2007 # 01 Tigoriannguaruk! Tag suluk med hjem! Your personal copy!

ut also from new countries like China
and South Korea. At the same time,
several countries have indicated that
they intend to contribute funds for the
project. A short while ago, the
American research council, National
Science Foundation (NSF), announced
that it intends to fund flights to the
camp during the four years’ duration
of the drilling project – in all a contribution
of DKK 15 million.
It is very unusual for the NSF to sponsor
a project in advance that is planned
under Danish leadership.
– Americans would normally require
influence in the planning phase. So we
take this as a sign that they are confident
that the Danish ice core staff at
the Niels Bohr Institute can manage
the job, says a pleased Jørgen Peder
Steffensen.
The project has a total budget of DKK
45 million and Jørgen Peder Steffensen
says that it is important that Denmark,
Suluk # 01•2007 68
as leader of the project, covers half of
the cost for strategic-political reasons.
However, up to now it has proved difficult
to acquire the entire amount
required.
– We haven’t been able to get support
from large, private foundations. We
hope now that we might get some
funding in connection with the finance
bill at the end of the year. The money
has to come; otherwise it won’t be
possible to start drilling during the IPY.
The heavy machinery needs to be sent
by August 2007 for it to be in place
for the planned start of drilling in
spring 2008.
Slow financing
Internationally, DKK 2.6 billion has
been set aside so far for research
during the International Polar Year.
Things have been slower in Denmark.
In connection with the so-called UMTS
settlement in 2005, DKK 6 million
were set aside for logistic support for
arctic research and DKK 10 million for
ASS./FOTO/PHOTO:IS- OG KLIMAGRUPPEN
financing research projects in Greenland.
In addition, the Danish Natural Science
Research Council has designated polar
research to be one of six visionary
fields. Natural science research projects
are therefore able to apply to FNU for
a share in the DKK 80 million allotted
for distribution in 2006.
If all the Danish and Greenlandic activities
are to be financed in their present
form, it would require the sum of DKK
350 million. They will have to compete
with every other application for research
funding and it is therefore unrealistic
to believe that it will be possible
to obtain funding for all the planned
activities.
– If Danish efforts in the International
Polar Year are to have any weight at
all, at least 1/3 of the planned, national
project ideas have to achieve full
financing, says Dorthe Dahl-Jensen,
who is head of the National Danish