Research infrastructure offered in 2019 call

SIOS offers funded access to research infrastructure owned by our members in and around Svalbard. The infrastructure available in the 2019 call is described below.

We encourage applicants to make contact with the access provider (contact details below) to discuss the requirements of their project before submitting their application. Questions may also be directed to the SIOS access and logistics officer

When contacting the access provider, please include, as a minimum, the following information:

  • Your name and affiliation.
  • The number of people in your group.
  • Details of your planned fieldwork (dates, location, type of environment, type of work). Please be as specific as possible.
  • The needs of your project, in terms of access, logistical support, equipment, data, other support from staff at the facility.
  • The level of experience and needs for safety training for the members of the group.

Hornsund

One room for 4 persons (including meals) is available to SIOS projects at the Stanisław Siedlecki Polish Polar Station throughout the year. The station is run by the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

See here (pdf),  https://hornsund.igf.edu.pl/about-the-station/  and https://eu-interact.org/field-sites/polish-polar-station-hornsund/ for more details about the station. 

Contact person: Station Manager - Włodzimierz Sielski (sielski@igf.edu.pl)

Photo: Christiane Hübner

Hopen and Bear Island

One person can be accomodated at Hopen for a longer time period. For a shorter period, up to three weeks, three persons can be accomodated at Hopen.

At Bear Island three persons can be accommodated for a longer time period.

The person(s) have to arrange and pay for transport themselves (but the Norwegian Meteorological Institute can give relevant information/guidance). Travel funding of up to 15 000 NOK is available from SIOS. Included in the price is accomodation and food, and use of the facilities available. It is not possible to offer a seperate office or a lab, but there is space for equipment of reasonable size. 

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute facilitates external institutions' needs for research related equipment and support on the islands. Cost recovery for electricity, internet connection, accomodation and man-hours for practical support is agreed for each case.

More details about Hopen: http://hopenmeteo.no/ and Bear Island: http://bjornoya.org/

Contact person: Thomas Olsen ( thomas.olsen@met.no)

Photo: John-Tore Rudborg, MET

Ny-Ålesund Research Station

Access to facilitites in Ny-Ålesund is offered by the Alfred Wegener Institute and French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor, who jointly run AWIPEV, by the National Research Council of Italy, who run Dirigible Italia, by the University of Groningen, who run the Netherlands Arctic Station and by the Norwegian Polar Institute, who run Sverdrup. You can find information about the research station as a whole in the Researchers Guide to Ny-Ålesund: http://nysmac.npolar.no/research/researchers-guide.html

AWIPEV offers:

  • Access to data: AWIPEV runs three observatories, for atmosphere, permafrost, and the Kongsfjord Under Water Observatory, see http://www.awipev.eu/awipev-observatories/ Data access to these observatories, including the cooperation with the respective Observatory PIs, could be provided through SIOS for online, as well as for archived data sets.
  • On site access to the observatories: Access to the observatory facilities in Ny-Ålesund can be made available for joined observational programmes with the respective PIs. We recommend that potential applicants contact Observatory PIs before submission of applications through the German AWIPEV Scientific Coordinator Roland Neuber  (contact details below).
  • General access to AWIPEV: AWIPEV may host up to two persons at a time in 2019 for SIOS projects. Hosting includes accommodation in double rooms with shared bathrooms, access to station facilities like offices, and general lab facilities. 
  • For more details about the station see https://eu-interact.org/field-sites/awipev-rabot/ and https://www.awipev.eu/
  • Contact person: Roland Neuber  (Roland.Neuber@awi.de)

Dirigible Italia offers:

Netherlands Arctic Station offers:

  • Since 1990, the University of Groningen in Ny-Alesund has collected longterm terrestrial datasets on breeding success, predation pressure, timing of breeding and timing of migration of individually ringed populations of barnacle geese (since 1990) and arctic terns (since 2006). We study vegetation change caused by herbivory in 5 exclosures erected in 2006, annual grass growth and we have a insect collection based on 4 pitfall traps in moss vegetation, sampled every other day. All these datasets are open for collaboration and we offer field support and space in our station for  specific experiments or studies during the summer period.

  • For more information see http://www.arcticstation.nl/

  • Contact person: Maarten Loonen (m.j.j.e.loonen@rug.nl)

Ny-Ålesund Research Station - Sverdrup offers:

Photo: Christiane Hübner

Longyearbyen

The Norwegian Polar Institute offers logistical services for fieldwork across the Arctic from its office in Longyearbyen. For more details see https://www.npolar.no/en/logistics/

Contact person: Geir Ove Aspnes (geir.ove.aspnes@npolar.no

The University Centre in Svalbard offers access to lab facilities, logistics and safety training in Longyearbyen. Safety training is also offered to projects that are planning to travel onwards to other parts of Svalbard. For more information see https://www.unis.no/resources/logistical-services/ and https://www.unis.no/resources/arctic-safety-centre/

Contact: UNIS logistics department (logistics@unis.no)

Photo: Christiane Hübner

Other access opportunities

Research cruise:

From 3 to 12 August 2020, the University of Groningen organises for the second time an ecological  terrestrial scientific expedition on board of a tourist vessel to Edgeøya and east Svalbard (http://www.sees.nl). During this expedition with 50 scientists and 50 tourists on board there is room for a few invitees but also the scientists on board can take specific samples for you in this remote area. Please contact the expedition team if you want to know more: seespits@gmail.com.

Drones:

SIOS has two quadrotor drones (Inspire 1 and Inspire 2) stationed in Longyearbyen that can be used with thermal camera, RGB camera or NDVI camera. The drones are operated by UNIS and NORCE and are part of SIOS-InfraNor. The drones can be flown up to 4 km away as long there is good direct line of sight, but this distance may have to be reduced according to environmental and radio noise conditions. Systems are field deployable with waterproof cases and can be transpoted by snowmobiles or small boats. Direct products are geotagged images or video. Derived products could be DEM, DSM, orthomaps, NDVI images or thermal maps. Cost per operation is pilot salaries, field travel cost, and operation planning clearance cost (NOTAM issuing, safety approval, airspace coordination), typically 8-10 KNOK for a full day of operation. If orthomaps or high accuracy geolocation is needed, use of Survey GPS and GCPs will be needed.

Contact person: Rune Storvold (rust@norceresearch.no)

Lufttransport Dornier DO228 aircraft:

NORCE is offering access to the Dornier DO228 operated by Lufttransport and stationed in Longyearbyen. This aircraft has been equipped with a NEO VNIR 1800 hyperspectral imager, a PhaseOne aerial camera and a high quality INS system as part of the SIOS-InfraNor project. The aircraft flies regular flights from Longyearbyen to Ny-Ålesund and Svea, as well as around 20 flights a year to Station Nord in Greenland. The aircraft is also available to charter.

Contact person: Rune Storvold (rust@norceresearch.no)

Photo: Rune Storvold