0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Evolution of spatial variability and physico-chemical properties of snow on coastal tundra of Hornsund fjord during the Spring, RIS-ID 10450

Project assumes usage of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), snow dyeing, collecting snow samples for chemical analysis and describing the internal structure of snowpack during a series of repetitive snowpits. The main aim is to study spatial distribution of snow cover and its ongoing physical and ch...

Awarded: NOK 52,759

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Oil entrapment in sea ice: Field experiments for 3-d X-ray microtomographic investigations

The aim of the planned experiment is to investigate the distribution and migration oil in natural sea ice and to image them in 3D with micro CT at a synchrotron facility. With increasing interest in exploring Arctic oil resources the study is a step towards a fundamental framework to cope hazard...

Awarded: NOK 49,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Mapping isotopic signature and trophic niche in relation to individual migration strategies of an Arctic seabird

The main objective of my MSc thesis is to investigate stable isotopes as indicators of trophic niche and diet in relation to individual migration strategies in an Arctic seabird. Little information exists on individual flexibility in migration- and winter foraging strategies of seabirds breeding ...

Awarded: NOK 61,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Autumn phenology of plants on Svalbard

This study will determine whether the timing of autumn senescence is related to the timing of spring snowmelt in natural and experimental snowmelt gradients. Autumn phenology will be assessed as amount of leaf colouration as well as pigment concentrations and nitrogen index. I aim to evaluate the...

Awarded: NOK 49,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Soil fungal responses to warming in polar regions, RiS ID 6921

Field experiment at Kongsfjordneset, Svalbard looks at effects of warming on the surface layers of the soil microbiota. Microbes, especially fungi, play a major role in nutrient cycling as they are a key factor in decompostiion processes in polar regions. The objective of the experiment is to loo...

Awarded: NOK 27,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The fate of sub-glacial carbon in an era of deglaciation, RiS ID 10410

Worldwide, deglaciation is transitioning sub-glacial ecosystems into proglacial areas and liberating previously buried organic material. Microbes utilize this material for energy, though factors that govern community structure and metabolism remain unclear. To study how sub-glacial carbon is tran...

Awarded: NOK 50,934

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Contact metamorphism around thin intrusions in Central Isfjorden: implications for reservoir quality and fluid migration, RiS ID 10408

The proposed target unit for CO2 storage in Central Isfjorden comprises a naturally fractured heterolithic sandstone-siltstone sequence interbedded with shale layers. Igneous intrusions have been identified in the target aquifer and are mapped. These igneous intrusions and their contact aureole i...

Awarded: NOK 50,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

High-resolution mapping of tidewater glaciers of Hornsund with Terrestrial Laser Scanning, RiS ID 10414

The tidewater glaciers of Hornsund have undergone a dramatic recession since the end of LIA, exposing a new embayment of Brepollen. Caving remains the most important sink in the overall mass balance, enhancing the retreat rate. In order to investigate the calving mechanisms and mass balance the g...

Awarded: NOK 61,557

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Biological rhythms, sleep and cognitive performance of high arctic residents during summer and winter RIS-ID 10223

The present proposal aims at investigating how prolonged isolation and confinement affects the decision-making processes in humans. Available results on human cognitive performance in isolated and confined environments (ICE) reveal a very mixed picture (e.g., Kanas and Manzey, 2008; Van Baarsen e...

Awarded: NOK 75,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Sedimentology, stratigraphic position and correlation of the Paleogene Ny-Ålesund Subgroup, RIS-ID 10418

The fieldwork carried out in Ny-Ålesund will be a part of the PhD-project "Regional Geometry and Sedimentology of the Lower Palaeogene basin on Svalbard". The main goal of this project is to achieve detailed understanding of the paleoenvironment prior to and during early stages of foreland basin ...

Awarded: NOK 45,593

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Fungal-liverwort associations: novel symbioses in polar regions? (RiS 10439)

The overarching aim of the project is to visit Kongsfjorden on Svalbard to sample leafy liverworts in order to (i) determine the fungal symbioses present in the plants, and (ii) to return live liverworts to the UK for studies into nutrient transfer between fungi and plants, including experimental...

Awarded: NOK 25,091

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Towards the first year-round continuous measurement of soil respiration at tundra warming experiment sites in Svalbard

In 2015, RIS ID 10116 entitled "Effects of summer and winter warming on CO2 efflux in high Arctic tundra" was awarded to establish in situ observations of CO2 efflux at one of the ITEX sites in Svalbard. This award created collaborations across three institutions in the topics of ongoing ITEX con...

Awarded: NOK 23,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Seasonal progression of the zooplankton community in a high-Arctic seasonally ice covered fjord, RiS ID 10445

The project will follow the seasonal progression of zooplankton in the seasonal ice covered Van Mijenfjorden. The aim is to assess the seasonal variation in the zooplankton community, determine the secondary production, and estimate the grazing impact on the primary production.

Awarded: NOK 69,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Fate of Calanus glacialis reproduction and growth under different environmental stressors

The aim for this study is to determine the state of the Calanus glacialis population in Isfjorden, Svalbard. C. glacialis is a lipid rich copepod that is endemic to the Arctic and has a circumpolar distribution in the arctic shelf seas.This will be done by monthly excursions to Isfjorden to study...

Awarded: NOK 52,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Sedimentation and characteristic of sediments of Hansbukta and Isbjørnhamna (Hornsund) RiS ID: 10391

My project hypothesis is that Hansbreen has the direct influence of the changes of the marine sedimentation processes, especially in Hansbukta. In turn, the dynamic marine processes have a significant influence on the sedimentation processes in Isbjørnhamna. During the summer season 2016, I am go...

