0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Arctic kelp production and fate (BlueArc field sampling) RIS 12373

Over 20% of the world’s kelp forests occur along Arctic coastlines, yet shifts in the structure and ecological function of these habitats as a result of climate change are poorly understood. Kelp forests are highly productive ecosystems and are expected to contribute significantly to global carbo...

Awarded: NOK 98,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Arctic Cosmic Ray neutron Observations for large-Scale Sensing of SWE (ACROSS-SWE), RiS ID 12378

The project ACROSS-SWE aims to implement a snow calibration on a Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor (CRNS) that is placed above the snow cover on the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard. Up to this point the approach has never been applied to an Arctic CRNS station and will provide valuable insights into Arcti...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Oslo

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

Who is where? - Unravelling the biodiversity of sympagic meiofauna in and around Svalbard

Sympagic (=ice) meiofauna is an indispensable part of a very complex food web in the Arctic, playing a crucial role for many ice-associated organisms and the whole Arctic ecosystem since sympagic meiofauna comprise primarily of larval stages of seafloor and open-water living animals. But Arctic s...

Awarded: NOK 76,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

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

Hornsund’s and Storfjorden DOM Data Acquisition Campaign and Virtual Field Guide Development for Educational Research. RiS ID - 12339

This project aim to perform a systematic digitalization of eastern Spitsbergen coast, due to its excellent cretaceous sediments' exposures, and western Barentsøya-Edgeøya for their important HALIP exposures. Collecting these types of data from Hornsund’s and Storfjorden’s surroundings can provid...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The transition from ductile to brittle deformation in pre-Devonian basement of the Billefjorden Fault Zone, Svalbard (RiS: 12317)

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 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

DyNAflow: Colonisation dynamics of Arctic endemics across glacial landscapes

Warming in the Arctic is causing glacial retreat, which exposes deglaciated terrains to biotic colonisation. Ecological studies can provide insights into the local processes (microclimate, biotic interactions) driving the development of soil communities after glacier retreat. However, community d...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Arctic marine mammals in a time of climate change: a Kongsfjorden Case Study. RiS ID: 11501

The fieldwork is a component of the NFR ARK (Arktisk Klima forandring Konsekvenser) project, which focuses on impacts of global warming on Arctic endemic marine mammals. The project is using a “case-study” approach based on the Kongsfjorden-Krossfjorden ecosystem, where the objective to examine h...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Linking past and present surge dynamics at Borebreen from drone surveys

Svalbard has a high density of surging glaciers – marine and terrestrial glaciers which undergo cyclical changes between fast (active) and slow (quiescence) flow. During the active phase, ice discharge accelerates and mass loss increases which significantly impacts glacier mass balance. However, ...

Awarded: NOK 79,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Geomorphology and process-interaction in previous and present climate as exemplified by Bjørndalen, Svalbard (RiS 12312)

This M.Sc. thesis project has a primary objective of mapping the geomorphology of Bjørndalen, Svalbard, to contribute to our understanding of this unique Arctic valley system. The research aims to characterize the long-term and short-term geomorphologic processes shaping the valley and analyze ho...

Awarded: NOK 54,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Chemical composition and conditions of cryoconite hole water and melting channels on glaciers with runoff to the Kongsfjorden System

Main objective of this project is a detailed analysis of snow and supraglacial meltwater, including potential alterations in the transition of supraglacial snow to water, as well as potential alterations in the transition of water in isolated to connected cryoconite holes to meltwater channels. C...

Awarded: NOK 31,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Microbial communities in ice over methane sources: a comparative study. RiS ID: 10341

The fieldwork is an integral part of my PhD project, which aims at understanding the microbiological role of the ice forming above Arctic emerged cold seeps in mitigating methane release. This fieldwork project includes sampling both terrestrial pingos in Svalbard (of which Lagoon Pingo, Adventda...

Awarded: NOK 64,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Human performance in the cold, RiS ID 12375

The purpose of the project is to verify the performance effect of the newly developed field rations, Energon Arctic Field rations (EAF) by EnergonX and its consortium, both the food content, but also packaging, which will potentially reduce waste by 70% in the Norwegian Armed Forces and offer nut...

Awarded: NOK 94,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Alternative life-history and thermoregulation strategies in the Svalbard reindeer and the implications for population dynamics

With the Arctic warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the globe (Rantanen et al., 2022), resilience of Arctic ecosystems and population dynamics of Arctic species are raising concern among scientists. Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) is an ideal species to study the...

