Program

• Monday 30 October

• 20:00

  Informal social gathering, Scandic Fornebu (own cost)

• Day 1: Tuesday 31 October

• 08:00

  Registration

• 09:00

  Opening Session

  Welcome + practical remarks by moderator (Ruth Astrid Sæter)
  Opening speeches:
  Mari Sundli Tveit (director of the Research Council of Norway)
  Camilla Brekke (director of the Norwegian Polar Institute)

• 09:30

  Session 1: Four times faster (Chairs: Harald Steen, Agata Zaborska)

  Recent publications show that the Arctic is warming faster than anticipated. The summer season is getting longer, the winter shorter, sea temperatures are on the rise, sea ice is disappearing, glaciers are melting, and the permafrost is thawing. Svalbard and its surrounding ocean may go into a spiral of changes that will drastically change the archipelago. Climate change is happening all over the Arctic. Svalbard may be unique in some respects and typical for the Arctic in others. When can Svalbard research help us understand the future of the Arctic system and when can it not? 

  1035, Kit M. Kovacs: Impact of climate change on marine mammals - a Svalbard update
  1032, Marzena Osuch: Hydrological response to changes in climatic conditions in the catchments of SW Spitsbergen
  1040, Janne E. Søreide: Loss of sea ice why should we care? Important feeding ground for larvae in spring
  1037, Steeve Comeau: Effects of multiple environmental drivers on Arctic kelp communities
  1041, Hans-Werner Jacobi: Artificial trends or real changes? Investigating precipitation records in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard
  

• 10:45

  Break

• 11:15

  Session 2: Svalbard and its Neighbours (Chairs: Marion Maturilli, Gijsbert Breedveld

  The Fram Strait, the region between Svalbard and Greenland, is a key region for meridional transport in ocean and atmosphere. The northward inflow of warm Atlantic water contributes to sea ice melting and is associated with heat release into the atmosphere. Sea ice export from the Central Arctic is happening through the Fram Strait, and cold polar water masses flow southwards along the East Greenland coast. Changing conditions in sea ice and water properties affect the overlying atmosphere, and consequently have an impact on the adjacent terrestrial and glacier environment.  
  
  3005, Søren Rysgaard: Bridging the Fram Strait - facilitating collaboration across the largest high Arctic climatic gradient making use of GIOS and SIOS
  3012, Harald Sodemann: Coordinated observations of the water cycle in marine cold-air outbreaks in the European Arctic during the ISLAS 2022 field campaign
  3009, Cheshtaa Chitkara: Seasonality in phytoplankton production and communities in three contrasting Arctic fjords in Svalbard, Norway and Greenland
  3015, Hanne Hvidtfeldt Christiansen: Permafrost thermal dynamics and climate change across the largest high Arctic climatic gradient from NE Greenland to     Svalbard

• 12:15

  Lunch

• 13:15

  Session 3: Earth System Science and Svalbard (Chairs: Lars Anders Breivik, Ilkka Matero)

  Svalbard is an excellent platform for Earth System Science focusing on the changing Arctic environment, to understand and predict the Arctic’s impact on climate change globally as well as extreme events regionally. Understanding the Earth System in and around Svalbard on process-and system levels requires empirical approaches (monitoring and experimental) and modelling. Integration and collaboration between these approaches is highly beneficial and is something that has been gaining traction in the previous years. 

  2015, Hanne Hvidtfeldt Christiansen: Developing the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System – SIOS
  2016, Malte Müller: Challenges in the description of sea-ice for a kilometer-scale weather forecasting system
  2041, Julia Lutz: Climate projections over Svalbard - a complementary approach 
  2059, Marit Reigstad: The Nansen Legacy – compiling results on the changing Arctic climate and ecosystem responses
  2054, Roberto Salzano: The impact of winter extreme events on the surface water runoff in a periglacial environment (Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen)
  2064, Yutaka Tobo: Annual cycle of aerosols capable of ice nucleation and its relationship with the climate system and terrestrial ecosystems in Svalbard
  2020, Anna Sjöblom: Svalbard as a showcase for renewable energy in the High Arctic using Earth System Science
  

