The area of Lycksabäcken northwest of Lycksele is a national interest of natural conservation because of its geological values with many unique landforms. Many of these landforms indicate that the deglaciation process in the area was very complex. However, the deglaciation process in the area has not previously been fully understood. The aim is to add to the knowledge of the events that took place during the last deglaciation. To do this, the glaciofluvial landforms in the area were mapped by studying aerial photographs with a Wild Aviopreter and a five-day field inventory of key areas for the interpretation. These landforms were then transferred to a map in ArcGIS in which scenarios of the deglaciation were constructed. The inversion from landform pattern to a scenario of the deglaciation was based on seven general assumptions and the attempt to create the least complex explanation of the origin of these landforms. The results show that the valley of Umeälven must have been blocked at least three times during the deglaciation in the area, which lead to a redirection of the meltwater flow into the area of Lycksabäcken. There, dead ice played a major role in the formation of the glaciofluvial landforms by damming lakes which enabled delta formation, the formation of many meltwater channels and a large sandur. During the field inventory a large amount of preglacially weathered rock surfaces was found in the area which would be interesting to investigate further.

Throughout the course of history flint has been used in Sweden. However, flint does not naturally occur in the northern parts of the country. Yet flint has been discovered in the North.This is the result of humans transporting the material from southern most Scandinavia and/or from south-eastern Karelia. This begs the question, which way did the flint travel to northern Sweden? This paper aims to try to answer this question by analyzing the distribution and concentration of flint that has been found in the Swedish counties of Norrbotten,Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Jämtland. To do this it is first necessary to gather information regarding finds of flint. This is the first task of this paper. Its second task is to analyze this information using Qgis, with its associated tools, to create maps showing the distribution and concentration of flint. It has also been assumed that the modes of contact might have changed over time, therefore additional maps were created showing the distribution of flint from two different periods. The paper's third and final task, through theuse of the maps, is to suggest and discuss possible ways of contact that allowed flint to find its way into northern Sweden. It has been observed that the flint is not distributed evenly across the North and that there are certain areas with higher concentrations of flint. It has also been noted that the distribution of flint from two distinct time periods have dissimilar distribution patterns suggesting different modes of contact.

To achieve a sustainable development in accordance with the UN report “Our common future” the Swedish government has instituted 16 national environmental goals. The municipalities in Sweden have different means of reaching those goals. The purpose of this study was to see if there are any differences in that work regarding the size and location of the municipality. The purpose was also to find out what obstacles the municipalities face and come up with suggestions to overcome those obstacles. The results showed that smaller municipalities generally lack resources for the environmental work and that the issues hindering the bigger municipalities in their work is that other issues such as health care are prioritized over environmental matters. The issues that will be prioritized in the Swedish municipalities are decided by the ruling politicians. One problem with this is that the politicians tend to prioritize issues that are more popular with the inhabitants and that environmental issues thus get overlooked. To improve the environmental work in the Swedish municipalities this have to change. If the environmental work gets more visibility the attitudes of the people might change and that might affect the politicians to make different priorities. If the municipalities have a lack of funds there are special grants that can be applied for from the EU. Those funds can then be used to hire more personnel to work with environmental issues. The municipalities will play an important role if the national environmental goals are to be reached in time.

Pits and mounds in pebble: A study of archaeological remains in ancient pebble beaches inthe county of Västerbotten. Pits (Sw. boplatsgropar) and mounds (Sw. boplatsvallar) in ancient pebble beaches are two types of archaeological remains that are common under the highest coastline in the county of Västerbotten, Sweden. Although common, knowledge of these archaeological remains is limited. Organic materials left in pebble formations rapidly break down and degrade due to high exposure to moisture and weather, making dating by traditional archaeological methods such as 14C or dendrochronology impossible. The data for this study consists of two parts. One part has been collected through field surveys by the author and the other part is collected from National Heritage Board´s database of archaeological sites (Sw. Riksantikvarieämbetets kulturmiljöregister). The result of this study suggests that the majority of smaller pits and mounds in ancient pebble beaches have been used for storage and that larger pits and mounds are big enough to have functioned as foundations for simple dwellings. It also suggests there is some spatial coherence between the type of archaeological remains known as hut foundations (Sw.tomtningar) and pits in ancient pebble beaches. Albeit this coherence is slight and may be a coincidence. Furthermore, the study suggests there is a spatial coherence between quartz and quartzite handled by humans and pits in ancient pebble beaches that is not a coincidence. Suggestively, some pits in ancient pebble beaches that can be found today have been made and used in prehistoric times, by people who used quartz and quartzite in their daily lives.