Awarded: NOK 67,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Sustainability for cultural heritage – cultural heritage for sustainability. Interdisciplinary field research at Kvitøya

The project is an interdisciplinary collaboration involving NIKU, Luleå University of Technology, Karolinska Institute, Svalbard Museum, and the Swedish National Heritage Boardaims. It aims to explore and document archaeological source material, as well as register and document the cultural envir...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The importance of observation error in reindeer population modelling (RiS ID 12376)

My project explores the intricate dynamics of Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus) populations in response to rapid climate change. Through fieldwork, including paired observations of various populations based in Reindalen, Adventdalen, and Ny-Ålesund, I aim to investigate the nuanced impacts ...

Awarded: NOK 95,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Bryophyte diversity as a driver of ecosystem functions and processes in a changing tundra, attached to the ITEX experiment, RiS ID: 10030

Studying bryophyte diversity in the high Arctic, like Svalbard, is vital due to their resilience in extreme conditions. Mosses are pioneers in colonizing newly exposed areas, offering insight into ecosystem health. They act as carbon sinks and regulate the hydrological cycle, which is crucial for...

Awarded: NOK 70,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Investigation of the mercury cycle in the Arctic snowpack for model development (ris id: 12321)

The aim of this project is to investigate the processes involving mercury (Hg) at the snow-air interface in the polar regions. The dynamic exchange of Hg between the snow surface and the overlaying atmosphere in polar regions is not fully understood and not yet constrained into the one-dimensiona...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

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

The Heer Land overabundance of Thermal-switch surges

Glaciers around the world are losing mass at an accelerated rate (Hugonnet et al., 2021), and Svalbard experiences this even faster than the global average, largely due to its strong interaction with warm Atlantic ocean currents (Piechura and Walczowski, 2009). The latest IPCC reports present mod...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Snowdrift at the solar park of Isfjord Radio, RiS ID 12308

The adaptation of renewable energy in the Arctic requires knowledge of the Arctic climate's influence on energy installations such as solar panels. Therefore, snowdrift is investigated at the recently installed solar photovoltaic array at Isfjord Radio. For this, observations from a weather stati...

Awarded: NOK 77,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Unruly Ground: Knowing and Caring for Permafrost

Since the 2000s, permafrost has experienced a remarkable revival, and many are invested in preventing the deterioration of this Arctic ground. But while there is an increase in research on the impacts of permafrost degradation, we know very little about the inner workings of permafrost expertise....

Awarded: NOK 71,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

PEbbles, ice and TalitroidS – checking overlooked beaches in the frame of autecology - RiS ID 12381

The project involves researchers part of both Amphipodologists group and editors for the Worls Registrer of Marine Species (WoRMS); for tighter collaboration and extension towards the ecology of sandy shores, it intends: To check for presence of talitroid amphipods on polar cobble beaches and as ...

Awarded: NOK 94,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Evaluating the maximum photosynthetic depth limit using coralline algae as a model organism, RiS ID 12351

This master’s thesis aims to better understand polar ecosystems by shedding light on the photosynthetic limitations of red coralline algae. We will use a mini remotely operated vehicle (Blueye X3) with a grabber attachment to locate and sample coralline algae from Van Mijenfjorden. We will collec...

Awarded: NOK 87,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Active Scattering in Sea Ice for Measuring Internal Properties

Sea ice is filled with small brine pockets because the salt is rejected by the crystal lattice during the freezing process. These brine pockets have a significant influence on several aspects of sea ice, including its bearing capacity, the remote sensing of it, as well as the amount of solar ener...

Awarded: NOK 53,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Monitoring Active Layer Thickness from Space – Creating a Validation Dataset around Ny-Ålesund, RiD ID 12361

The active layer thickness is one of the most important variables characterizing the state of permafrost, but we still lack the possibility to determine it over large areas, especially from satellites. Seasonal thawing and freezing cycles of the active layer cause the ground surface to heave in w...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Monitoring seawater CO2 release from thawing permafrost mobilized by Bayelva proglacial stream, RiS ID 11654

The Bayelva river (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard) represents a key site where to unearth the patterns of carbon release from thawing permafrost into coastal waters. For this reason on September 2023 the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council (ISP-CNR) of Italy, in the framework of ...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa