Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Enhancing Svalbard as a research platform  (SVALPLAT)

Outline
Svalbard is the easiest accessible polar region and is expected to serve as platform for many IPY endeavours. Svalbard has strong potential to take a role as a showcase IPY platform in outreach and educational programs. Numerous horizontal scientific initiatives within IPY will be present in Svalbard, the adjacent waters and particularly in Ny-Ålesund. Norway as host nation seeks to coordinate all these efforts to ensure that national, institutional and international research investments maximizes the common gains for science. This proposal aims at establishing an IPY centre of coordination to bring together as many national and international scientific projects as possible into a common database-, outreach- and educational management in Svalbard. This will be achieved through the goals that: 1) Svalbard shall provide the best and strongest logistical support for IPY projects with the most efficient coordination. 2) Ny-Ålesund will be present in every IPY project possible with the highest level of commitment, both scientifically and logistically to perform as a genuine interdisciplinary “super-site” within IPY. Ny-Ålesund will seek national commitment and prioritization of investments to excel during IPY in the core research fields of Ny-Ålesund: long-range pollution, climate change and polar ecology. 3) In the Research Park in Longyearbyen, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Research Council of Norway will provide a central platform for research, outreach and education. The fact that students from more than 25 countries are present at UNIS, provide an unique baseline for this proposed activity. 4) A central data management organisation for all science in Svalbard will be coordinated by the Svalbard Science Forum (SSF) and collaborative efforts in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund. A special activity will include compiling and digitizing historic scientific data such that IPY makes efficient use of the legacy of all previous generations of Svalbard scientists like forthcoming generations will make use of the IPY legacy. 5) National investments and commitments will remain clearly identifiable for everyone but through the coordination offered and host nation commitment for scientific excellence in Ny-Ålesund and Longyearbyen the pooled resources will yield added value for all cooperating entities. All IPY projects in Svalbard will be invited to participate in a central Svalbard data management organized under the auspices of SSF and IPY. Educational and outreach programs will have two centres, in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund with a stronger emphasis on university level education in Longyearbyen and higher education and research training emphasis in Ny-Ålesund. General public and mass media information centres will also exist at both locations with active possibility for everyone to get as comprehensive as possible insight into IPY and its forthcoming results. Such a specialized unit will provide service to all international projects on Svalbard to facilitate their desires to contribute in education and outreach. Seminar series and meetings to proliferate accruing results as well as delve into new scientific challenges will be held on a regular basis at appropriate venues in Svalbard. The project will also seek means to help sharpen flagship IPY activities through support of educational exchange and infrastructure investments.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
This project is designed to lift all IPY projects in Svalbard to the highest possible levels both by lubricating exchange between projects and nations but also by the commitment to raise infrastructure and equipment to the highest possible levels through pooling of resources when possible. Through the participating institutions Antarctic stations there will also be enhancements of bipolar studies through this project. The project will therefore contribute to raising the level of science within all themes and targets of the IPY through the results of the participants.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
All member nations in the Ny-Ålesund Science Managers Committee Poland (Hornsund) Russia (Barentsburg)

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Svalbard and adjacent seas

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 03/07– 02/09            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
A central purpose of the project is to ensure sharing of resources in the Svalbard area. An assigned task is to procure funding for significant logistic support efforts within Svalbard that no single nation or institution could salvage alone. The Norwegian infrastructures will be made available in a concerted fashion towards all IPY utilization, especially the logistical capacities of NPI and UNIS.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The station upgrades required to meet the demands of IPY in Svalbard will be retained as permanent long-term monitoring efforts. The outreach and educational conduits developed to proliferate the IPY results will be retained as permanent features of SSF and UNIS. Furthermore, the proposed Svalbard database function will ensure that research remains well coordinated and cooperative beyond IPY.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
Own national polar operator
Another national polar operator
National agency
Military support
Own support

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
This proposal will be sent to the Norwegian IPY Committee for endorsement.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes

The project is designed to become a venue for all Svalbard related IPY activities to thus enhance the total scientific output of all projects. The project assumes some central responsibilities that should relieve and enhance IPY participating projects and organisations of managerial, outreach, educational, logistic and data management demands.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The management will be in intimate cooperation with the existing Svalbard Science Forum where both NPI and UNIS are represented. This will lead to a permanent structure that will be adjusted financially and organisationally for the volumes of science in the years following IPY.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Higher education will be performed through UNIS in close collaboration with national and international partners. UNIS are planning special targeted courses that will run during IPY. The Svalbard Science information centre as well as the NyÅlesund information centre are designed specifically for public outreach and communication. Schools will be invited both in virtual contact forums via internet but also with resource people visiting schools as well as scholarships for choice groups of students travelling to Svalbard for educational visits.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
A Svalbard database centrally managed for all scientific fields will be constructed. This database will enable direct flow of information between all projects active in Svalbard. General data will be available to all that are contributing by sharing data. Specialized data will be stored but guarded by levels of protection. Integrity of data protection will be guaranteed by SSF.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The main responsibility for this endeavour rests with Norwegian funding agencies. The collaborative parties will through commitment to the overall goals contribute from their respective national funding sources. Norwegian funding will be used to stimulate cooperation and enhance infrastructure when scientific added value can be identified.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
This proposal is an effort to elevate the outcome of IPY research projects in Svalbard by providing supporting structures based on scientific coordination, education, outreach, logistics and data management. Thus, this initiative will not perform any research as such. Norway, as the host nation, takes a leading role in this but will collaborate with other nations actively involved in research in Svalbard. We aim at making Svalbard a key research platform within IPY with very high infrastructural standards. This will leave a legacy for polar research well beyond IPY.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Norwegian Polar Institute/University Centre in Svalbard

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Other project members and their affiliation