Funded Projects: First Call (2024)
List of Projects Funded by POLARIN's 2024 Call
Acronym
Project Summary
Leader Name
Organization
Country
RIs
Implementation period
BlueCFjords
The global ocean is a major sink for atmospheric CO2, and fjords, despite covering only 0.1% of the ocean surface, account for 11% of global marine carbon burial. Rapid Arctic warming and glacier retreat threaten to diminish the CO2 sequestration efficiency of these fjords. Here, we aim to study carbon burial rates in Arctic fjords, focusing on how glacial meltwater affects carbon sequestration. We address two key questions: (1) reconstructing carbon burial rates over the past millennia in response to glacial meltwater fluctuations using sediment cores from four different glacier-fjord configurations, and (2) quantifying current CO2 storage through geophysical surveys of fjord sediments. By integrating sedimentological and geophysical data, this research will improve existing carbon budgets and offer new insights into the long-term role of Arctic fjords in the global carbon cycle. The outcomes will enhance understanding of blue carbon dynamics in a rapidly changing climate, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals on climate action and marine conservation. This highly collaborative project will boost the exchange of expertise with leading institutions such as the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (CU Boulder, USA), the Arctic University of Norway, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (Boulder, USA), Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ, Belgium), the University of South Florida (USA), and GEOPS of Paris-Saclay University (France). We anticipate submitting our manuscripts to high quality journals, including Climate of the Past, Geophysical Research Letters, Earth and Planetary Science Letters and Geology.
Matthias Troch
Department of Geology, Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Ghent University
BE
RV Celtic Explorer
06/02/2026 – 29/09/2027
BIPOLAR
Earth’s polar regions are warming at unprecedented rates. However, little is known about the trends of cryptogam species (lichens and bryophytes), which are essential for ecosystem function, despite expectations that these can be seriously affected by climate change. BIPOLAR aims to quantify the potential for adaptation to climate change of bipolar cryptogams found both in the Arctic and Antarctica. We will employ a holistic and multidisciplinary approach comprising three different work packages, each with a distinct taxonomic and geographic focus (from the specific-specific to the regional and biome scales) and scientific approach (ecological and physiological). Here, we will quantify bipolar cryptogams’ climatic niches (WP1), provide a better understanding of physiological acclimation of cryptogams (WP2), and untangle the effects of climate change on cryptogams’ relationship with ecosystem functioning (WP3). Overall, BIPOLAR will establish a baseline for bipolar cryptogam climatic niches in order to better predict their future changes and effects on ecosystems, provide a foundation for Antarctic conservation and management plans, and strengthen currently fragmented Arctic and Antarctic research links.
Mariana García Criado
Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)
ES
Kilpisjärvi Biological Station, Pallas-Sodankylä Atmosphere-Ecosystem Supersite, Professor Julio Escudero Station
16/07/2025 – 31/03/2026
Pro-Carbon
Rapid warming over the last decades had led to the reduction of Arctic Ocean sea ice area and thickness, which led to increased primary production and changes in phytoplankton community structure toward smaller organisms. The main goal of the project is to determine set of empirical relationships between selected essential biogeochemical variables such as the concentrations of chlorophyll-a, nitrates, particulate and dissolved organic carbon and inherent/apparent optical properties in the Fram Strait which is divided by Polar Front separating Atlantic Water (east side) from the Polar Water (west side). Collected data will be used for the estimation biogeochemical variables from apparent optical properties (AOPs) and measured IOPs and for the development of regionally optimized ocean color remote sensing algorithms. Algorithms could be used to extend spatial distribution of biogeochemical variables based on AOPs measured in situ and from satellites, as well as asses their dynamic on temporal and vertical scales using autonomous measurements platforms e.g. ARGO floats. Field work will be undertaken in summer months of 2025 and 2026 onboard of Norwegian research ships r/v Kronprins Haakon. We will conduct instrumental in situ measurements of physical and chemical characteristics of water column and IOPs. Simultaneously, spectral and hyperspectral radiometric measurements will be conducted with use of profiling and floating radiometer. Radiometric data will be analyzed together with in situ measured and water samples and IOPs to develop regionally validated algorithms for retrieval of concentrations of chlorophyll-a, IOPs and concentrations of optically significant seawater constituents and the phytoplankton community structure. Developed algorithms will be applied to satellite products from various satellite missions.
Piotr Kowalczuk
Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences
PL
RV Kronprins Haakon
11/08/2025 – 27/08/2025
DENIIS
Iceland is situated at the interface of major components of the North Atlantic oceanic and atmospheric climate system and is highly sensitive to changes in these. Records of past changes in Icelandic ice masses are ideal for better understanding climate variability in the North Atlantic. However, empirical data constraining the ice sheet’s retreat, and high-resolution paleoclimate records coincident with this retreat, are missing. The DENIIS field campaign will gather all data and samples to produce the first robustly dated off to onshore reconstruction of the retreat of the Icelandic Ice Sheet in East and Northeast Iceland. These data will also be used to produce paleoclimatic reconstructions which will help to understand the exact controls on this retreat, and the impact of ice sheet melt on water column structure, marine primary production, and carbon storage.
