Planning for the 5th International Polar Year (IPY-5), scheduled for 2032–33, is now underway internationally. The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat has received a governmental mandate to initiate the Swedish planning process during 2026.
Are you planning to conduct research at sea in 2027? Researchers at Swedish universities and research organisations can now apply for funding for ship time aboard several of Sweden’s research vessels: KBV 181, Electra, Svea, Ocean Surveyor and Skagerak. Submit your application by 12 June 2026.
It has been one year since Researchdata.se was launched as Sweden's national research data portal. The portal, run by the Swedish National Data Service (SND), aims to make research data from various scientific subject areas more visible and accessible for searching, sharing, and reuse.
IceCube is a giant neutrino telescope located deep in the glacial ice near Amundsen–Scott Base at the South Pole. Now, 15 years after the facility was completed, a comprehensive upgrade is underway during the Antarctic summer of 2025/26. Sweden is contributing, among other things, with cables and the development of new equipment, and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat has supported the work through logistical support and personnel on site at the South Pole.
One of the most serious impacts of climate change is global sea level rise. When glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica melt, sea levels rise. To calculate how sea levels may develop in the future, researchers need better knowledge of the rate at which ice mass is being reduced – especially in East Antarctica, where large knowledge gaps persist due to its inaccessible location.
How much snow falls over Antarctica – and where it ends up – may sound like a detail. But for researchers trying to understand future sea levels, it is a crucial piece of the puzzle. During the iQ2300 2025/26 expedition, fieldwork is being carried out in Dronning Maud Land, where data is being collected to improve climate and ice models and thus provide a better basis for long-term societal planning.
Between 2025 and 2030, several expeditions to Antarctica will be carried out in which researchers will investigate how the East Antarctic Ice Sheet may contribute to sea-level rise, and how warmer oceans affect melting and ecosystems. The investment will strengthen knowledge about the impacts of climate change in Antarctica and globally.
Two new datasets from the Canada–Sweden Arctic Ocean 2025 research expedition with icebreaker Oden have now been published and are freely available to researchers and other users. The material adds to the growing collection of open data made available by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat from Oden.
The Swedish National Space Agency has decided to grant funding to ten projects under the Climate and Environment 2025 call to strengthen the Swedish public sector's use of satellite data in work related to climate and environmental challenges.
Västra Götaland Region (VGR) is now making two significant investments that will strengthen the development of the Kristineberg Marine Research Station ahead of the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat’s takeover of responsibility on 1 January 2026. These investments provide strong support for the modernisation and expansion of Kristineberg’s operations.
For six weeks in August and September, the icebreaker Oden was transformed into a floating university in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. On board, 21 doctoral students from seven countries gathered for a research school organised by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat.
As the world’s eyes turned to the Arctic — and to opening speaker HRH The Crown Princess — during Arctic Day at Expo 2025 in Osaka, the Nordic countries showcased how research, innovation and cooperation can help address the challenges and opportunities brought by climate change and technological development.
In the budget bill for 2026 (Prop. 2025/26:1), the government proposes several investments that strengthen Swedish polar research.
The Swedish Research Council has announced a new call for a doctoral programme grant in polar research. The aim is to strengthen Sweden’s competence in the field, promote national and international collaboration, and secure the long-term supply of highly qualified researchers.
In June 2025, a team from the University of Leicester and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat installed new instruments at the ICOS station in Abisko–Stordalen.
