in Antarctica
The Antarctic continent – as far away from Norway as you can possibly get, vast
and fairly undisturbed. This is a part of the world that may provide a answers to
some very important questions. How did the climate change in the past? Is there
a link between climate changes in the South and the North? What survival strategies are utilized by animals living in such unique areas of wildernes, and how will
they respond to changes? How vulnerable is Antarctica to environmental toxins
transported to the region by air and ocean currents? These are among the questions Norwegian scientists aim to help answer.
This is Antarctica
• 14 million sq. km., which is 40 times larger than Norway
• 98% of the continent is covered by snow and ice
• Contains 90% of the world’s ice
• The thickest ice cover measured is 4776 m
• If all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, the global sea level would rise by approximately 70 m
• Lowest temperature recorded: -89.2 C
• A unique and vulnerable wildlife. 45 bird species breed here.
• Little vegetation. Only two flowering species.
Norway and six other countries have territorial
claims in Antarctica – some of which overlap each
other. However, questions of sovereignty have been
“put on ice” through the Antarctic Treaty (1959),
which also prohibits military and nuclear activity
on the continent. In this way, the Treaty has dedicated the Antarctic continent to peace and science.
The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) is the environmental administrative authority for Bouvetøya, a
small ice-covered island just north of the Antarctic
Treaty Area, and for Norwegian activity south of
the 60th parallel. The NPI is also the Norwegian
authorities’ principal advisor with respect to implementation of the Environmental Protocol (1991), a
diplomatic “sunshine story” wherein 26 countries
adopted strict environmental regulations for Antarctica and agreed that there would be no mineral
exploration on the continent.
Scientific pioneers
Norwegian research in Antarctica has long traditions. Norwegians carried out extensive research
as early as in the 1920s and the 1930s. The scientists mostly joined expeditions which combined
whale hunting, mapping and research. After WWII
there was an increased focus on scientific activities
and two important milestones were reached: the
joint Norwegian–British–Swedish Maudheim Expedition from 1949 to 1952, and the establishment of
Norway Station in Dronning Maud Land (1956-60)
under the International Geophysical Year 1957-58.
Norway was also active in setting up the Scientific
Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and the
country ratified the Antarctic Treaty promptly in
1959.
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Norwegian research
Norwegian research expeditions
Since 1976-77 the Norwegian Polar Institute has
organized research expeditions to Antarctica on a
regular basis. The Norwegian Antarctic Research
Expedition (NARE) is a framework for the
expeditions carrying out state-financed Antarctic
research. Today, the main objective of NARE is to
collect information to increase our understanding
of natural and human induced global climate
change. The research projects undertaken under
NARE focus on biology, glaciology, paleoclimate
(past climate), physical oceanography and
environmental monitoring.
Most NARE activities take place in the South
Atlantic sector of Antarctica, i.e. on Bouvetøya,
in the eastern part of the Weddell Sea and in
Dronning Maud Land.
International Polar Year
The International Polar Year (IPY) started on 1
March 2007 and runs for two years. During
this period of time research and financing from
over 60 countries will be coordinated in an
all-out effort to increase our knowledge of both
Antarctica and the Arctic. The NPI has a central
role in the Norwegian IPY efforts and cooperates
with a number of international partners. The Institute is in the lead of five of the 27 national IPY
research projects and participates in a further 11.
The following two IPY projects are NPI-led:
• One large project of the IPY is the Norwegian
–US Scientific Traverse of East Antarctica, carried out during two field seasons, 2007-08 and 2008-09. This project will investigate climate variability in Dronning Maud Land,
East Antarctica, on time scales of years to a million years, establish variability in snow accumulation over this area of Antarctica to understand its impact on sea level, investi gate the impact of atmospheric and oceanic variability on the chemical composition of
firn and ice in the region and revisit areas
first explored by traverses in the 1960s to
detect possible changes. The project will establish benchmark data sets for future
research efforts, and it isexpected to provide
new and unique material. The traverse is a component of an international project, in
which several traverses are beingcarried out
in Antarctica during the IPY.
• In the MEOP project marine mammals explore the oceans from pole to pole. The scientists deploy state-of-the-art animal-borne conductivity-temperature-depth tags on deep diving marine mammal species to explore their current movement patterns, behaviour
and habitat utilization. Conco-mitant with the sampling of ecological data sets on these top
predators, the animals will themselves (via the equipment they carry) collect a vast, high-
precision oceanographic data set from logisti cally difficult areas of ocean at the fringes of the North and South Atlantic and the South Pacific that are strategically important to climate
and ocean modelling. MEOP Norway will
perform deployments on hooded seals in the
north and southern elephant seals in the south.
marine mammals and marine birds:
•
Monitoring seal and penguin colonies on Bouvetøya. The work is part of the NPI research programme on ecology and an international programme for monitoring the eco-system under the auspices of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
The oceans hold the key to the development of
the climate, and knowledge of ice and melting is
an important part of climate research:
• Measureing the thickness and bottom topography of the Fimbul Ice Shelf. This NPI
project takes a closer look at ongoing processes
underneath the ice to understand the inter action between the ocean currents along the coast and the ice shelves.
Drilling an ice core during the Norwegian–US Traverse.
Toxic substances may be transported over long
distances, carried by the ice and by air and ocean
currents. Many end their journey in the polar
regions, where they are taken up by organisms
there. This is also an important issue:
•
Transport and flow of organic toxins in the marine eco-system in the Norwegian claim sector of Antarctica. This project examines current levels of contamination and will contribute to establishing future monitoring programmes in Antarctica.
Mapping Antarctica
The first Norwegian mapping expedition to the
Antarctic continent was sent out in 1936. The
expedition photographed large areas from the
air. The NPI is responsible for all topographic
mapping of Norwegian claims and dependencies
in Antarctica. The main series of maps is called
DML250 and has a scale of 1:250 000.
The traverse of East Antarctica goes from Troll to the South Pole
and back during two seasons.
The first geological mapping of Dronning Maud
Land was done by the Norwegian–British–
Swedish Maudheim Expedition 1949-52.
Geological mapping has been systematically
carried out during NARE expeditions for the
past 30 years. This has led to a series of detailed
geological maps and descriptions. The natural
environment maps also contain information about
geomorphology, glaciology and biology.
A new era in Antarctica
In February 2005 HM Queen Sonja of Norway
inaugurated the Norwegian research station Troll
as a year-round base. An airfield constructed on
the blue ice nearby – an NPI-led project on which
ten nations collaborated – opened at the same
time. These major infrastructural developments
permit the establishment of permanent monitoring
programmes and offer scientists far greater
flexibility in undertaking their seasonal Antarctic
research. At the same time, marine research
cruises in the waters off Antarctica may now be
carried out without considering the land-based
programmes. One of the few stations in Antarctica
close to an airfield, Troll now serves as a portal for
several nations.
A snow bridge in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica.
Examples of other Norwegian research
Within biological research Norway’s strategic
plan for Antarctic research (2005-09) gives
priority to investigating the distribution,
demography and foraging habits of krill-feeding
For further information see www.npolar.no and the website of the Norwegian–US Scientic Traverse of East Antarctica at
www.traverse.npolar.no Text: G. S. Jaklin/B. Njåstad. Photo: J.-G. Winther, S. Tronstad. Design: J. Roald. 2007-2008