News for Polar Researchers in Sweden

Polar Connect – Opportunities for sensing on a fiber optic submarine cable across the Arctic Ocean

Wednesday, 25 March 2026
16:00 - 18:30 CET | Mødelokale 1 (hybrid)

The session (ID-14), initiated by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, will explore how Polar Connect can support continuous, real-time environmental and scientific data collection from the Arctic Ocean.

Agenda:
– an introduction to Polar Connect and its broader context
– sensing technologies and future possibilities
– data management and security for sensing data from submarine fiber-optic cables 

Visit the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat’s booth at ASSW

Please come by and have a chat with us – our booth will be in Vandrehallen (building 1410).

Investment in a national polar research school – PhD positions now open

The SEAL research school (School of Excellence in Arctic and Antarctic Learning) will begin in the autumn semester of 2026 with funding from the Swedish Research Council and the University of Gothenburg serving as the host institution. PhD candidates admitted to the program will address the challenges facing polar regions within a context that spans natural sciences, engineering, law, and the humanities.

Job openings at Abisko Scientific Research Station

• Research engineer (permanent position)
• Field assistant (15 June - 16 October, 2026)
• Field assistant (18 May - 16 October, 2026)
• Administrator and laboratory manager (22 June- 25 September, 2026)

ICOS Science Conference 2026 in Lund

Science, Data, Services: Together for Climate Action.

The call for abstracts has closed. Registration opens in May 2026.

📆 15 - 17 September 2026

📍 AF-Borgen, Lund, Sweden, and online.

ICOS, the Integrated Carbon Observation System, produces high quality, standardised and open data from 180 measurement stations across 16 European countries.

Antarctica InSync Implementation Workshop - save the date!

📆 10 - 13 November 2026

📍 ESA-ESRIN, Frascati, Italy

The meeting aims to translate strategic vision into coordinated action, ensuring that Antarctica InSync delivers sustained scientific value, policy relevance, and international cooperation at scale.

UArctic Congress 2026

📆 26 - 29 May, 2026

📍 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

Register for the UArctic Congress 2026 and the Ocean Connectivity Conference.

The registration fees are:

• Early bird: €550 (until 31 March)
• Regular registration: €700 (from 1 April)
• Student rate: €375

The program combines high-level plenaries, several parallel session tracks, and networking opportunities. All registered participants will have access to the Ocean Connectivity Conference, an international ocean conference by the Kingdom of Denmark’s Chairship of the Arctic Council, which is embedded in the UArctic Congress 2026.

SCAR Open Science Conference 2026 in Oslo

📆 10 - 14 August, 2026

📍 Oslo, Norway

The SCAR Open Science Conference 2026 will be held in Oslo, Norway in August 2026, and is hosted by the Norwegian Polar Institute. With the overarching theme “Diving into Antarctic science – making waves for the future”, the conference will showcase cutting-edge polar research and inspire collaboration for a sustainable future.

Early bird registration will be available until 15 May 2026.
Regular registration opens on 16 May 2026.

FORMAS - open call

Crossroads for climate transformation - Center initiative within the national research program on climate

📆 Apply before 20 May 2026, 14:00

Formas is announcing funding for innovative and interdisciplinary centres focusing on societal transformation to achieve climate goals. The research should meet the need for new knowledge and creative solutions for society's climate transformation, which includes both emission reductions and carbon storage as well as adaptation measures.

A centre may apply for a maximum of SEK 12.5 million per year for four years, for a total of SEK 50 million. The total budget for the call is SEK 300 million. The call is being made within the national research programme on climate.

IRISCC - 3rd Open Call for Access

Now open – apply for sponsored physical, remote or hybrid access to European research facilities

📆 Opens: 26 February 2026

📆 Closes: 26 April 2026

Scope: Climate Change-Related Risks – integrating hazard, exposure, and vulnerability The IRISCC consortium invites researchers, policymakers, industry professionals, and public authorities to apply for sponsored Transnational Access (TA) to Europe’s leading research infrastructures addressing climate-change-driven risks. This call encourages multi-RI engagement, interdisciplinary approaches, and integration of Climate Change Risk determinants in project design.

