Sophie ten Hietbrink receives this year's Sigrid Arrhenius Scholarship
The Board of Science at Stockholm University has awarded Sophie ten Hietbrink the 2026 scholarship from the Sigrid Arrhenius Scholarship Fund. The prize is given for outstanding research that leads to a doctoral degree. This year's monetary award is 90 000 SEK.
Sophie ten Hietbrink has completed her PhD with the thesis Cryospheric influences on offshore Arctic groundwater systems: Offshore freshened groundwater and submarine groundwater discharge in a polar context.
– Receiving recognition for work one deeply cares about is always a great honour. To receive this scholarship to support my studies in the Arctic, a region incredibly dear to me, makes that recognition all the more meaningful, says Sophie ten Hietbrink.
The Arctic has been at the heart of her research. In her thesis, she investigates how ice, permafrost and other components of the cryosphere influence groundwater systems beneath the Arctic seafloor. Below is a popular science summary of her research:
Vast reserves of fresh groundwater lie beneath the ocean floor. This hidden groundwater plays a critical role in Earth's climate, influencing the stability of ice sheets and the balance of marine ecosystems.
Sophie ten Hietbrink explores these hidden depths in her PhD research. Using advanced radiocarbon dating, she maps the flow of submarine groundwater to determine its age.
Through computer modeling, Sophie ten Hietbrink uncovers how the immense weight of ancient ice sheets forced this freshwater into the seabed over millennia. Crucially, her work reveals how this fossil groundwater is now retreating and being replaced by seawater as modern glaciers retreat.
Last updated: 2026-07-01
Source: Office of Science