The 3rd call for proposals for the Mertz Fellowship is now open. Launched in 2022, the programme aims to promote collaboration and networking between Swiss and Australian polar and high-altitude science communities, with a focus on early-career researchers. The Mertz Fellowship is dedicated to PhD students and early-career researchers (max. […]
Read MoreArticles by: jelena.ristic
The SPI reviews its grants to address sustainability in Swiss polar and high-altitude research
Starting this summer with the SPI Exploratory Grants and the SPI Technogrants, the Swiss Polar Institute has reviewed its funding instruments to assess and lower the environmental footprint of Swiss scientific research in polar and high-altitude regions. Changes include cleantech and alternative data acquisition methods. Applicants will also be encouraged […]
Read MoreJourney Through Ice and Air: Mapping Microbial Life in the Arctic Skies – Lucie Malard
In the summer of 2023, we started our project ArcticAir, characterising microbial communities of the Arctic atmosphere. David and Becky were the sampling team. They flew to Reykjavik (Iceland) and boarded the Commandant Charcot, a tourist ship from the PONANT company, for a month-long cruise through the Northwest Passage. The […]
Read MoreFieldnotes from Dome C – Matthias Jaggi
Hi everyone! I’m Matthias Jaggi, a technical staff member of the Snow Physics group of the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, and I recently spent a second austral summer at the French-Italian research station Dome C in Antarctica. I set up an experiment with the aim of better […]
Read MoreSwiss Polar Class sets sail with the Vendée Globe
In collaboration with Swiss skipper Oliver Heer, the free educational programme Swiss Polar Class will publish new learning content focused on oceans during the famous Vendée Globe race. Available in French and German, this new module for primary schools offers a novel way to better understand the role oceans play […]
Read MoreVendée Globe 2024: Oliver Heer to compete and collect precious environmental data
Sion, 2 July 2024 – Today, Swiss skipper Oliver Heer announced that he will be among the 40 skippers to take part in the Vendée Globe 2024. This also confirms the continuation of the environmental data collection campaign to gain precious insight in the role the Southern Ocean plays in […]
Read MorePolar Access Fund 2024: selected grantees
Enabling early-career scientists to access polar and high-altitude regions to pursue their research on climate and environmental changes, this year’s Polar Access Fund supports six researchers selected by an independent panel of experts. The projects cover diverse domains such as biology, microbiology and biogeochemical cycles, applied geophysics, oceanography, high-altitude medicine, […]
Read MoreExploring Extremes: Fieldwork Adventures on James Ross Island and Beyond – Mohammad Farzamian
Our project, ERT-PERM, funded by the Swiss Polar Institute, aimed to install long-term Autonomous Electrical Resistivity Tomography (A-ERT) Monitoring in diverse permafrost regions worldwide. It involved four field trips to different mountain and polar areas, including the Stockhorn mountain in the Swiss Alps, James Ross Island in Antarctica, Yukon in […]
Read MoreModelling Spatio-temporal Transformations of Glacial Moulins – Max Polzin
Moulins are near vertical drainage shafts for surface meltwater in ice sheets. On Earth’s large ice sheets, they can be several hundred metres deep. While we assume they are vertical, we now know that moulins can form complex geometries with the ability to store significant amounts of water. As such […]
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