About

PRISMAS is an interdisciplinary research project funded through the Fram Centre (2020-2022) in which social and natural scientists work on delivering policy-relevant knowledge about past and projected change, risk and safety of maritime activities around Svalbard.

Climate change affects marine systems most drastically in polar regions. As a consequence, new and remote areas are becoming accessible. This leads to increased maritime traffic, and a stretching and surpassing of limits in terms of operational seasons and areas, and entrepreneurial initiatives. This raises strong concerns about Search and Rescue and emergency response capacities. The increase in maritime activity also puts pressure on the improvement of Arctic weather and sea ice forecasting services.

In PRISMAS, researchers from the University of Tromsø - the Arctic University of Norway, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the University Centre of Svalbard (UNIS) will study the dynamics of maritime activities around Svalbard with the aim to deliver policy-relevant knowledge. The results will provide guidance for mitigating risk and enhancing safe navigation. The work is divided into three work packages with the following aims:

• Provide a comprehensive understanding of past and projected change of maritime activity around Svalbard;
• Develop a holistic overview of safety and preparedness capacities in Svalbard waters, and analyze the extent to which these are efficiently supported by forecasting infrastructures;
• Assess risks related to navigating in Svalbard waters through performing predictability studies on hazardous ice and temperature conditions.

For more information, please send an e-mail to Maaike Knol-Kauffman: maaike.knol@uit.no