• 15:00

  Break

• 15:30

  Session 4: How to bring it all together (Chairs: Harald Steen + Lars-Anders Breivik)

  45 min panel discussion (moderator Ruth Astrid Sæter)
  Participants: Søren Rysgaard (GIOS), Marit Reigstad (Nansen Legacy), Heikki Lihavainen (SIOS), Åshild Pedersen (COAT), Marianne Kroglund (Norwegian
  Environment Agency)

   

• 16:30

  Poster Session and mingling (Poster prize APECS)

• 19:00

  Dinner

• Day 2: Wednesday 1 November

• 09:00

  Parallel session 5a: Polar Ocean (Place: Atlantis 1) (Chairs: Harald Steen + Lars-Anders Breivik)

  The ocean is important in determining the local climate and we need to understand the inflow and outflow of water masses into and out of the Arctic Ocean to understand, explain and predict ecosystem responses, sea ice dynamics, local weather, sea ice extent and volume. There are many interactions, and some are poorly understood. Changes are often associated with detrimental effects, but they may also open new opportunities and challenges. 
  
  5118, Pedro Duarte: Marine primary production around Svalbard using high resolution modelling of the ocean, sea ice and marine biogeochemistry
  5102, Charlotte Havermans: Integrative pelagic studies for assessing diversity, distributions, trophic role and range shifts of jellyfish in Tomorrow’s Arctic Ocean
  5124, Maxime Geoffroy: Pelagic organisms avoid artificial light from scientific instruments
  5128, Raphaelle Descoteaux: Spatio-temporal variability in planktonic biodiversity of Svalbard coastal waters
  5105, Malin Daase: Physical and biological observations from Ice-tethered observatories (ITOs) in the Arctic

   

• 09:00

  Parallel session 5b: Toolbox (Place: Atlantis 2) (Chairs: Ilkka Matero + Kyle Mayers)

  Novel technologies can provide improvements to current ways of observing, enhancing the tools available to scientists and science communicators. It could be in terms of better coverage in space or time, or perhaps adding a previously unavailable dimension through using UAV-mounted instrumentation. Newly developed algorithms can improve analysis quality, and new modelling approaches can help better understand complex processes. Efficient data management is another aspect of science with several ongoing developments for both tools and practices on how to better produce, format, store and share data. New methods for both doing and communicating science are also rapidly changing how we as society engage with and understand polar environments (e.g., citizen science initiatives). 
  
  

  5231, Cathrine Lund Myhre: The Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS) and associated services with focus on relevance for Arctic region
  5223, Danielle Magann Grant: APECS Norwegian National Committee: Building a toolbox of resources for success in Polar Science
  5224, Louise Schmidt: Towards an interdisciplinary information platform displaying the state of the cryosphere on Svalbard
  5205, Are Frode Kvanum: Developing a deep learning forecasting system for short-term and high-resolution prediction of sea ice concentration
  5206, Stefaniya Kamenova: PIECEMEAL: Cracking the diet of the Svalbard reindeer by integrating old and modern tools
  5228, Ann Lennert: Knowing wide and deep: unleashing knowledge of environmental change
  

• 10:30

  Break

• 11:00

  Parallel session 6a: Thawing ground and below (Place: Atlantis 2) (Chairs: Agata Zaborska + Gijsbert Breedveld)

  Permafrost thaw and coastal erosion are among of the most relevant problems in the Arctic (IPCC, 2014) since they can affect the life and well-being of people. Moreover, thawing permafrost modifies geological, chemical, hydrological and ecological processes, and contributes to a positive feedback loop accelerating the warming of Earth (methane release). 
  6102, Andy Hodson: Methane emission through Svalbard permafrost: observations, processes and prognosis
  6110, Ilaria Baneschi: From glaciers to Kongsfjorden: quantification of water discharge, contaminants and microorganisms
  6112, Sarah M. Strand: Permafrost temperature trends across landforms in the Nordenskiöld Land Permafrost Observatory, 2008-2023
  1001, Willem van der Bilt: Last Glacial Maximum Svalbard Lake sediments reveal warm stadial summers
  1027, Francesca Avogadro di Valdengo: Modelling Multi-Year Carbon Fluxes in the Arctic Critical Zone (Spitzbergen Is., NO)
  7027, Anne-Cathrine Flyen: Climate Change and the Vulnerability of Cultural Heritage in Svalbard: Assessing the Impacts of Cryospheric Hazards, Biological Degradation, and Human Wear

• 11:00

  Parallel session 6b: From mountain tops to sea floor (Place: Atlantis 1) (Chairs: Gijsbert Breedveld + Ilkka Matero)

  Traditionally, scientists have been specialists within one, narrow field. Nevertheless, to solve and understand big issues, several fields need to be linked and explored together, whether they are technology applications within geology, challenges within social sciences, or studies of how glacial processes affect marine life.  

  6227, Amanda Poste: A new research programme studying climate change impacts across terrestrial-freshwater-marine ecosystem boundaries on Svalbard
  6218, Helena Alexanderson: Pre-LGM sediments and landforms on Brøggerhalvøya, NW Svalbard
  6224, Andreas Alexander: The impact of subglacial hydrology and glacier lake outburst floods on Arctic fjord macronutrient dynamics
  6212, Katarzyna Zmudczynska-Skarbek: The importance of ornithogenic nutrients for the coastal communities beneath bird cliffs at Bjørnøya
  6203, Josef Elster: Invasive Vaucheria aff. compacta (Xanthopyceae) in Adventfjorden tidal flat, Svalbard, the Arctic
  6210, Arunima Sen: Diverse and self-sustaining benthos of an Arctic oil seep
  

• 12:30

  Lunch

• 13:30

  Session 7: Human footprints (Chairs: Agata Zaborska + Ilkka Matero)

  “Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints” is an old travel advice. However, the footprints humans leave today are not only their tracks in the snow. Some of our footprints are reversible, some are not, and some may pose a risk to people and environment.  

  7005, Dorte Herzke: Atmospheric Microplastic in the Arctic and the Norwegian mainland
  7018, William Hartz: Atmospheric Sources and Temporal Trends of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Arctic: from Snow to Sea
  7004, Carolin Philipp: Anthropogenic particles found at different water depths around Svalbard
  7032, Susan Kaspari: The Role of Light Absorbing Particles in Snow and Ice on Svalbard: A Focus on Dust
  7012, Atle When Hegnes: Svalbard Cultural Heritage in the Crossroad of Tourism and Climate Change
  7029, Anita Parlow: Climate change, Coal-to-Clean-Energy and Geopolitics on Norway's Svalbard Archipelago
  

• 15:00

  Break

• 15:30

  Session 8 plenum: Svalbard in the future (Chairs: Svein Vigeland Rottem, Andreas Østhagen, Pål Sørgaard)

  What challenges and opportunities does Svalbard face in light of a new geopolitical reality and a changing climate? 

  Svalbard is changing. Not only in terms of what we can observe and measure, but also when it comes to societal relations and the role Svalbard plays in both Norwegian and international politics. The transition away from coal, towards research, tourism, and new forms of activity, brings up questions concerning the purpose of the communities on Svalbard. How do these changes challenge, or reinforce, Norwegian policies concerning Svalbard? How do the Norwegian Svalbard policies link to its wider High North ambitions? And what possible flashpoints may arise, both locally – in Svalbard – and regionally – beyond Svalbard – in the near-future?  

  This panel will discuss these topics, bringing in a political, sociological, and economic perspective to the conference. No calls for abstract to this session. 
  
  Fredrik Gordon Berg (Ministry of Justice and Public Security)
  
  Fredrik Theisen (Ministry of Climate and Environment)
  
  35 min panel discussion (moderator Svein Vigeland Rottem)
  Participants: Arild Moe (The Fridtjof Nansen Institute), Jon Fuglestad (The Research Council of Norway),
  Grete Hovelsrud (Nordland Research Institute & Nord University)
  

• 16:30

  End of conference