Swedish Research Vessels receive grant from The Swedish Research Council
The Swedish Research Council wants to invest in ship based marine research and is therefore awarding Sweden's research vessels a three-year infrastructure grant.
“It’s an incredibly important signal that the Swedish Research Council wants to invest in Sweden's ship based marine research,” says Louise Newman, ship manager of the R/V Skagerak.
The grant from the Swedish Research Council will enable all Swedish researchers to have equal opportunity to access to vessel infrastructure, technical expertise, and quality-controlled data irrespective of their affiliation. But it will also benefit the international research community, as the grant also supports the collection of marine data that can be used internationally – something that also could strengthen Sweden's position in marine research.
“Further, it will enable the Swedish marine research community to undertake research that has not previously been possible, by covering the cost of long or far-away voyages that are currently too expensive to cover from a normal research grant,” says Louise Newman.
Benefit ship based research
The Skagerak Facility has received the grant within the project "Swedish Research Vessel Infrastructure for Marine Research" (SWERVE). SWERVE includes research vessels from several of Sweden's universities, but also Oden from the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, and Ocean Surveyor from the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU).
“This grant is important for the Skagerak Facility, firstly because it enables us to reach national users and support research beyond that of our own users. Further, it ensures that we get the most impact from each voyage by ensuring the highest quality data is made openly available to all stakeholders,” says Louise Newman.
Text: Annika Wall
The Swedish Research Council call "Grant for research infrastructure of national interest".
The grant is awarded to the SWERVE project (The Swedish Research Vessel Infrastructure for Marine Research), where the Skagerak Facility is one of the research vessels.
The grant is 14.5 million SEK for 3 years. The project is co-financed from participating organisations, so the total project grant to SWERVE is 29 million SEK.
The grant will cover the cost of ship time for Swedish research, support the training and development of onboard technicians to enable expert technical support, support the collection of Essential Ocean Variables in a standardised way, and ensure the delivery and availability of this data to the international community.
