Fram Centre

New technology opens up the Arctic for research

Automated platforms such as remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles – generally called ROVs and AUVs – allow scientists to reach totally new locations in the harsh environment of the Arctic.
April 22, 2020

The Arctic is greening, bird populations are declining: Is there a link?

Ecological theory predicts that increased productivity at the base of food chains may raise predation rates at intermediate levels. New research by the Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra (COAT) finds a link between plant productivity in tundra landscapes and bird-nest predation rates.
April 14, 2020

What drives pollutant exposure in Barents Sea polar bears?

Polar bears in the Barents Sea population use their environment in two different ways. Bears that spend most of their time offshore are exposed to higher levels of pollutants than bears that stay along the coast due to differences in feeding habits, energy expenditure, and geographical distribution.
April 02, 2020

Arctic Aliens: A rising threat

The Arctic is the fastest-warming region on Earth: ice is melting faster than ever, exposing land that is ripe for colonisation and occupation by both native and invading species. But it is not only flora and fauna that are traveling north: so are we. Homo sapiens, the greatest invader of them all.
March 25, 2020

Expedition to the sunken nuclear submarine Komsomolets in the Norwegian Sea

On 7 April 1989, the Soviet nuclear attack submarine Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea after a fire broke out. In the summer of 2019, Norwegian scientists finally had a chance to see the wreck on the seafloor with their own eyes and assess the status of any radioactive releases from the submarine.
March 19, 2020

The Nansen Legacy

Fridtjof Nansen set out to explore the Arctic Ocean with the research vessel Fram 126 years ago. His team of explorers and scientists returned from the ice three years later with new knowledge that changed our concepts and understanding of the Arctic Ocean, and made the Arctic part of Norwegian identity.
February 27, 2020

Carbon emissions have made the world a greener place, which has a cooling effect – but it’s not enough

The very same carbon emissions responsible for harmful changes to climate are also fertilizing plant growth, which in turn is somewhat moderating global warming. This affect also remote places, like the High Arctic.
February 07, 2020

What can 40 years of reindeer monitoring data tell us?

Svalbard reindeer live in the most rapidly changing Arctic environment. The 40-year monitoring shows population growth and increased carrying capacity of the tundra, but also harsher winters, greater isolation, and population reductions. Population developments thus diverge in the two core monitoring regions.
January 27, 2020

Polar bear or “aquabear”

Ursus maritimus – the polar bear’s Latin name clearly identifies it as a marine animal, not a terrestrial one. Recent studies show they deserve this name: not only do they live much of their lives near sea ice; they also spend more time in the water, swim farther and dive deeper than was thought previously.
January 08, 2020

The Arctic at risk from plastic

A new research report shows that the Arctic is under threat and may suffer negative impact if plastic enters the food chain.
November 29, 2019

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