This paper aimed to investigate infant mortality in the parishes of Luleå, Jokkmokk and Haparanda, in Sweden, during three different time periods: 1865, 1900 and 1935. The selected parishes represented diverse environments where previous research had identified varying infant mortality rates. Luleå represented urban setting. Jokkmokk represented the rural environment, and Haparanda represented coastal setting. The results from these parishes were compared with three parishes from western Sweden and contextualized within the broader perspectives of demographic and epidemiological transitions. These transitions refer to improvements in human living standards and conditions, leading to increased survival rates, longer life expectancy and reduced infant mortality during the 19th and 20th centuries. To address the research objectives, serval questions were posed: - How was mortality distributed between genders? - How was mortality distributed across the first year of the infants´ lives (neonatal/post neonatal)? - Did seasons influence infant mortality? - What were the common causes of death? - What differences and similarities existed in infant mortality among the three examined parishes and previously studied parishes in western Sweden? This historical demographic study relied on quantitative data, utilizing birth and baptismalrecords (födesle- och dopböcker), as well as death and burial records (död- och begravningsböcker) from the specified parishes and time periods. Information about deceased infants was extracted from these records and compiled into graphs and tables. The results were them compared with each other, previous infant mortality research, and placed within the broader framework of demographic and epidemiological transitions. The findings revealed both similarities and differences between northern and western Sweden. The infant mortality rate was higher among the boys, accounting for 53% of the deceased, while girls comprised 47%. However, the proportion of girls was higher in Norrland than in western Sweden. Mortality was highest in rural areas, followed by urban areas and coastal regions, contrasting with patterns in western Sweden. Jokkmokk exhibited a total mortality rate of 13% over the three time periods, while Luleå and Haparanda reported rates of 11% and 9%, respectively. Infant mortality was proportionally higher in northern Sweden than in western Sweden. Most infant deaths occurred during spring, and with an expected peak in summer. The neonatal phase accounted for the highest number of deaths. A trend was observed in northern Sweden, where more boys died due to reparatory-related reasons compered to girls, which was not evident in western Sweden. Conversely, most cases of death due to incomplete pregnancy involved girls. Infant mortality demonstrated a decline over the study period, aligning with the demographic and epidemiological transition.

The climate is changing at a rapid rate. This causes both an increase in temperature and precipitation in the northern high latitudes. Subarctic peatlands contain 30% of the carbon storage in the northern permafrost zone. Palsa mires are found in the subarctic peatlands in the northern hemisphere limited by the climate zone, which are expected to disappear within the next few decades. Degradation of permafrost can lead to carbon being released into the atmosphere, which contributes to carbon feedback. The Environmental Protection Agency gave the County Administrative Board in Norrbotten an assignment to carry out a total mapping of northern Sweden's palsa mires in 2014. Through aerial image interpretation, the County Administrative Board in Norrbotten made a grid with 100 x 100-meter squares used as an indicator where palsa mires were mapped in Sweden as presence/absence and percentage cover. This was done without any contour digitization. In my study, a total of 60 palsa mires were digitized over two transects in Norrbotten County using ArcGIS Pro and the 100 x 100-meter squares. Spatial and climate data were documented for each of the palsa mires to answer the questions of how the surface of the palsa mires has decreased and how the climate changed between 1960 and 2020. The spatial data consisted of altitude and geographical coordinates. The transects were examined both separately and together to examine differences within and between transects. The climate data consisted of the annual average temperature, seasonal winter temperature, annual average precipitation, seasonal winter precipitation, the length of the vegetation period, and frost days. The results showed that the palsas had a considerable degradation between 1960-2020. There was a difference between the northern and southern transects, for which the palsas had decreased the most in the southern transect. There was an association between reduced palsa surface and higher altitude above sea level. There was also an association between higher N coordinates and greater palsa size, and reduced palsa size with distance from the Scandinavian Mountain range. There has been an increase in both the annual temperatures and the seasonal winter temperatures. More precipitation both annually, and seasonally during the winter. The vegetation period length has increased while frost days have decreased. The palsas size has likely degraded due to the worsening climate conditions that were measured for all the palsas in this study between 1960 and 2020. Reduction of palsa mires leads to large emissions of stored carbon and contributes to positive carbon feedback that is predicted to increase the course of climate change now and in the future.

The Swedish municipalities are continually changing their population, both in size and composition. Regardless of the change it affects the conditions for achieving a balanced economy and the residents’ need for welfare. Today half of the municipalities are increasing versus reducing, which is a huge challenge. The purpose of the study is to describe the population development between four neighboring municipalities in Västerbotten, from the center to the periphery. Furthermore, examine how they have handled the population change and which geographical connections exist between the municipalities based on the choice of growth and adaptation strategies from Syssner (2014). The municipalities are Umeå, Vännäs, Bjurholm and Åsele.   This study is based on population statistics since 1983 and the annual presentation from 2017. The result is that all municipalities have more or less choice to use strategies linked to growth and adaptation. It’s mainly Umeå who invests in growth-generation measures and Bjurholm who invests the most in different kinds of adjustments. This geographical distribution does not correspond completely with The first law of geography by Tobler (1970). Something that might affect the distribution of strategies is the need for independence, which is higher for Åsele than Bjurholm. Which means that Åsele can’t rely on a larger city like Umeå in the same way. But something that corresponded well with Tobler (1970) was that municipalities that are geographically closer tend to relate to population change in a certain way and invest in certain types of measures compared to municipalities that are located further away. It means that Umeå and Vännäs or Bjurholm and Åsele are more equal than for example Umeå and Åsele.

