On July 08, 2025, Ronja Seitz will present her Innolab on ” Ecology fieldwork in the high Arctic – A drone, tundra and reindeer” at 12:00 in seminar room 3, John-Skilton-Str. 4a.

From the abstract:

Spitsbergen is the biggest island of the Svalbard archipelago, located at 74° to 81° northern latitude. The climate on Spitsbergen is strongly influenced by the West Spitsbergen Current, which carries warm water northwards along its Western coast. Therefore, the fjords in western Spitsbergen are mostly ice-free, and vegetation cover is highly productive.

The aim of my stay was to plan and execute the collection of a time series of UAV data and ground reference. Therefore, I deployed the Mavic 3 Enterprise Multispectral every week from July until October during the whole growing period in 2024. During and after the fieldwork period, I also processed the raw UAV data. Then, the analysis-ready dataset was used in my Master’s thesis about the quantification of plant functional groups and disturbances of tundra vegetation.

Furthermore, I took part in fieldwork conducted by other Master`s students in Arctic Biology or for my supervisor’s projects. This included fieldwork related to tundra vegetation and reindeer ecology.

My months in Svalbard gave me hands-on experience in various tasks in an interdisciplinary and international group of young researchers. Additionally, I have been able to study and live in one of the most pristine areas worldwide.

1st Supervisor: Dr. Mirjana Bevanda