Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) is a consortium of international institutions with research infrastructure in and around Svalbard. SIOS is building an integrated observing system for long-term measurements addressing Earth System questions.
SIOS publishes an annual State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report. The first issue was released in January 2019. The report summarises the state of current knowledge of key Earth System Science parameters and analyses how these parameters influence one another. The SESS report outlines the work that has been done in the previous year within the SIOS cooperation to optimise the observing system and recommends research priorities for the following year(s).
The seventh issue of the SESS report will consist of updates of 12 chapters ranging from geology, biology, glaciology to the movement of the magnetic pole. The deadline for chapter submissions is 15 September 2024 and the report will be finalised in the beginning of December. An online workshop with authors is planned for April. The SESS report 2024 will be released at the beginning of the Polar Night Week in Longyearbyen.
The editorial board consists of five persons, two of which are senior researchers from SIOS member institutions and two are from the SIOS Knowledge Centre. We would like to appoint an early career scientist as fifth member of the editorial board.
The tasks of the editorial board are:
- review and approve received contributions
- organise a scientific review process
- merge all contribution to a coherent report (synthesis work, write the executive summary)
- prepare the SESS report release
- prepare promotion material
The editorial board works in close cooperation with scientific and communication advisors within the SIOS community.
Applicants should:
- have an education background within Earth System Science
- have an interest in editorial activities
- be an active team player
- be fluent in oral and written English
We offer an excellent opportunity
- to gain insight in the editorial work of scientific reports
- to influence the development of the SESS report
- to build a network with researchers from diverse fields of arctic research within Earth System Science
The applicant is expected to attend approx. 7 board meetings (on video), and the Polar Night Week in Longyearbyen (January 2025). Travel costs will be refunded.
Please note that the travel and accommodation costs to attend the Polar Night Week 2025 is the only financial support available for the ECR. This is a non-salaried position.
The time period of appointment to the editorial board is limited to the completion of the seventh issue of the SESS report (January 2025).
The application and selection process is coordinated by APECS. If you are interested, please send the following information by no later than 30 March 2024 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.:
- CV
- Statement of interest (max one page), including
- your research background
- your motivation in joining the editorial board for the SESS report
- your thoughts on how you could contribute to the editorial work and how this work would be beneficial for your career
If you have questions about the position, please contact SIOS directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Statement from the early career member of the editorial board in 2023:
Authors, editors, and reviewers play vital roles in the scientific publishing process, each contributing to the maintenance of quality, credibility, and the advancement of knowledge. As an early career scientist, I have taken on both the roles of an author and a reviewer, but until recently, I had never experienced being an editor. Consequently, being part of the 2023 editorial board for the State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESSS) report proved to be an immensely valuable experience for me. An editor serves not only as a liaison between authors and reviewers but also ensures the quality control of submitted manuscripts. This role provided me with a comprehensive overview of the state of environmental research on Svalbard, allowing me to connect with scientists from diverse fields. My responsibilities included coordinating peer review, editing manuscripts, writing the executive summary, and facilitating the release of the SESS report during Polar Night Week in Longyearbyen. The Polar Night Week also afforded me the opportunity to participate in various networking events, workshops, and seminars. I highly recommend applying to be part of the editorial board for the SESS report to any early career academic with a keen interest in Svalbard research or those wanting to contribute to the scholarly process. Happy editing!
Statement from the early career member of the editorial board in 2022:
I got the pleasure to be part of the SESS report editorial board 2022. It has been an exceptional experience and I would recommend anyone with an interest in editorial work as well as environmental research on Svalbard to apply for next years’ position. It is a great way to get an insight in the current research in Svalbard as well as how the SESS Report is created led by SIOS-KC. The board consisted of a SIOS-KC member, three senior scientists and one Early Career Researcher. As board members, we made sure there were reviewers for the chapters, wrote executive summary and concluding remarks. During the whole process I felt that my ideas and suggestions were highly appreciated and considered. For the release of the SESS Report 2022 I attended the Polar Night Week 2023 in Longyearbyen. During this week, there was the chance to meet scientists from SIOS member institutions as well as other SIOS ECRs. The various workshops, social events and seminars during the conference were extremely well organized and a pleasure to attend. Being on the editorial board of the SESS Report has been a great experience for me in which I got the chance to experience the other side of publications process, strengthen my writing skills and interact with Arctic scientists outside of my own university.
Statement from the early career member of the editorial board in 2021:
I was appointed as the early-career member of the editorial board for the ‘State of Environmental Science in Svalbard’ (SESS) report 2020. The editorial process has been impressively well organised by the SIOS-KC, whose great work has been key to making the participation in the editorial board an enjoyable and enriching experience. Being part of the editorial board of the SESS report has allowed me to get an insight on the editorial process of a scientific report. In effect, I have learnt first-hand the main steps of an editorial process, and I have become aware of all the details that need to be considered when organising such a process. As member of the editorial board, my main tasks were to contact potential reviewers, review some of the chapters and draft the Executive Summary of the report. We had regular meetings where we discussed the state of the different chapter contributions as well as other issues. I also had the opportunity to prepare a short video with the presentation “Introduction to the SESS report” for the Polar Night Week, which was held online this year due to COVID-19. Due to the time difference, I could not attend the meeting live online, but hopefully I will be able to attend next year! I have greatly appreciated working with the senior researchers and the representatives of the SIOS- Knowledge Centre as equals. My voice was always heard, and my opinion was viewed as valuable as the other members’ opinion despite having less experience than them. It was a pleasure to discuss with the members of the editorial board, who were very enthusiastic and motivated. In addition, I have gained an insight on the state of the Earth System science in Svalbard and about SIOS itself and its work, which I found impressive. Given my highly positive experience, I strongly encourage early career researchers to apply to join the editorial board of the next SESS report. Every effort you put into the editorial process is greatly rewarded. Because you are involved in all the stages of the report, it gives invaluable insights into how a scientific report is created. Since you work so closely with the content of the report, it also gives a very nice overview of what the latest developments and advances are in Earth System Science and research on Svalbard.
