0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Meiofauna Composition and Distribution: A Pan-Arctic Comparison

Sea ice is a unique medium composed of a solid ice matrix permeated by an extensive brine channel system. This channel system is host to a community of ice associated (sympagic) microbes, algae and invertebrates. Given the understudied nature of sea ice o rganisms, many sympagic organisms lack ta...

Awarded: NOK 35,999

Project Period: 2014-2016

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Potential activity of microbial community in the Biological Soil Crusts in the glacial forefield of Werenskioldbreen glacier

The aim of this project is to detect photosynthetic and heterotrophic activity of BSC in High Arctic glacier forefields. The proposed project will be conducted in glacial forefield of Werenskioldbreen glacier in the SW Svalbard (June/July). It will be ba sed at the Polish Polar Station at the Ho...

Awarded: NOK 55,074

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Turnover of trophic markers and lipid carbon in distinct Arctic marine food webs, RIS ID 6668

In a context of sea ice decrease in the Arctic, this PhD project focuses on a combination of field and laboratory investigations to improve the understanding of the basic lipid metabolism and physiological adaptations of distinct Arctic food webs. One of the main focuses of this project is the ...

Awarded: NOK 69,721

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Reconstruction of past atmospheric circulation patterns along the coast of Norway and Svalbard during the last 2000 years

In order to distinguish the temporal-spatial effects of anthropologically induced changes on the climate system, there is an urgent need for better quantification of natural climate variability. This variability is controlled by the interaction between th e forcing and internal processes of the c...

Awarded: NOK 45,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Unraveling Holocene Arctic climate dynamics using sediments from Hajeren, a glacier-fed lake on Mitrahalvøya (RiS ID 6663)

The Arctic shows an amplified response to current warming and is rapidly changing. Data on past polar climate variability is scarce and hampered by a low resolution. My PhD research aims to provide high-resolution data for the Holocene to put current warm ing into perspective. To this end, I anal...

Awarded: NOK 39,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Vestland

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

knowledge exchange in the expedition cruise tourism community in Svalbard, ris id 6595

this phd research project will investigate the adaptive governance potential of the marine community on expedition cruise tourism on Svalbard and how it can be improved by the willingness of different actors to share different types of knowledge (local, s cientific or industry) and to learn from ...

Awarded: NOK 33,362

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The Effects of Perfluorinated Compounds on Thyroid Hormone in Ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea) and Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla)

This study will investigate whether perfluorinated compounds affect the thyroid hormone system in ivory gulls and black-legged kittiwakes. This will be accomplished by collecting blood samples from the two species during the breeding seasons of 2013 and 2014. The blood will be analyzed for perf...

Awarded: NOK 39,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Later snow melt reduces dwarf shrub secondary growth (Salix polaris, Adventdalen), RiS ID 6615

In many tundra regions dwarf trees of the Arctic (i.e. shrubs) are becoming dominant and increasing in cover. Since shrubs can become old (more than 100 yrs old) and its annual ring growth register valuable environmental information, dendrochronological s tudies on tundra shrubs are becoming more...

Awarded: NOK 19,748

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Effects of pollution on metabolic rate and physiological blood parameters in arctic kittiwake, RIS ID 6617

I aim to study the physiological effects (both in terms of metabolic rate, endocrine and clinical parameters) of novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), traditional organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) and toxic metals in the light of ecological charact...

Awarded: NOK 20,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Calving and Surging Glaciers: Observations, Modelling, Predictions

Calving and surging are both complex dynamic phenomena that exert strong controls of the flux of ice into the oceans. Calving - the breakaway of icebergs from glaciers into the sea - accounts for a large proportion of ice flux from Arctic glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and ...

Awarded: NOK 0.17 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Snow Monitoring using Automatic Camera Systems at Svalbard Key Sites

On Svalbard, the long-lasting snow cover and the timing of the snowmelt is a crucial factor in the yearly cycle of all land ecosystems. SMACS will explore monitoring of the snow cover and snow melt from the point to a scale of several square kilometers at the Svalbard key research locations Ny-Å...

Awarded: NOK 0.32 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Holocene environmental change of Svalbard

We will analyse the Holocene environmental history in Kongsfjorden since deglaciation. At least three Ny-Ålesund flagships have identified the need for long-term climate records. Up to date no integrated temperature, precipitation or glacial variability r ecord exists for the entire Holocene for ...

Awarded: NOK 0.40 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Lunar Arctic-coordinated remote sensing of aerosols: LUNAR photometry close the gap in ARCTIC aerosol climatology and satellite validation

In the context of a rapidly changing environment, collaborative efforts are essential to understand and to mitigate agents that contribute to modifications in the polar regions. Arctic aerosols have been studied intensively since many year. Nevertheless, there remain recognized deficiencies in A...

Awarded: NOK 0.40 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2016

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Seasonal dynamics of nitrogen cycling communities associated with Oxyria digyna

My PhD thesis focuses on the diversity and functioning of microbial communities associated with an arcto-alpine plant Oxyria digyna, common in pioneer plant communities. O. digyna harbours a diverse and partially plant specific bacterial community, and in our previous study, we identified severa...

Awarded: NOK 17,780

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Diving ecology and migration of a capital breeder, the common eider

The aim of this project is to investigate how migration and seasonal conditions affect the diving and foraging ecology of the common eider. Especially, it will focus on how day-length and temperature affects the diving frequency and the diving depth at di fferent times of the year, while being lo...

Awarded: NOK 79,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

WINter Benthic Activities

The goal of the present study is to characterize benthic communities' structure and activities during the polar night in Kongsfjorden, a fjord highly influenced by warm Atlantic water inputs, and to contrast them with the results observed for other season s in the same fjord.

Awarded: NOK 69,999

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Estimating uncertainties and sources of error in population monitoring of the Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)RiS : 6188

Monitoring population dynamics of wild ungulates relies on accurate estimates of population size and vital rates. However, errors in population monitoring methods can be numerous (e.g. lack of repeated measurement, sampling time period, observer bias etc. ) and in most studies they are not invest...

Awarded: NOK 20,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Layer parallel shortening and cataclastic flow by fractures in the Permian Kapp Starostin Formation, Mediumfjellet, Spitsbergen

The thesis addresses three fundamental questions related to fold-thrust belts of relevance to reservoir and cap rock studies; i. Can a link between LPS and small-scale fracture systems reflecting folding of layers by cataclastic flow (in line with Ismat and Mitra, 2005) within a pseudo-mechani...

Awarded: NOK 31,600

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Kongsfjorden Ecosystem-new views after more than a decade of research: Workshop in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, March 2014

Scientific data from Kongsfjorden have been sampled for more than 100 years, but it was not until the year 2000 that the first Kongsfjorden Ecosystem Workshop, with 40 participants, was held at the University Centre in Svalbard. The results of this worksh op were published in two well-recognized ...

Awarded: NOK 0.23 mill.

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Towards a coordinated Research and Monitoring Programme for Ny-Ålesund (workshop support)

The Ny-Ålesund Science Plan states that Ny-Ålesund shall be developed as a premier international Arctic research and monitoring facility. This workshop will bring together representatives of the four flagship programmes for Ny-Ålesund (marine biology, ter restrial ecology, glaciology and atmosphe...

Awarded: NOK 0.12 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2016

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

1st Science-Industry platform on expedition cruise tourism in Svalbard

Organising a Science-Industry platform workshop on expedition cruise tourism in Svalbard would contribute to fulfilling SSF strategic objectives by exploring and implementing strategies for funding and coordination of scientific research on an important e conomic sector in Svalbard, which increas...

Awarded: NOK 0.23 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2014

Location: Nordland - Nordlánnda

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Use of UAS data in plant ecological research in High Arctic environment

Use of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is a new opportunity for carry out research within plant science by minimizes the environmental footprint of research activities. Unmanned aircraft, combining both fixed wing multi rotor types will allow scientist to co llect image data for vegetation analysis ...

Awarded: NOK 0.27 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Hydrogeological characterization of permafrost thickness variability using a variety of geophysical tools in Adventdalen, Svalbard

This project has as the main objective to obtain a data set of permafrost thickness variability which is the main control on the permeability architecture of the sedimentary aquifer in the Adventstalen, Svalbard. To this end we will use hydrogeophysical c haracterisation techniques that have not ...

Awarded: NOK 0.28 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Workshop: Proterozoic and Lower Palaeozoic basement of Svalbard - state of knowledge and new perspectives of investigations

The Proterozoic and Lower Palaeozoic basement of Svalbard represents an old geotectonic complex with elements of several earlier tectonic terranes, orogeneses and other tectonothermal events. Our knowledge of the early Earth's history of the Arctic region depends on the understanding of these. A...

Awarded: NOK 0.20 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2014

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Workshop to develop and explore new approaches to analysing past, present and future climate dynamics

Observed 20th century global-mean surface temperature reflects the combined influences of natural climate variations and anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, sulfate aerosols, and land-use changes. A technique used extensively by the Intergovernme ntal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in it...

Awarded: NOK 0.17 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Improving understanding of the last deglaciation of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet and its effects on glacioisostatic rebound history in Svalbard

Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice thickness, and the resulting ice flow pattern, is inferred mainly from dated raised beaches, and more recently also from the cosmogenic nuclide dating of bedrock in various parts of the Svalbard Archipelago. Recent marine ge ological/geophysical investigations have ...

Awarded: NOK 0.25 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

ParaCharr: Adaptation of charr to a changing polar environment.

The ParaCharr project proposes to investigate the adaptation of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), to the extreme polar environment through a multidisciplinary study of population biology, parasitology, physiology and genetics, with parasites and clock g enes selected as core study mechanisms. A...

Awarded: NOK 0.25 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2014

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Cooperation on Arctic bivalves

The Arctic has recently become a centre of attention with increasing human activities and warming of the climate affecting the marine ecosystem. As Arctic sea ice extent has decreased due to warming temperatures, shipping has increased along the Siberian shelf, and boreal species have extended t...

Awarded: NOK 0.17 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Surface velocity and calving flux of Kronebreen RiS ID 6183

Kronebreen is among the 10 largest contributors to the total calving flux of the Svalbard archipelago. To estimate the calving flux detailed knowledge on the glacier velocity is needed which can be provided by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imag es. For the validation of those velocity ...

Awarded: NOK 65,197

Project Period: 2013-2014

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Adult sex ratio variation of Svalbard reindeer in relation to animal density and climate, RIS ID: 6169.

In this study I will estimate adult sex ratio in Svalbard reindeer and examine to what degree the variation can be explained by environmental conditions, i.e. weather and food availability. To obtain this, I will analyze spatiotemporal variation in sex ra tios from long-term monitoring data of mu...

Awarded: NOK 39,999

Project Period: 2013-2015

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage