The European Polar Board (EPB) and the future European Polar Coordination Office (EPCO) will be in Umeå, Sweden, from 2025 to 2029. The relocation from the Netherlands to the Arctic significantly strengthens the foundation of Sweden's Arctic research coordination and regional policy development.
On April 17–19, a kick-off for the project POLARIN, Polar Research Infrastructure Network, will be held in Bremerhaven, Germany. POLARIN is an EU-funded network where the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat is one of 50 organizations from 20 countries that provides access to 64 infrastructures in the Arctic and Antarctic.
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 government investigation ongoing in 2024–2025 will determine the measures and collaborations needed for Sweden to acquire and operate a modern polar research vessel designed for climate-neutral operation.
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.