Timothy Lane
Aarhus University
DK
Rif Field Station, RV Árni Friðriksson
08/10/2026 – 09/11/2026
ArCoFun
Parasitism, particularly among fungi, plays a critical but often overlooked role in ecosystem dynamics. Chytrids, a group of zoosporic true fungi, are ubiquitous and have often been found infecting diatoms. This is particularly important in the Arctic, where microphytobenthic communities, dominated by diatoms, represent key primary producers that support Arctic food webs. Chytrids can suppress algal blooms, influence species competition, alter food web dynamics, and enhance nutrient cycling. These interactions are essential in the Arctic, where changes in temperature due to climate change could increase chytrid activity, potentially reshaping food web structures and affecting carbon cycling. The specific aim of this research project is to fill in the gap in knowledge regarding parasitic chytrids in the Arctic, where data is scarce and very little is known about their diversity, distribution, and ecological roles. Main objectives include: O1) determining occurrence and diversity of parasitic chytrids on benthic microalgae in shallow coastal waters of Alaska, O2) determining host-parasite dynamics during algal summer blooms and how presence of chytrid infections influence bloom progression and alter food web dynamics, specifically carbon turnover, and O3) establishing the first Arctic host-chytrid model system, providing a foundation for future studies on the biology, adaptations, and resilience of these organisms under controlled laboratory conditions.
Doris Ilicic
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB)
DE
Barrow Arctic Research Center
28/06/2026 – 15/07/2026
ENCHANT II
Over the last century, the Arctic has experienced warming, and since 1979 at a rate four times faster than the global average. This has resulted in major impacts to Arctic ecosystems directly through changes in both their phenology and community structure, and indirectly through changes in hydrology as glaciers and permafrost dynamics alter. Lakes and their ecosystems are especially sensitive sentinels of such environmental changes, as they respond directly to climate change through changing heat budgets (affecting lake processes and nutrient dynamics) and indirectly to changing catchment stability, hydrology, vegetation and atmospheric deposition and hence, nutrient (e.g. nitrogen), sediment and pollutant flux (such as mercury and lead, which may impact biota and human health). The Arctic remains sparsely monitored but well-dated, high-resolution lake sediments in the ice-free margins of north-east Greenland (~81.5 °N) targeted by ENCHANT II provide an excellent archive of environmental and climate change, and offer a long-term perspective on lake-catchment dynamics that integrate changes over the lake-landscape system. ENCHANT II will collect long (~Holocene) records from a suit of lakes that will provide insight into key ecosystem functions and services, such as lake productivity and biodiversity, nutrient cycling, pollutant dynamics and carbon sequestration, critical for understanding environmental and climate change across the wider Arctic region.
David Ryves
Loughborough University
GB
Villum Research Station
22/04/2026 – 29/04/2026
FOCUS
Fjords of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) are highly biodiverse and productive environments, sensitive to climate change and glacier retreat. Carbon dioxide (CO2) fixed from the atmosphere by phytoplankton, stored by marine animals during their life cycles, and eventually, buried in seabed of Antarctic fjords, act as negative mitigation feedback on climate change. On average, 90% of AP glaciers are retreating. Glacial meltwater discharge has multiple and contrasting effects altering seawater and sediment properties. Freshwater runoff and suspended terrestrial materials, increase water column stratification while reducing salinity and light penetration. This modifies marine phytoplankton composition and dynamics, which impacts on productivity, nutritional quality of food resources and the fluxes of organic and inorganic particles to the seafloor. Ultimately, these cascade effects may alter the performance of Antarctic fjords as climate regulators through long-term carbon burial and sequestration. Lithogenic inputs versus in situ marine production, degradation against preservation of particles during sinking, and their final fate in marine waters and sediments remain unconstrained, even being essential to understand the factors that can sustain and/or stress life in Antarctic fjords, under current warming conditions. This study aims to compare the sediment trophic status and degradation state of particulate organic carbon (POC), suspended at different depths in the water column and deposited on bottom sediments across three Antarctic fjords in the northern AP, under different regimes of glacial melting and retreat. Using biochemical proxies such as phytopigments, total lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and amino acids, bulk organic geochemistry, stable isotopes, major and trace elements, this study will provide insights into POC sources, pre- and post-depositional features and alterations, the organic load of bottom sediments and climate sensitivity of Antarctic fjords.
Natalia Venturini
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República
UY
MV Le Commandant Charcot
20/12/2025 – 03/01/2026
DROP
The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average, causing large-scale ecological changes, such as altered plant communities, increased productivity, and permafrost thaw. These shifts impact ecosystem carbon dynamics and, as most plant biomass and production in arctic tundra is belowground, roots play a crucial role. However, roots are challenging to observe and thus understudied, despite their distinct and significant responses to climate change. More research on root dynamics is essential to understand carbon-climate feedbacks from thawing permafrost.
Gesche Blume-Werry
Umeå University
SE
Toolik Field Station
01/07/2025 – 31/08/2025
SCOOP
Glaciers are experiencing unprecedented, accelerating melting and retreat due to climate warming. This has led to an increase in glacier discharge, which supplies freshwater and bioavailable dissolved organic matter (DOM) and nitrogen (N) to vulnerable fjord ecosystems. However, the sources of bioavailable DOM in glacial runoff, and how these will be impacted by the up-glacier migration of snow lines, remain unknown. In addition, potential inputs of bioavailable DOM and N leached from proglacial soils that develop when new terrain is exposed as a result of glacier retreat have not been quantified, limiting our understanding of controls on the flux of bioavailable DOM and N from glacierized catchments. To address these knowledge gaps, we aim to constrain sources of bioavailable OM and N along glacial-proglacial-fjord flow paths and estimate changes in OM and N delivery to fjords as a result of glacier retreat. Specifically, we will determine the concentration and composition of DOM and N sourced from atmospheric deposition, supraglacial particulates, subglacial discharge and proglacial soils of two glaciers near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. We will employ bulk and molecular level analyses to quantify the concentration of dissolved and particulate total and organic carbon and N, the concentrations of nitrate and ammonium, and the composition of DOM. Furthermore, we will determine the bioavailability of DOM and N to the recipient downstream ecosystem by incubating water samples from supraglacial and proglacial ecosystems, and leachates sourced from aeolian or supraglacial particulates and proglacial soils with a fjord microbial inoculum. Our data will reveal the sources of bioavailable DOM and N in glacier runoff of land-terminating High Arctic glaciers. This will advance our understanding of how the supply of bioavailable DOM and N in glacier runoff will change in response to the up-glacier migration of snowlines and continued glacier retreat in a warming climate.
Eva Doting
University of Pennsylvania
US
UK Arctic Research Station
05/08/2025 – 19/08/2025
DORMANT
Microbes have coped with and even thrived during major global environmental changes throughout Earth’s history. Microbes can use dormancy – a temporary state of reduced metabolic activity, as a strategy to survive unfavourable conditions and stresses. However, we lack fundamental knowledge on dormancy, its prevalence, regulation and effects on the Earth system. We hypothesize that dormancy is critical in polar environments. Antarctica is the most important place to study dormancy because here microbes must survive extreme conditions that are unmatched anywhere else on Earth. The goal of this research is to understand how dormancy is used by microbes to tolerate and excel across Antarctica’s extreme frozen cryosphere. We will measure the prevalence of microbial dormancy and reveal its role for survival and regulating ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. This work will foster interdisciplinary collaborations across biological and geological sciences, advance public knowledge, and be used as a vehicle for education and outreach.
James Bradley
Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography
FR
Mario Zucchelli Station
10/01/2026 – 30/01/2026
IceVar
In recent decades, Arctic sea ice has significantly thinned, shrunk, and become younger. Additionally, the structural properties of the sea ice have changed, including leads, melt ponds, and pressure ridges – often overlooked features but vital biological hotspots. As climate change continues, these sea-ice types, providing a unique habitat, especially for ice algae, are expected to undergo further transformations. The IceVar project will examine impact of the structural properties of sea ice on its biodiversity and primary productivity. Our first objective is collect data on sea ice properties and evolution during late summer season to better quantify change of Arctic sea ice. An other objective is to examine impact of sea ice physical variability on sea ice biological productivity. In order to achieve that ambitious goal, we propose systematic and concurrent measurements on sea ice and snow thickness, lead fraction, melt ponds and primary production during the expeditions from Marginal Ice Edge to high Arctic Ocean.
Jari Haapala
Finnish Meteorological Institute
FI
MV Le Commandant Charcot
13/07/2026 – 10/09/2026
BeNTHEC
The project investigates sediments as parts of nutrient cycling within fjords, specifically how the degree of glaciation of the fjord influences this cycling. While the dynamics within elemental cycling are increasingly studied within the marine water column, the interaction with and dynamics within sediments remain largely unknown. To increase the understanding of the ongoing dynamics, terrestrial endmembers of different degree of glaciation will be sampled, as well as the downstream terrestrial meltwater system. During transit to the station marine sampling will be carried out in addition to this. The aim of this sampling is to investigate the degree of glaciation as an environmental control factor on marine benthic nutrient cycling and with that see how climate change might impact benthic C, N and P dynamics. In order to gain insight into such spatial variations, water samples, glacial abrasion sediments, sediment cores and extracted pore waters will be analyzed for parameters providing information on nutrient sources, ability to transport from ice-to ocean, ability to transfer between sediments and waters, and availability to be taken up by organism.
Ricarda Runte
UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Department of Geosciences
NO
Polish Polar Station Hornsund
11/06/2025 – 08/09/2025
PODS
The Southern Ocean is a key player in the global climate system. At the same time, changes in the physical and biogeochemical environment due to ongoing climate change affect the entire Southern Ocean ecosystem. Quantification and prediction of these effects are hindered by a lack of process understanding. In PODS, we will collect observations of the physical and biogeochemical environment and top predator-driven impact on the marine system to develop mechanistic understanding of processes coupling upper ocean physics, biogeochemistry and ecosystems. We will combine state-of-the-art methodological approaches with new developments across disciplines to support new estimate of the impact of climatic drivers on upper ocean dynamics, whale feeding behaviour and implications for nutrient and carbon cycling. The study region will be located on the western South Orkney Plateau, characterised by complex bathymetry, seasonal sea ice cover and a highly dynamic ocean between the northern edge of the Weddell Gyre and the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Environmental conditions create a hotspot for biological productivity and large aggregations of Antarctic krill and marine predators, including recovering and growing baleen whale populations. Additionally, the northwestern South Orkney Plateau attracts increasing fisheries for Antarctic krill. Data and results obtained during PODS are therefore highly relevant for improved process understanding of climate and ecosystem dynamics, assessment of potential impacts of climate change, and implementation of a sustainable, ecosystem-based management of human activities in the region.
Angelika Renner
Institute of Marine Research
NO
RV Hesperides
02/01/2027 – 24/03/2027
PathoPast
Antarctic wildlife is under threat from emerging disease. However, we know very little about the current and past occurrence of microbial pathogens in Antarctic fauna at a population scale. The lack of data makes it difficult to predict the impact of emerging diseases in Antarctica today. We propose that ancient penguin guano deposits represent a novel and untapped genetic archive of ancient microbes which can facilitate the study of historic Antarctic pathogens. Such deposits can be found in Antarctic lake sediments. We will use metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing to comprehensively characterise associated microbiomes from lake sediment cores collected on Ardley Island. We will use ancient nucleic acid techniques to ensure the recovery and authentication of ancient sequences from these samples. The identification of guano-rich phases will be achieved using geochemical analyses. Synthesis of these data will help build the first long-term record of historical Antarctic avian pathogens.
Alexander Williams
The University of Hong Kong
HK
Professor Julio Escudero Station
02/03/2026 – 12/03/2026
HoBoPolar
HoBoPolar is testing recently introduced hypothesis that light-sensitive microbes assist hybridization, and thus, plant adaptions in the extreme polar light environments. Our research builds on extensive collections of plants and their microbes from both Antarctica and the Arctic. The model plant (Deschampsia alpina) and plant associated microbe samples from Ny-Ålesund Research Station – Sverdrup (Svalbard/Norway) area will expand the geographic coverage of the microbiota and plant collections across the latitudes in the Arctic. The Station is ideally located, because compared to other parts of the Arctic, corresponding climatic zones are present at higher latitudes in Western Europe owing to Gulf Stream effects. Furthermore, D. alpina populations in vicinity of Ny-Ålesund have been extensively mapped, which quarantine the success of the field collections. Our research aims to 1) advance understanding of plant-microbe interactions and the role of microbes and hybridization in plant invasions, 2) uncover new microbial functions related to plants while expanding the focus from temperature to light, and 3) generate new testable hypotheses and tools to improve research strategies aiming to understand global biodiversity and its responses to environmental changes.
Kari Saikkonen
University of Turku
FI
Ny-Ålesund Research Station – Sverdrup
04/08/2025 – 15/08/2025
FLAIR
FLAIR investigates interactions between fluid dynamics, seafloor morphology, and benthic habitats off the Western Antarctic Peninsula in the context of climate-driven change. This hydrogeologically complex and warming-sensitive region, which includes the Bransfield Basin and South Shetland Islands, contains underexplored fluid flow systems. The project aims to characterise fluid sources, migration pathways, and their influence on seafloor morphology and chemosynthetic communities. Geophysical surveying with single- and multibeam echosounders, sub-bottom profiler, and controlled-source electromagnetic equipment will map the seafloor, pinpoint seepage zones, and identify fluid reservoirs. A remotely operated vehicle with cameras, CTD sensors, and water samplers will document chemosynthetic communities and collect water samples for fluid composition and seepage rate analysis. Sediment coring will allow porewater extraction and geochemical analyses, while isotope dating will help establish sediment deposition and seepage timelines linked to glacial cycles and ice dynamics. This project will provide critical data on climate-driven seafloor changes, advancing understanding of climate feedback mechanisms and supporting long-term impact assessments. This will offer insights into greenhouse gas fluxes from polar regions, feedback mechanisms tied to groundwater flow, ecosystem responses to environmental changes, and long-term climate variability.
Aaron Micallef
MBARI
US
RV Hesperides
06/01/2026 – 14/01/2026
USNA-PL
Vegetation growth in tundra regions is limited by soil nutrient availability, and nutrient availability is affected by the soil physical environment. The soil physical environment is sensitive to climatic conditions and will be affected by a warming climate. To accurately model how vegetation cover in tundra regions will change it will be necessary to predict changes in nutrient availability. Currently, the main limitation to doing this is limited understanding of how nutrient availability in tundra regions varies spatially. Vegetation cover and microtopography affect the soil physical environment and are likely to be particularly important in determining nutrient availability. This project will address this challenge by quantifying soil nutrient availability across local and landscape scales using an innovative combination of plot-based measurements and landscape scale drone remote sensing. The aims of this project are to 1) understand how small-scale variations in soil and vegetation cover affect the availability of nutrients to plants and; 2) to scale-up small-scale observations so we can map nutrient availability in detail at a landscape (hectare-) scale. To achieve these aims the project has two objectives. First, to make detailed measurements of soil temperature, soil moisture and available nutrients in different topographic/vegetation settings over the majority of a growing season. These measurements would take place in Kilpisjärvi in Finland. Second, we will use drones to map these same areas at high resolution and build digital models of the land surface. These models will be used to map vegetation cover and nutrient availability at a landscape scale. This project is an essential step to improve our estimates of the response of tundra ecosystems to future climate change by increasing our understanding of how nutrient availability varies in tundra soils at landscape scales. This will develop the basis for future land surface modelling exercises.
Richard Streeter
University of St Andrews
GB
Kilpisjärvi Biological Station
01/07/2025 – 08/07/2025
ARC-LINK
Arctic carbon (C) cycling is undergoing rapid transformation as the region warms four times faster than the global average. Glacial retreat and permafrost thaw expose landscapes to new vegetation, hydrology, and erosion processes, altering C fluxes across terrestrial and aquatic systems. However, the proportions of different C species transported to streams is poorly quantified and they are rarely linked to vertical CO2 and CH4 fluxes across the landscape. We propose to couple terrestrial and aquatic C fluxes at high spatial resolution in the Zackenberg Catchment, Greenland. This information will be crucial to informing climate models and understanding how these fragile ecosystems may change in the future.
Cheristy Jones
University of New Hampshire
US
Zackenberg Research Station
29/07/2025 – 15/08/2025
ROBIN
Biodiversity, a critical determinant of ecosystem stability and function, is shaped by the interactions among species. How these biological interactions affect species’ distributions, genetic structure, and functions is poorly known. Here, we propose to dissect the diversity and biotic interactions of insect pollinators in different areas of Greenland. Specifically, we aim to reconstruct pollinator taxonomic and genetic diversity and distribution, as well as the diversity and distribution of their microbial symbionts, parasites, and pathogens, across three areas of Greenland. Further, we aim to evaluate the roles of microbial symbionts in insect local adaptation and their interactions with other organisms. We will do this by systematically sampling insect pollinator communities, emphasizing hoverflies, from flowering plants in three areas of Greenland. Insects will subsequently be used for laboratory analyses through host and microbial marker gene and metagenomic sequencing-based techniques. This work will substantially contribute to the understanding of pollinator and their microbiota diversity and distribution in Greenland, at different spatial scales. It will also improve knowledge of the drivers of these distributions and their significance for ecosystems facing climate change.
Diana Laura Rojas Guerrero
Jagiellonian University
PL
Arctic Station, The DMI Geophysical Observatory Qaanaaq, Zackenberg Research Station
29/06/2025 – 25/07/2025
NICE
Arctic lakes are some of the most extreme and pristine freshwater environments on Earth, with their seasonal ice cover hosting unexpectedly abundant microbial communities that may play key roles in nitrogen cycling and other biogeochemical processes. As climate change accelerates the reduction of ice cover duration and thickness, understanding how these microbial communities adapt to changing conditions is crucial for predicting the broader ecological impacts of global warming. This project aims to characterize the distinct environment created by the ice cover in Arctic lakes, focusing on its role on the development of a specific microbiome and uncovering the adaptive strategies of ice-associated bacteria. Our research will involve environmental monitoring, physiological assays, and metagenomic sequencing to track fine-scale patterns of microbial growth and metabolic activity within the ice-water interface. We will sample different sections of the ice cover, water column, and bioaerosols to capture spatial and temporal dynamics in microbial community composition and function. Additionally, we will focus on nitrogen cycling processes, investigating how microbial activity drives key transformations such as nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification. By comparing results from two lakes in West Greenland and resolving lake-specific differences, we will gain valuable insights into how local environmental conditions influence microbial-driven biogeochemical processes. The project will be conducted over a three-week field campaign in the month of June at the Arctic Station (Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland), with its proximity to the study lakes enabling efficient sample collection and monitoring. Ultimately, this research will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the interactions between ice cover, microbial communities, and ecosystem functioning, helping to refine predictions of Arctic lake responses to climate change.
Anna Carratala Ripolles
EPFL
CH
Arctic Station
02/06/2025 – 16/06/2025
MOSQUITO
Global change is rapidly transforming the interplay between wild animals, pathogens and humans. This causes new transmission routes, altered epidemiology and the risk of new disease. The Arctic epitomises such changes. To understand these changes, studying viruses alone is not enough. The interplay between mosquito hosts, their viromes, and the hosts and predators of mosquitoes constitutes an intricate ecological network. It is only by studying this network that we can predict how global change will affect the transmission routes of diseases in the future. Given generally low human population densities in this region, the main source of blood meals for bloodsucking insect vectors are mammals other than humans and birds. Insect vector dynamics are then dependent on a system extending way beyond human-vector interactions, effectively illustrating the topical OneHealth concept. Despite the importance of understanding this network, the links between insect vectors and other parts of the ecosystem are poorly known. In this project, we will use Greenland as a model system to i) examine the full virome of mosquitoes, ii) resolve the spatial and temporal dynamics of mosquito populations and their viromes, iii) relate such dynamics to their biotic and abiotic drivers, and iv) apply the resulting knowledge to assess and predict changes in virus transmission pathways in a changing Arctic.
Essi Korhonen
University of Helsinki
FI
Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
01/07/2025 – 08/07/2025
NYRSTERT
The NYRSTERT project focuses on assessing the effects of climate change on permafrost by conducting repeated geophysical investigations on various permafrost landforms near Ny-Ålesund, Northwestern Svalbard, initially studied in the 1990s. By replicating measurements from 1992 and 1993 using both original and modern geophysical equipment, this research will produce 1D and 2D geoelectrical profiles of ground resistivity and seismic profiles to analyze ground seismic velocities. These investigations, performed on rock glaciers, an ice-cored moraine, and sorted circles near Brøggerbreen, Stuphallet, and Mørebreen, will take place in August 2025. The resulting geophysical profiles will provide valuable insights into changes in permafrost conditions, including shifts in ground ice content and active layer thickness over the past 33 years. This collaborative effort between the University of Oslo and the University of Fribourg aims to monitor Arctic permafrost evolution and draw comparisons with permafrost dynamics in European mountain regions.