Awarded: NOK 33,040

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Pollutants in Arctic geese and their eggs

The aim of this project is to determine how pollutants in Arctic geese are transferred from mother to eggs and the mechanisms that are involved in this process. We will sample grass, droppings, feathers and eggs from geese June-July 2016 in Ny-Ålesund and measure pollutants levels. We will determ...

Awarded: NOK 79,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The Microbial Methane Filter in the Arctic: Resilience and Response to Climate Change (RIS-ID 10208)

The overall goal of the project is to investigate the impact of climate change and seasonal events on the methane oxidation potential in High- and in the Sub-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems. We want to identify the key players in the microbial methane cycle, their adaption to their habitat and thei...

Awarded: NOK 54,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Telomere dynamics and migration patterns in the Arctic skua: A longitudinal study. RiS ID 10452

This project aims to measure the rates of telomere loss in Arctic skuas (Stercorarius parasiticus) in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard and relate the changes to individual migration patterns. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of linear chromosomes, whose shortening is accelerated by physiological s...

Awarded: NOK 61,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effects of stress on the immune system in chicks of the black-legged kittiwake

In this study I will investigate the effects of stress, which will be experimentally imposed by repeated investigator disturbance during the nestling period, on the immune response in the chicks of the Black-legged Kittiwake. The study will be conducted in two breeding colonies in Kongsfjorden, S...

Awarded: NOK 78,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The potential for adaptation of current and future phytoplankton blooms in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (RIS 10432)

The aim of my project is to investigate the potential for adaption of Arctic phytoplankton communities to the current and future changes in in temperature, carbonate chemistry and light availability. More specifically, I want to characterize intra- and interspecific diversity of Arctic diatom pop...

Awarded: NOK 78,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Transport of marine pollution from bird cliffs to tundra communities in Svalbard, RIS ID 10420

Persistent pollutants accumulate and biomagnifies in seabirds migrating to Svalbard, and are transferred to the tundra underneath bird cliffs, with the bird´s guano. The aim of this study is i) to examine the presence and levels of contaminants in terrestrial communities close to bird cliffs, and...

Awarded: NOK 69,683

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effects Of Seasonality And Spatial Heterogeneity On Polar Cod (Boreogadus Saida) Diet And Distribution In Svalbard Waters. RiS ID: 10442

This study will offer a first understanding on the seasonal diet of a true arctic gadoid fish in Svalbard waters, the polar cod. We will attempt to identify whether adult polar cod feed actively during the polar night and if yes, whether their diet differs from that of the spring, summer, and fal...

Awarded: NOK 8,498

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Seasonal and interannual variability of carbonate chemistry and air-sea CO2 fluxes at the ISA station in Isfjorden, Svalbard

The world ocean plays a pivotal role in the progress of climate change and the perturbed global carbon cycle, yet detailed knowledge of marine carbon dynamics is still needed. For instance, the freshwater cycling in Arctic fjords may play an integral role in CO2 uptake. Research questions to addr...

Awarded: NOK 68,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Late-glacial and present landscape evolution following deglaciation in a climate-sensitive High Arctic region

The slopes of the Kongsfjorden area have been developing since their respective time of deglaciation. Since the deglaciation history in this area is known quite well (Henriksen et al., 2014), one can use a space for time substitution to investigate landscape change as a function of time. Landscap...

Awarded: NOK 0.39 mill.

Project Period: 2016-2018

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Relay ramp complexity based on sedimentary record, Billefjorden Fault Zone. RiS ID 6045

During the summer field season 2016 I would like to investigate the relay ramp complexity within sedimentary rocks forming the Pyramiden mountain side, Billefjorden Trough. Analysis of data collected during the field work (geological logs and structural measurements, high resolution pictures used...

Awarded: NOK 11,998

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Habitat selection of the Svalbard reindeer: Tracking quality and quantity in Arctic foodscapes RiS ID 10434

The main goal of this project is to provide essential data to the applicants master thesis. The thesis will investigate summer habitat selection of Svalbard reindeer by using a novel combination of plant quantity and quality measures from multiple landscapes where GPS tracks of female reindeer ar...

Awarded: NOK 74,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Consequences of emerging contaminants exposure during the mating period in an Arctic seabird (RIS-ID-10424)

Owing to their high volatility and persistence in time, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) reach remote areas such as the Arctic. Once deposited in aquatic ecosystems, POPs are assimilated by living organisms via food intake, bioaccumulate in individuals and biomagnifiy along food webs. In the ...

Awarded: NOK 64,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Study of PCBs and natural organic matter and in Arctic soil. RIS-ID 10425

This project (RIS-ID 10425) is part of my master thesis. In this project quantitative and qualitative information about PCBs and natural organic matter present in top soil samples in Arctic region is studied. Outcome is a thorough study of PCBs in Arctic top soil as well as new knowledge on globa...

Awarded: NOK 70,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effects of stress on telomere dynamics in chicks of the Black-legged Kittiwake

In the present study I will investigate the effects of stress, experimentally imposed by repeated investigator disturbance during the nestling period, on the telomere reduction rate in chicks of the Black-legged Kittiwake. The study will be conducted in two breeding colonies in Kongsfjorden, Sval...

Awarded: NOK 78,999

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Glacial history and geomorphology of Trygghamna, western Spitsbergen, RiS ID 10443

The aim of the project is to understand the glacial dynamics and geomorphological activity of glaciers terminating in Trygghamna. A landsystem model for both terrestrial and marine environments will be presented and the difference between them discussed. The glacial geomorphology of Trygghamna an...

Awarded: NOK 28,639

Project Period: 2016-2017

Location: Svalbard