The purpose of this study is to find datable interstadial sediments in the core area of the LateWeicheslian ice sheet extent. Based on geomorphological evidence, three coring sites wereidentified close to the Ultevis plateau in Norrbotten, northern Sweden. Sediment coring wascarried out in two pre-Late Weichselian stream channels and in a sediment basin. Stratigraphyfrom one of the sites, a 100 meter wide meltwater channel, was chosen for further analysis. Thestudied core was 5,93 m long and ended in a lower till unit. The core contained silt and sandbelow an upper till unit, indicating presence of interstadial sediments in the stratigraphy. Thecore was subsampled for luminescence dating. Two samples from above the upper till unit andtwo samples from below this unit were chosen for initial luminescence measurements onfeldspar. These preliminary measurements indicate a significant difference in paleodosebetween the upper samples and the lower. The upper samples displayed relatively highpaleodoses, possibly representing pre-Late Weichselian ages. This could imply presence of twointerstadials in the stratigraphy. The lower samples exhibited significantly higher paleodosesthan the upper ones, possibly indicating early-Weichselian or even Saalian ages for the lowersamples.

Passenger traffic for train journeys has been limited in northern Sweden due to the fact that the railway has mainly been used in industrial business. The establishment of Botniabanan enabled passenger traffic by train and created a train connection between the cities in the region. A continuation of Botniabanan quickly began to be planned so that the railway would continue along the Norrland coast, and the so-called Norrbotniabanan came into being. Today, northern Norrland is also facing one of the largest industrial investments in Sweden's history, which will require an increased workforce and supply of skills. In order to meet the demand for labor, Norrbotniabanan can provide a good opportunity for increased work commuting. An efficient and improved transport supply can in turn increase work commuting without people having to move to work. This in turn can create regional enlargement.  The purpose of the study is to investigate and analyze the effects Botniabanan had on commuting and further analyze and compare these with the effects that can be expected to occur with commuting through the establishment of Norrbotniabanan. The study is based on predictions about Norrbotniabanan and whether these can be expected to be achieved. This is then compared with whether the expected effects of Botniabanan were fulfilled. The establishment of Norrbotniabanan is then presented in a context of regional enlargement. The study has been carried out based on a quantitative method by processing quantitative data (register data) as well as carrying out literature studies and content analysis.  The study found that commuting has increased since the establishment of Botniabanan and that commuting mostly increased to Umeå municipality but also to Kramfors, which may be due to the municipality not belonging to Umeå's area of influence. In relation to this, commuting can be expected to increase with the establishment of Norrbotniabanan and in the same way that commuting mainly takes place to the larger municipalities such as Umeå, Luleå and Skellefteå. In order for Norrbotniabanan to achieve a greater increase in commuting than Botniabanan, the travel times need to be well planned. Provided that Norrbotniabanan has taken into account the reasons why the journey times for Botniabanan were not achieved, Norrbotniabanan has a good opportunity for a greater increase in commuting. Botniabanan can be declared to have achieved a regional enlargement, which Norrbotniabanan also makes possible. With the industrial investments in northern Sweden, Norrbotniabanan can create a stronger regional expansion than what Botniabanan did.

For years the northern parts of Sweden, Norrland (translated: North land) has been considered mystified and exotified by the southern, more urban parts of the country. The rural Norrland – though 60 percent of Sweden – is seldom a part of the common conversation, meaning that most of the people living in the southern parts simply have no idea what is happening in the north. The one million people living in Norrland, on the other hand, every day gets to know what happens in the south on the evening news. The question about this possible structural relation between the urban and the rural became a large matter of cultural debate in the spring of 2015, If this thesis is true, we have a problem on our hands; can the national news be considered national if half the country is misrepresented? That question is what this essay is trying to find out by analyzing two of Swedens largest national newspapers. This essay has, with critical discourse analyzis as method, read articles from the largest daily newspaper in Sweden, Dagens Nyheter, and the largest tabloid in Sweden, Aftonbladet. The articles all refer to the county of Jämtland – one of the counties in Norrland – in some way. The conclusions are grounded in medial theories such as the agenda setting-theory, theorys of priming and framing and new values. Recent research regarding areas in medial periphery and the social construction of Norrland also supports the final conclusions. In reading the articles found from 1994, 2004 and 2014 it has come clear that the language being used by the press can be considered producing and reproducing hierarchies between the north and the south. For instance, the three by this essay presented discourse themes – “the village”, “the nature” and “the people” – can be interpreted as three existing, and co-existing, discourse themes producing and reproducing an image of Norrland as inferior to the rest of the country. In conclusion, this essay states that the press examined actually takes part in constructing a structural relation between the urban and the rural areas of Sweden and that the county of Jämtland is being presented as a distant ”internal other” in comparison with the normal cities in the south of Sweden.