Martin Hoelzle
University of Fribourg
CH
Ny-Ålesund Research Station – Sverdrup
14/08/2025 – 02/09/2025
ARCTICOLLAB
At Arctic science conferences, there are few terms Arctic researchers use more than ‘collaboration’. The challenges of conducting research in the Arctic, an unforgiving, strategic, and rapidly warming region that is home to many and also far from large centres, require diverse collaborations. Despite the centrality of collaboration in Arctic research, meanings and practices of collaboration lack critical engagement. In this project, I will follow the collaborations fostered to carry out scientific research at the Abisko Scientific Research Station, whether that be between multi-disciplinary researchers, reindeer herders, local communities, politicians, tourists, artists, and national institutions. Following these collaborations will make it possible to look at how collaborations condition scientific practices, what influences the nature of collaborations, the hegemony of some perspectives on the environment over others, how collaborations are perceived by those involved, and how collaborations and all the complexities they come with transform into research outputs. Moreover, this project examines how the changing Arctic environment influences collaborations.
Hanna Oosterveen
University of Manchester
GB
Abisko Scientific Research Station
02/05/2025 – 02/08/2025
PIONER
Understanding the response of the East Antarctic ice sheet to ocean-climate warming is one of the top research priorities in polar research and climate science. Despite its potential to raise global sea levels by 3-4 m and its impact on the global ocean circulation, the ice sheet dynamics in the Wilkes Subglacial Basin remain poorly explored. Large knowledge gaps about the bathymetry and ocean circulation in the George V Land margin hamper a broader understanding of ice sheet vulnerability to on-going and projected climatic change. PIONER will fill these gaps by collecting new hydrographic, geophysical and geological data to provide present and past ocean-ice-bathymetry interactions, ice sheet dynamics and stability over the last climate cycles. Our findings will also be essential for supporting a new IODP-ICDP Land-to-Sea proposal in the Cook-Ninnis sector but will provide standalone results that can be used to validate ocean-ice sheet model simulations and reduce uncertainties in future sea level projections. PIONER involves a highly qualified team of early and senior career scientists, with complementary skills to study both the local geological and oceanographic conditions and their connections to global climate dynamics.
Dimitrios Evangelinos
Imperial College London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering
GB
RVIB Laura Bassi
01/12/2026 – 31/03/2027
AEAD
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible and progressive neurodegenerative disorder that remains incurable, with current treatments merely ameliorating symptoms. The project aims to contribute to the field of neurodegenerative drug discovery by exploring the neuroprotective chemical space of fungi isolated from sub-Arctic environments. These fungi are a largely untapped source of chemical diversity, especially considering their adaptation to extreme environments, which suggests a potential to produce unique secondary metabolites. In addition to investigating neuroprotective properties, the project aims to discover new Arctic fungal species, expanding our understanding of fungal biodiversity in these extreme regions. The project proposes to investigate the neuroprotective properties of these fungi, focusing particularly on strains from the order Russulales, genus Pseudeutorium, and other unknown or novel fungal species, all of which have demonstrated promising neuroprotective activity. Unlike traditional single-target strategies, the project aims to identify compounds that can modulate multiple pathways, thereby advancing the concept of multi-target-directed ligands as a promising approach for AD treatment. The Abisko Research Station is ideal for fungal discovery due to its unique aub-Arctic environment, hosting diverse fungi adapted to extreme conditions. These ecosystems foster fungi with novel metabolic pathways, offering potential for groundbreaking applications in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. Its robust infrastructure and collaborative research opportunities further enhance its appeal.
Jaime Roberto Cabrera-Pardo
Roseman University of Health Sciences
US
Abisko Scientific Research Station
01/06/2026 – 30/09/2026
TWILIGHT
The TWILIGHT project explores the diversity and ecology of fungi and protists in oxygen-depleted and anoxic freshwater environments in the Arctic. Complex eukaryotic life depends on oxygen. However, some protists and fungi have evolved metabolisms that allow them to grow under oxygen-depleted andto anoxic conditions in sediments and water. These microbial eukaryotes use fermentation metabolism and some have parasitic life-styles or grow in close symbiosis with bacteria and aarcheaea. These microbial eukaryotes, play likely also critical roles in polar ecosystems by driving nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and interactions with prokaryotic communities. Thermokarst ponds and lakes, formed by permafrost thaw, are hotspots of methane emissions. This project addresses critical gaps in understanding microbial eukaryotes’ contributions to Arctic and global biogeochemical cycles. TWILIGHT will go beyond taxonomic assessments to investigate metabolic capacity and evolutionary relationships from uncultured protists and fungi directly from environmental samples. Innovative techniques such as deep short and long read sequencing and metagenome-assembled genomes will enable detailed analyses of metabolic pathways and genes linked to adaptation. Fieldwork at the Barrow Arctic Research Center will involve collecting and preserving water, sediment, and DNA/RNA samples to ensure robust molecular data. Environmental parameters such as oxygen, pH, temperature, and nutrient and ion concentrations will also be measured. By generating the first comprehensive genomic insights into microbial eukaryotes in oxygen-depleted and anoxic Arctic freshwater, this research will advance knowledge of their roles in carbon and nitrogen cycling linked to green house gas production and adaptation to anoxic conditions. The findings will inform climate models, biodiversity conservation, and public awareness of Arctic ecosystems under climate change.
Anne D. Jungblut
Natural History Museum
GB
Barrow Arctic Research Center
07/08/2025 – 21/08/2025
PROMETHEUS
Atmospheric methane (CH4) is a strong absorber of thermal infrared radiation. Up to about half of total emissions (572-896 Tg yr−1) can be attributed to natural sources, yet estimates of natural methane emissions remain bounded by large uncertainties (194-489 Tg yr−1), with growing concerns about projected increased emissions from high latitudes. Recent studies have also identified glaciers and ice-sheets across the Arctic as significant methane sources, with the methane being either biogenic or thermogenic in origin. However, these glacial systems are not included in global methane budgets due to limitation of the data. Currently, most methane is attributed to wetlands and freshwater systems, whereof newly deglaciated environments and proglacial lakes are seen as low contributors of methane emissions. Small lakes (< 10 km2) cover half of the total area of surface water in pan-Arctic environments with a higher methane signature compared to larger lakes. However, recent findings from Southwest Greenland indicate that glacier-fed lakes there have high methane ebullition fluxes. This could possibly be induced by influence of subglacial environments. The PROMETHEUS project aims to explore these dynamic proglacial environments and their impact on the carbon cycle, focusing on how glacial meltwater and sediments affect methane signatures in lakes. This research could address significant gaps in current methane databases and extend our understanding of methane contributions from glacial-fed lakes and possibly subglacial systems globally. Current data is predominantly from Southwestern Greenland, creating a geographical bias. The project plans to expand research to Northeastern and Eastern Greenland, utilizing the Zackenberg and Sermilik research stations. These areas will help provide insights into the effects of various factors that control proglacial development and lake biogeochemistry with the aim to investigate how these emerging environments evolve over time.
Joost Martijn van Genuchten
The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)
NO
Zackenberg Research Station, Sermilik Station
13/08/2026 – 24/08/2026
REEF
Benthic primary producers along Arctic rocky shores, such as brown macroalgae, provide the basis for higher trophic levels, are a major sink of carbon and in some cases are also crucial for local livelihoods and food provision. Currently, the Arctic environment is changing at an unprecedented rate, threatening high-Arctic coastal ecosystems and consequently cryophilic species. With our study we aim to characterise the high-Arctic macroalgal species community that has been less influenced by atlantification and warming yet. Villum Research Station offers an ideal and unique location for the first characterisation and potential following assessments. To achieve this goal, our study consists of three main tasks:
1. Biodiversity assessment of the intertidal macroalgal community
2. Biodiversity assessment of the subtidal macroalgal community
3. Collection of habitat-forming macroalgae for physiological and biochemical characterisation
The findings of our study will facilitate understanding of present-day spatial variability as well as near future temporal changes. Given the rate of change, it is crucial to the success of this study to be realised before the high-Arctic species community has changed. Increasing our knowledge on drivers for Arctic macroalgal dynamics will help to detect critical thresholds in Arctic coastal ecosystem succession. This contributes to improving and establishing sustainable livelihood possibilities and future local management plans, as well as climate change mitigation measures.
Kai Bischof
University of Bremen – Marine Botany
DE
Villum Research Station
05/08/2025 – 19/08/2025
TEMPNET
Natural communities can be conceptualized as webs of interactions, with species as nodes and interactions as links. Little attention has been given to the fact that most elements within such networks are temperature-dependent, and that with ongoing climate warming, they are subject to change. Our team is dedicated to developing the conceptual framework required to address such change. In brief, we are formalizing the temperature-dependence of ecological interaction networks into mathematical models. With the POLARIN application, we aim to apply and parameterize the theoretical framework to an empirical model system: arctic networks subject to severe temperature limitations. In other words, we characterize the occurrence of node and links in arctic networks by their temperature response functions. This is implemented as i) observations of species interaction frequencies under ambient conditions, ii) ecophysiological experiments aimed at quantifying species performance under controlled temperature conditions, and iii) mesocosm experiments targeting species interactions under experimentally elevated vs. ambient conditions. Ultimately, the project will yield a conceptual framework for the benefit of both society and a large scientific community, essential for producing informed estimates of future changes in the arctic realm.
Patricia Kaye Dumandan
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
SE
Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Zackenberg Research Station
16/06/2025 – 20/06/2025
AMP’D
The Arctic is experiencing amplified climate change, leading to increased thawing of permafrost’s active layer. While it is known that thawed organic matter has the potential to be converted into greenhouse gases, the underlying mechanisms driving this transformation either after it thaws on land, or after it is later transported into nearby marine fjords, remain poorly understood. Here we propose to study expression by in situ microbes of the enzymes used to break down organic matter into greenhouse gases, and generate predictions about the efficacy of this process as permafrost thaws and remains on land, vs. after it is transported to nearby marine fjords. These powerful tools will allow us to directly describe the complicated mechanisms of organic carbon degradation affect thawing permafrost as it is transported around the Arctic.
Chukwufumnanya Abuah
University of Southern California
US
Arctic Station Dirigibile Italia
19/05/2025 – 30/05/2025
GLASS
The GLacier Algal Sampling Strategies (GLASS) project is a pioneering initiative designed to address fundamental gaps in understanding glacier algal bloom dynamics and their implications for Earth system processes. Conducted at Storglaciären, Sweden, during the 2025 ablation season, GLASS will produce the first spatially resolved datasets on glacier algal abundance across bloom states, using fine-scale sampling grids and advanced geostatistical approaches to quantify spatial heterogeneity. These efforts will inform best-practice methodologies for glacier algal bloom monitoring and enable the production of critical ground-truth datasets needed to calibrate and validate remote sensing products. By tackling a key barrier to upscaling cryospheric algal studies, GLASS will facilitate a global understanding of the role of glacier algae in carbon cycling, nutrient fluxes, and albedo-driven melt feedbacks, while contributing to the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the European Green Deal through the advancement of cryo-biodiversity knowledge and monitoring practices.
Christopher Williamson
University of Bristol
GB
Tarfala Research Station
07/07/2025 – 17/09/2025
ODISIMP
The objective of the proposed effort is to collect in situ measurements of physical, morphometric, optical, and radiometric properties of melt ponds and sea ice. In order to carry out this objective, we request four berths on the Norwegian icebreaker R/V Kronprins Haakon during the 35-day Arctic Ocean cruise in July-August 2026. The optical and radiometric data will be acquired using in situ-deployed field spectrometers and an imaging sensor aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle. The optical and radiometric data collected through this effort, in combination with the measurements of physical and thermodynamic properties of sea ice and melt ponds already scheduled to be collected by the research infrastructure (RI) operators, will produce a unique, comprehensive dataset of sea ice melt ponds that will be immensely valuable for modeling and remote sensing of sea ice and melt ponds.
Wesley Moses
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
US
RV Kronprins Haakon
02/07/2025 – 31/08/2025
HoPPD
Responding to rapid warming, Adélie penguins and chinstrap penguins in the West Antarctica have declined significantly, while gentoo penguins have increased, leading to the turnover of dominate species and redistribution of colonies. Remarkable fluctuations in penguin abundance associated with climatic and environmental changes during the Holocene. However, nearly all of the current long-term reconstructions of penguin populations of WAP were conducted on Ardley Island, with a serious lack of spatial and especially latitudinal coverage. In this project we plan to collect ornithogenic sediment cores/profiles from lakes/ponds or abandoned penguin nests in the area of (1) Baily Head and (2) Vapour Col, two of the largest penguin colonies on Deception Island. By radiocarbon dating, inorganic geochemistry (element contents) and eDNA (environmental DNA) analysis, we will reconstruct the past changes in penguin abundance and species composition, hopefully in the last thousand years. By analysing the trends of penguin population at different sites (e.g. Ardley Island vs. Deception Island), we will identify potential migrations or shifts in colony distribution. By comparing the changes in penguin abundance, dominant species, and colony distribution with regional climate and volcanic records, we will throw light on how these factors have affected penguin paleoecology in this hotspot area of WAP during the Holocene.
Yuesong Gao
Yunnan Normal University
CN
Spanish Antarctic Station “Gabriel de Castilla”
16/01/2026 – 31/01/2026
WhiteIce
The main goal of WhiteIce is to study the evolution of the “white ice” that forms at the surface of bare ice during the melting process. It forms during summer over the Arctic sea ice, where it is commonly called the “surface scattering layer” (SSL), and over bare, blue ice areas of glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves undergoing melting, where it is typically referred to as the “weathering crust”. As the name suggests, SSL looks white, due to its remarkably higher albedo compared to the bare blue ice from which it forms. The development of this layer has strong implications for the ice surface energy and mass budget and, in case of continental ice masses, for the meltwater runoff. However, the evolution of the SSL is so far not included in ice models because of lack of concurrent observations on ice microstructure and weather forcing. In WhiteIce, we will collect detailed, comprehensive measurements of the SSL that forms over the Antarctic Nansen Ice Shelf around the summer solstice, and we will combine them with observations from the marine (Arctic) SSL that we recently took during the MOSAiC experiment (2019-2020), to derive a prognostic scheme for the SSL valid for both marine and continental ice. We expect that the impact of this model development will be a significant improvement of the simulation of surface energy and mass budgets of marine and continental ice during melting.
Roberta Pirazzini
Finnish Meteorological Institute
FI
Mario Zucchelli Station
15/12/2025 – 15/01/2026
SuRViVAL
Human-driven climate change is warming high latitudes like nowhere else on Earth, thawing soils, exposing the ancient C reserve to today’s environment, and releasing ancient C to the atmosphere. Carbon release from aquatic bodies transfers the Arctic landscape from being a net-sink carbon to being a net-source of carbon. However, currently the controls on whether carbon is vulnerable to breakdown and release to the atmosphere from aquatic bodies are uncertain and not included in models provided to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (Candell et al., 2021). The aim of SuRViVAL is to determine how, where and when environmental conditions control SOC vulnerability to degradation in an Arctic streams. To deliver this aim, i) soil and stream waters will be collected along a source to sink transect in Stordalen catchment; ii) in-field parameters, inorganic parameters and organic parameters (organic carbon concentrations and composition) will be determined on soil and stream waters; iii) in-field data and samples will be collected along the source to sink transect during summer, autumn and winter months. This approach leverages the large body of research available on organic carbon vulnerability in Stordalen mire and goes beyond the state of the art in three dimensions: 1. The project builds on research output from Stordalen mire to inform on drivers of carbon vulnerability in streams; 2. The project assesses organic carbon vulnerability during different seasons corresponding to contrasting cryogenic and hydrological soil conditions; 3. The project combines inorganic and organic (+ isotope) geochemistry to assess organic carbon vulnerability.
Catherine Hirst
Durham University, UK
GB
Abisko Scientific Research Station
04/08/2025 – 12/04/2026
