Science conducted in and around polar and high-altitude regions is critical to understanding the evolution of the Earth’s climate.
Due to the complex logistics, challenging access and difficult safety conditions in these extreme environments, the Swiss polar community requires specific competencies and dedicated support.
The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) offers tailored support to scientists based in Switzerland who work in polar regions and remote, high-altitude environments.

NEWS

Survey about Swiss-French polar science collaboration

The Swiss Polar Institute, in collaboration with the French Polar Institute (IPEV), is circulating a questionnaire to help foster Franco-Swiss polar collaborations. We invite Swiss polar researchers to fill out this questionnaire and let us know how SPI-IPEV could support such collaborations or access by Swiss groups to French infrastructure/locations […]

Data management in the field

News

Data management in the field

SPI recognises that undertaking field work in remote, high-altitude and polar regions requires careful and thorough planning. In order to make this step easier, we have compiled a field guide to data management which gives an introduction to good data management, as well as helpful tips for planning and undertaking […]

Australia and Switzerland advance cooperation in Antarctica

News

Australia and Switzerland advance cooperation in Antarctica

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) have signed a Statement of Commitment to advance scientific research on and around the icy continent. The Commitment will enable and promote greater cooperation on a broad range of high altitude and extreme environments research, including Antarctic ecology, climate […]

University of Zurich as new SPI member in 2021

News

University of Zurich as new SPI member in 2021

The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) is delighted to announce that the University of Zurich (UZH) will become a new member and funder of SPI from 1 January 2021. This development in the governance of the institute shows the increasing interest in polar and remote high-altitude research. Counting this new active […]

Field and summer schools 2021

News

Field and summer schools 2021

In view of supporting students and early-career scientists, SPI contributes to the cost related to the participation in field schools and training programmes for master’s and doctoral students. The topics or disciplines must be relevant for, or associated to, high-altitude or polar science. It is an opportunity to gain specialised […]

Green Deal Call

News

Green Deal Call

Within the EU Horizon 2020 programme, a new “Green Deal” call for proposals has just been issued. The latter is a €1 billion call for research and innovation projects that respond to the climate crisis and help protect Europe’s unique ecosystems and biodiversity. Topics related to polar and extreme environments […]

The Polar Access Fund call for proposals is now open!

This funding instrument offers opportunities for early-career researchers to do a (first) field trip in polar regions or remote high-altitude areas (so-called Third Pole). This call is open to all disciplines and interdisciplinary initiatives are encouraged.

The deadline is set for 20 January 2021, 12:00 (Swiss time).

Consult our webpage dedicated to the call.

WHAT WE DO

red_or_dead — Funding
Funding for field access, logistics and technology

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Funding
Funding for field access, logistics and technology

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Expeditions
Expeditions and Flagship programmes

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Events
Information events, scientific workshops and conferences

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Outreach
swiss polar class educational programme

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Health and Safety
Courses and support measures for fieldwork

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Training
ACCESS TO FIELD AND SUMMER SCHOOLS

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Scientists onboard a Zodiac near Siple Island

SPI Gallery

Scientists onboard a Zodiac near Siple Island, Antarctica, during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017. The area was relatively ice-free at the time of the scientists’ visit, allowing an unexpected opportunity to collect vegetation and geological samples from nearby Lauft and Maher Islands. © Bradley Markle (CC BY 4.0)

© Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Scientists returning to the ship from Mount Siple

SPI Gallery

Scientists returning to the ship from Mount Siple, Marie Byrd Land, after drilling an ice core during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017. © Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Glacial lakes of the Bhutan Himalayas

SPI Gallery

Scientists need to improvise to reach some test sites in the Bhutan Himalayas. Sonam Wangchuck’s project “Bathymetric survey of glacial lakes; GPS measurements of lake shoreline; ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of moraine dams and glacier tongues; turbidity and surface temperature measurements” was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2018. […]

The Balleny Islands

SPI Gallery

Aerial view of the rarely-visited, volcanic Balleny Islands, taken during the second leg of the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE). Their location straddling the Antarctic Circle gave scientists the perfect opportunity to drill the first ice core from Young Island to better understand changes in circumpolar westerly winds. © Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: […]

Marine invertebrate collected during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE)

SPI Gallery

Marine invertebrate collected from the sea floor during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017. Organisms living on the sea floor capture carbon by feeding on microscopic plankton and other animals, playing a key role in the carbon cycle. © Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Maintenance at Swiss Camp Greenland

SPI Gallery

Maintenance of the scientific instruments is a daily task for the scientists at Swiss Camp Greenland. © Konrad Steffen

Bowdoin Glacier and recently-calved icebergs, Northwestern Greenland

SPI Gallery

View of the Bowdoin Glacier and recently-calved icebergs, Northwestern Greenland. Eef van Dongen’s project “Monitoring of the calving glacier Eqip Sermia, West Greenland, using UAVs” was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2018. © Eef van Dongen

MOCCHA campaign guard

SPI Gallery

MOCCHA campaign guard ensures the safety of the crew, mainly against polar bears, as it is usual during fieldworks in the high Arctic. Andrea Baccarini’s project “Participation in the MOCCHA campaign in the high Arctic onboard of the ODEN icebreaker” was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2018. © Andrea […]

Fieldwork on Himalayan glaciers

SPI Gallery

Fieldwork was carried out to measure the accumulation rates of Himalayan glaciers. Evan Miles’ project “Accumulation via Borehole teLeviewing at high Elevation (ABLE): proof of concept” was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2019. © Evan Miles

Summer nights at Mount Nils Larsen

SPI Gallery

Shadows of Mount Nils Larsen do not cover the field camp, since the Sun does not set during these beautiful Antarctic summer nights. Akçar Naki’s project “DEAIS: Changes in the Drainage Pattern of the Eastern Antarctic Ice Sheet through Time” was supported by the SPI Exploratory Grant, 2018. © Akçar […]

Rocky and snowy Dronning Maud Land

SPI Gallery

Rocky and snowy Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, is a strategic location for collection of data and samples. Alfonso Ferrone’s project “Summer campaign at “Princess Elisabeth Antarctica” research station, in the Dronning Maud Land region of East-Antarctica” was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2019. © Alfonso Ferrone

Launching of the autonomous submersible ROPOS

SPI Gallery

Launching of the autonomous submersible ROPOS, in the Southern Ocean, during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017. This technology was used to collect samples from the seabed and benthic organisms while filming the process simultaneously. © Parafilms/EPFL Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Swiss Polar Institute

SPI is funded by a consortium of Swiss universities – EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), ETH Zurich, the University of Bern and the University of Lausanne – and by Editions Paulsen. Officially supported by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), the SPI creates synergies and offers services to the Swiss polar community.

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