Svalbard at the centre of a giant rocket project
22 February 2019
UNIS and UiO want to find answers to a number of questions related to the energy transport through the polar atmosphere. In a giant research project, the “Grand Challenge Initiative – Cusp” (GCI-Cusp) with twelve rocket launches, researchers aim to solve some of the puzzles.
Better avalanche warnings in and around Longyearbyen
12 February 2019
UNIS, in collaboration with Telenor Svalbard, has launched a pilot project to improve avalanche warnings in and around Longyearbyen.
Funding for new high-arctic, interdisciplinary field laboratory
15 January 2019
UNIS associate professor in Arctic biology Pernille B. Eidesen has gotten funding of NOK 1.35 million from the Olav Thon Foundation to develop a high-arctic, interdisciplinary field laboratory for research and teaching.
Dialogue Café: Communication between science and Longyearbyen local community
3 December 2018
On Thursday 6 December we invite the public to an open dialogue café where scientists and local actors discuss societal challenges and possibilities in the ongoing climate change. The dialogue café will take place in “Møysalen” at UNIS 15:30–18:00.
Stories from Rijpfjorden 5: On the way in (and out) of Rijpfjorden
5 November 2018
When Captain Albertsen from Tromsø slowly sailed into Rijpfjorden on 3 September 1945 to pick up the last of armed German soldiers in Europe, he had no idea of what was expecting him. Perhaps the fjord was full of fissured and half-melted drift ice as he headed south to the inner part of Rijpfjorden. That was the sight I met the first time I was in Rijpfjorden in September 2004. At that time I did not know how important Rijpfjorden would turn out to be for me, both as a researcher and as an individual.
Stories from Rijpfjorden 4: On mine kibbles, sea ice and food chains
2 November 2018
Sea ice and snow reflect and absorb effectively up to 99% of all light, which in turn helps regulate the start and length of the algal bloom in the ocean below. This usually results in short and intense blooms when the sea ice melts. Arctic species show adaptations to such a production regime, usually because they are able to eat and put on a lot of weight in the short periods where there is food access, and then live on stored fat in meager times. But what’s that got to do with the kibble used for coal transportation in Longyearbyen in the past?
Stories from Rijpfjorden 3: Monster!
30 October 2018
Fortunately, it is no bigger than 5–6 cm; otherwise it would have been a really scary sight. It is found mostly throughout the whole Arctic, and is a species we count as an indicator of cold water masses. And for all the smaller organisms, such as Calanus finmarchicus and Calanus glacialis, it is a ferocious monster!
Stories from Rijpfjorden 2: A time witness from a bygone era
18 September 2018
Rijpfjorden not only holds a very special place in the story of how the weather station Haudegen housed the last armed German soldiers towards the end of World War II. It is also home to a much older and equally important story – a story that stretches several thousand years back in time and has not yet been really told. This is a story told by the “cod lake” (Torskevatnet).
Stories from Rijpfjorden 1: A unique place of great importance to our understanding of the Arctic
13 September 2018
Rijpfjorden is a unique place. On 4 September 1945, the last armed German soldiers in Europe surrendered there. 6000 years ago, blue mussels grew on the shore, and in the 1990s cod was caught in a lake that has since been called the “cod lake”. And since 2006 we have used Rijpfjorden as a large and natural climate laboratory.