AQUASERV - Open Call for Transnational Access

Gain access to some of Europe’s most advanced labs, services and research facilities, with all costs covered by AQUASERV for up to 3 months. AQUASERV aims to advance sustainable aquaculture, ecological restoration, fisheries and the blue economy.

Decisions on applications are made in March, July, and November of each year, following technical checks and scientific peer review. For a decision to be taken in the next July window, please submit your application by 31 March 2026.

For AQUASERV, it can also be noted that there is an option for national access, meaning that researchers active in Sweden can access Swedish stations.

COMNAP/IATO - Antarctic early-career award and scholarship applications

The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) are calling on early-career persons to apply for this year’s Antarctic Early-Career Award and Scholarship.

These schemes are an investment in the professional development of talented early career scientists and researchers and aim to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty.

COMNAP and IAATO are each offering awards with funding of up to USD $15,000 for 2026. Both the COMNAP Early-Career Award and the IAATO Antarctic Fellowship schemes enable early-career persons to work with a project team from another country, creating new opportunities and often partnerships that last for many years and over many Antarctic field seasons.

The deadline for COMNAP and IAATO schemes applications is 14 June 2026.

The Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award

The Award celebrates action-oriented scientific initiatives that serve to promote and raise awareness of promising projects which address climate change through concrete actions and plans.

UArctic and the Arctic Circle are pleased to open the call for nominations for the 2026 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award.

The annual winning initiative receives EUR 100,000 and the opportunity to implement the project through the UArctic network.

The deadline is 30 April 2026.

RoPON - Registry of Polar Observing Networks

RoPON is now available online, making information about high-latitude scientific observation and monitoring more findable and accessible.

RoPON is a catalogue of systems and related organizations that coordinate or track observing activities and infrastructure across the Arctic, Antarctic, and Southern Oceans.

RoPON was created as a collaboration among the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks initiative (SAON), the Arctic Portal, and the University of Colorado Boulder, with funding from SAON and the NOAA GOMO Arctic Research Program.

New data sets from Abisko (SITES WATER)

CH4 flux and gas exchange from Almbergasjön, 2017-07-10–2022-10-03. 

Coordinated methane flux measurements from northern lakes by the SITES Water program – open data and learning examples (Copernicus-Earth System Science Data)

SIOS Data Management System webinar series

The SIOS Data Management System (SDMS) Working Group is happy to invite you to the SDMS Webinar Series 2026! This four-part series provides an overview of the SIOS Data Management System, SIOS Core Data, and best practices for publishing environmental and biodiversity data.

Webinar 1: Introduction to the SIOS Data Management System - Øystein Godøy (SIOS-KC)
📆13.04.2026 09:30-10:30 CEST
This webinar will provide an overview of the SIOS Data Management System (SDMS), from machine interfaces to user services. Participants will gain insight into SDMS, metadata standards, and controlled vocabularies, and how these components support interoperable and FAIR data management.

Webinar 2: SIOS Core Data - Zoé Brasseur (SIOS-KC)
📆27.04.2026 09:30-10:00 CEST
This session will introduce the concept of SIOS Core Data, a critical set of variables derived from the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) to assess the state of the environment in Svalbard. Participants will learn about the relevance and requirements for SIOS Core Data, as well as the process for proposing new variables.

Webinar 3: Publication of SIOS Environmental Data - Zoé Brasseur (SIOS-KC), Daan Kivits (SIOS-KC), and Luke Marsden (UNIS)
📆 30.04.2026 09:30-10:15 CEST
This webinar will focus on best practices for publishing environmental data (e.g., gridded data, time series, profiles, trajectories, satellite data, and model outputs). Participants will learn about recommended standards such as NetCDF-CF conventions and FAIR principles to ensure data quality, interoperability, and long-term impact.

Webinar 4: Publication of SIOS Biodiversity Data - Dag Endresen (GBIF Norway)
📆 12.05.2026 09:30-10:15 CEST
This session provides an introduction to publishing biodiversity data (e.g., organism observations, trait measurements, fossil records, and DNA-derived data). The webinar will present the Darwin Core Archive standard and guidance for making biodiversity data accessible and reusable.