbon storages to the atmosphere in a warm climate. To achieve this, the CRYOCARB group hav...

Awarded: NOK 0.29 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2023

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Catalyzing interdisciplinary perspectives across social and natural science on Svalbard

The goal is to develop interdisciplinary collaboration between social science, natural science and the local communities in Svalbard. The severe changes in climate and environment in Svalbard (the socio-ecological system) are challenging natural sciences as well as social sciences and the living ...

Awarded: NOK 0.18 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2023

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Tourist safety in polar regions: guide’s competence and emergency preparedness in Arctic communities, RIS ID 11591.

Polar adventure tourism is growing rapidly leading to increasing risk of accidents and more stress on local emergency preparedness. The objective of the phd research is to explore the relationship between guides competences and ensuring safety in the field. The study pays attention to key issues ...

Awarded: NOK 22,857

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbard Geopolitics and Social Science Network (GEO-SVALBARD)

In 2019, the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) organised a workshop with 25 participants (Svalbard alumni) in conjunction with the Svalbard Science Conference. This was the first step in engaging early career graduates from across disciplines who had a connection with research relating to Svalbard....

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbard Science Conference Glaciology Flagship workshop:

The workshop seeks to draw on the collective expertise of a diverse group of experienced researchers, and aims to forge more long-lasting contacts to enhance the interdisciplinary collaboration portfolio of the group, encourage transfer of knowledge and expertise within Norway and internationally...

Awarded: NOK 83,444

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Revisiting the Kongsfjorden algal vegetation from 2012

The Arctic is facing the climate change harder than any other parts of the northern hemisphere. The West Spitsbergen current is transporting warm water from the Gulf Stream resulting in decreased ice conditions, even in the fjords during winter. This reduction in sea ice leads to less ice scourin...

Awarded: NOK 43,999

Project Period: 2021-2021

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

HYDROLOGICAL EFFECTS ON THE VARIABILITY AND EMERGENT HOT MOMENTS IN METABOLISM OF A HIGH ARCTIC LAKE

Regarded as a persistent source of carbon to the atmosphere, high latitude lakes can also represent an important sink for atmospheric CO2. In fact, these lakes are likely alternating between being CO2 sources and sinks depending on the timing and magnitude of OM inputs, catchment characteristics ...

Awarded: NOK 65,380

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Predicting vegetation change through gradients in space and time

The strong warming of the Arctic threaten to completely change the biodiversity and ecosystem functions within the arctic displacing large parts of the current communities. Two apparent patterns of vegetation community change have been discovered from experimental and long term monitoring of Arct...

Awarded: NOK 40,284

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Ocean Data Dojo - Building competence in FAIR data management in marine research and citizen science

The Ocean Data Dojo will engage experts in Arctic data collection in ocean sciences, Citizen Science for Arctic communities, and scientific data management. The aim is to develop a joint understanding of the current practices and gaps in the data delivery chain from research driven ice-ocean obs...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2021-2023

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Levels and Potential DNA damage of Organohalogenated Contaminants in blood from three Arctic Seabirds species

Svalbard is an important study site for the effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which avian species accumulate high levels of, due to the high deposition of POPs in the Arctic environment. Together with experienced researchers, blood samples will be collected from 15-20 kittiwakes in ...

Awarded: NOK 34,046

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Structure and emplacement mechanisms of the large sill complexes of central Isfjorden

The aim of the proposed project is to initiate a new research project and collaboration in order to use Svalbard geology as world-class case study for studying the complex processes of magma emplacement in the Earth’s crust. The principle of magma emplacement processes seems quite straightforward...

Awarded: NOK 80,000

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Mechanisms underlying climate-driven shifts in plant phenology and abundance and the link to population performance of a large herbivore

Climate change is rapidly altering patterns of precipitation and temperature (Van Pelt et al. 2016), causing shifts in plant phenology and resource availability for large herbivores (Bjorkman et al. 2020). In the Arctic, weather patterns are increasingly characteristic of earlier springs and dela...

Awarded: NOK 70,000

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Longyearbyen Snow and Avalanche Monitoring with Automated Terrestrial Laser Scanning (RiS ID: 11630)

Snow Scan aims at developing a proof-of-concept automated terrestrial laser scanning (ATLS) system to monitor snow and avalanches in the Longyeardalen and Adventdalen valleys of central Svalbard. The spatiotemporal distribution of snow in avalanche starting zones is a critical factor controlling ...

Awarded: NOK 77,000

Project Period: 2021-2022

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Hiding in the shadows: effects of environmental stressors on male calanoid copepods

Polar ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to effects caused by environmental stressors of anthropogenic origin, such as ocean acidification (OA) or ocean warming (OW). Calanoid copepods of the genus Calanus are key species in the Arctic food web and constitute up to 90% of the zooplankton biom...

Awarded: NOK 98,046

Project Period: 2021-2023

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Emerging Pollutants in north – western Spitsbergen Snow: concentration distribution, sources, and transport processes

After the recent report on Chemicals of emerging Arctic concern (CEACs) by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP 2017), the recent focus of international Arctic pollution research is turned towards the fate elucidation of CEACs in many Arctic countries. Recently, AMAP published a pri...

Awarded: NOK 74,999

Project Period: 2021-2021

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

In-flame: INputs of FLuorinated compounds from Arctic MElting RiS ID: 11598

The acceleration of ice melting due to the global warming taking place on Earth might be a new involuntary source of legacy anthropogenic compounds redistribution, such as Per- and Poly-FluoroAlkyl Substances (PFASs). This mechanism is further emphasized by the Arctic amplification phenomenon, wh...

Awarded: NOK 76,999

Project Period: 2021-2021

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa