On December 22, 2023, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat received a government assignment to develop proposals for a Swedish research strategy for Antarctica.
The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat call for research in Dronning Maud Land (DML), Antarctica. The time frame for projects is 4-5 years, with the first field season starting in the austral summer 2025/26.
The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat call for research in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The project time frame is 4–5 years, with the first field season starting in the austral summer 2025/26.
During May and June 2023, the polar expedition ARTofMELT was carried out with the icebreaker Oden. One of the research projects was about characterizing atmospheric aerosol particles and clouds and was led by the expedition's Co-Chief Scientist Paul Zieger. Using a state-of-the-art mobile laboratory, the researchers studied aerosol particles and the processes that lead to cloud formation.
On January 10, Katarina Gårdfeldt, Director-General at the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, met with Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yōko Kamikawa, about future collaborations in polar research. Japan's Ambassador to Sweden, Masaki Noke, and polar researchers Martin Jakobsson, Stockholm University and Dag Avango, Luleå University of Technology attended the meeting.
A new investigation will look at what measures and collaborations are needed for Sweden to acquire and operate a modern climate-neutral polar research vessel.
During this year's Antarctic expedition DML 2023/24, which the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat organises, a project is participating where the researchers seek to answer how Antarctica will develop in a future with a warmer climate. Part of the answer lies in the bedrock and erratics deposited by the ice sheet.
An expedition that was characterized by excellent cooperation, curious polar bears, tough ice conditions and extensive collection of valuable data. Chief Scientist Michael Tjernström sums up the Oden expedition ARTofMELT, carried out in the Arctic Ocean during May and June this year.
During the summer of 2023, Andreas Johnsson, a geomorphologist at the University of Gothenburg, visited Svalbard. The goal was to study similarities with Mars's landscape and how the island group is affected by global warming. Andreas Johnsson has conducted field studies in the area 13 times, and it is time for new measurements next year.