0 projects

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

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: 2024-2024

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

Spatio-temporal habitat use of Svalbard reindeer (RiS ID 12152)

Forståelsen av Svalbardreinens Habitat: Klimaendringer og Vår Forskning Introduksjon Arktis er et av de mest skjøre miljøene på jorden, og det opplever raske endringer på grunn av klimaendringer. Svalbard, en øygruppe i Arktis, varmes opp raskere enn nesten noe annet sted. Dette gjør det til et v...

Awarded: NOK 0.11 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Studies of environmental pollutants in wetland areas and water ponds on the Arctic tundra

The main goal for this project is to continue our study further the role of birds in transporting pollutants to and within the Arctic area, and to bring new knowledge especially linked to potential transport between the marine and terrestrial system including wetlands and water ponds on the tundr...

Awarded: NOK 42,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Particulate matter in glacier fed rivers

The aim of this project is a extensive study of particulate matter released into the rivers from the glacier systems and entering the Kongsfjorden system in Ny-Ålesund. Both particulate matter and river water will be collected at the outlet from the glaciers main melting channel as well as in th...

Awarded: NOK 39,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Underwater Hyperspectral Imaging for Under-Ice Navigation, RiS ID 12349

Underwater Hyperspectral Imaging (UHI) is a groundbreaking innovation that expands our ability to capture a wide range of wavelengths beyond human perception. This technology offers a comprehensive view of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing us to identify and analyze subtle differences in the...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The nutrient legacy of reindeer carrion in vegetation in the Arctic tundra of Svalbard, RiS ID:11512

Carcass legacy effects on soil chemistry and vegetation nutrient composition will help our understanding of how local ‘disturbances’ (i.e. carcass presence) scale to structuring and functioning of ecological communities at landscape levels. I will revisit carcasses of varying ages and collect abo...

Awarded: NOK 56,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Nordland - Nordlánnda

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Experimental assessment of light propagation in the snowpack, RiS ID 12344

Snowpack is a key component in the Arctic regions. The albedo of freshly fallen snow is typically very high in the visible range (up to 0.9), playing a crucial role in Earth's energy balance. Snow albedo can eventually be reduced upon aging of snow crystals due to metamorphism and to the increasi...

Awarded: NOK 0.10 mill.

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Insulate: Belowground Biotic Insulation of Permafrost (RiS ID 12331)

Within the overarching INSULATE initiative (RiS ID 12331), the "Belowground Biotic Insulation of Permafrost" project delves into the intricate dynamics of local soil properties, seeking to unravel their profound impact on permafrost stability. This focused research addresses crucial gaps in our ...

Awarded: NOK 70,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

S2S : Snowfall to Surging ? The role of Snow-Firn-Ice Heat Transfer on Glacier Dynamics

Studying Svalbard's Heer Land region, our research confronts the uncertainties surrounding global glacier contributions to sea level rise, as highlighted in the 2023 IPCC report. Svalbard's unique vulnerability to climate change, positions it as an ideal study area with future implications for br...

Awarded: NOK 94,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

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

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

Longterm consequences of one year of draining on biodiversity in Arctic ponds

In 2019, 19 ponds in Kongsfjorden were sampled, however, due to an extremely warm summer in 2020, 8 out of 19 completely dried out. In 2021 all ponds contained water again. We expect that due the high temperatures, increased evaporation and a deeper active layer have caused the desiccation. As cl...

Awarded: NOK 61,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Investigation of temperature inversion and lapse rates on Beerenberg, Jan Mayen, RiS 12336

This project investigates temperature inversion and lapse rates on the flanks of the glacier-covered volcano, Beerenberg (2277 m a.s.l.), on the remote island of Jan Mayen. The high humidity often leads to cloud formation, non-linear lapse rates, and temperature inversion. However, little is know...

Awarded: NOK 98,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Invertebrate contributions to Arctic ecosystem services

The project "Invertebrate contributions to Arctic ecosystem services" will be part of a master thesis in the Climate Change Management programme at Høgskulen på Vestlandet (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences). The aim of the project is to sample the Arctic invertebrate necrobiome and i...

Awarded: NOK 62,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Drone-based and ground-Magnetic Archeological studies in Svalbard (MAS)

Within the framework of one internally funded project coupled with an AFG (Arctic field grant), Archephysics project initiated in 2022 to monitor archeological sites at Russekeila, Svalbard. In close collaborations with University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and Norwegian Institute for Cultural Her...

Awarded: NOK 74,999

Project Period: 2024-2025

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Long term monitoring of polar bears on Svalbard RIS-12380 (linked to RIS 2381)

Environmental conditions have changed dramatically in the Svalbard region; sea-ice is declining in extent and thickness; glacier fronts are reduced, and anthropogenic activities are increasing in intensity and extent. These changes impact polar bear habitat use and potentially their fitness throu...

Awarded: NOK 48,999

Project Period: 2024-2024

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa