0 projects

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The characterization of glacier basal hydrologic systems

The objectives of this study are to deploy 4 (or more) high precision GPS instruments on 2 glaciers through the summer of 2014. Of particular importance is to determine how the basal hydrologic system reacts to perturbances caused from climatic forces, su ch as from the surface mass balance of th...

Awarded: NOK 49,070

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Oslo

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Svalbard reindeer and hunting - what are natural borders for management units

Svalbard reindeer are managed within fairly small management units. Local authorities are concerned that reindeer within the small management units may be subjected to overharvesting. In this project I will investigate the range use of individually GPS-ma rked Svalbard reindeer and see if the spa...

Awarded: NOK 39,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Akershus

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Hydrological and speleological investigations on Austre Brøggerbreen, RiS ID 6570

Speleological mapping (winter) and dGPS mapping and dye tracing (summer) to investigate differences in morphology and velocity of a supraglacial and englacial drainage system. The data will be compared with previous mappings and dye tracings to see how th e channels have evolved the last decade.

Awarded: NOK 60,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

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

Mapping individual migration strategies of an Arctic seabird

The aim of the project is to investigate individual migration strategies and wintering areas in an Arctic seabird. Little information exists on individual flexibility or consistency in migration and wintering strategies of seabirds breeding in Svalbard. S uch information is important for conserva...

Awarded: NOK 79,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Microbial Symbionts of Arctic Peatlands and their Relevance for Present and Future Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling - ArcBiont RiS ID: 6547

The project will investigate microbial communities of the methane cycle that are associated with submerged Arctic peat mosses. The thesis will focus on Arctic samples from the peatlands Twin water, Gludneset, and Knudsenheia in the vicinity of Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard), the Siberian Lena Delta (coll...

Awarded: NOK 52,999

Project Period: 2014-2014

Location: Troms - Romsa - Tromssa

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Reaching Deep into the Big Black Box: diversity and functionality of arctic microbes.

In a broad sense, this research aims to elucidate microbial community structure and the forces that shape succession and diversity patterns within sea ice: light regimes, nutrient influxes, parasitism, and mutualism. Heavy fungal parasitism of diatoms ob served in Barrow, Alaska, (Personal obser...

Awarded: NOK 24,310

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Svalbard

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Levels and effects of POPs on thyroid hormone levels in glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) breeding in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, RiS-ID: 6672

The aim of the study is to detect levels of selected POPs in glaucous gull breeding in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, and investigated how this may affect the thyroid hormone levels.Its hypothesized that high levels of contaminants will be detected and that ther e will be an inverse correlation between ...

Awarded: NOK 20,697

Project Period: 2014-2015

Location: Trøndelag - Trööndelage

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

Spatial variability of snow and avalanche conditions along a climatic gradient in Central Spitsbergen

This project will study the regional variability of snow conditions around Longyearbyen and how the regional conditions influence snow avalanche potentials. The fieldwork will run over one winter season (January to May, 2014) and will be the basis for an MSc thesis in Physical Geography. System...

Awarded: NOK 12,999

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

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

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

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

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

Acoustic methods in detection and analyzing of calving events at the Hans Glacier front, RiS ID: 6133

My project is based on the hypothesis that characteristics of the acoustic signals recorded in the Arctic fjord provide valuable information about the dynamics of surrounding tidewater glaciers. In the summer of 2013, during a 3-months experiment, two aut onomous, hydroacoustic buoys will be depl...

Awarded: NOK 46,874

Project Period: 2013-2014

Location: Oslo

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

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Abrupt Holocene cooling episodes in Svalbard. A collaborative pilot study.

The Arctic has warmed twice as rapidly as the rest of the Earth over the past century, and the North Atlantic sector of the Arctic is particularly sensitive to changes in the planetary energy balance and accompanying circulation changes. Glaciers and ice caps are now receding rapidly, and in opt...

Awarded: NOK 0.40 mill.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Location: Akershus