The institute aims to provide research data that can be the basis for a sound management of polar regions and to increase the general knowledge of flora and fauna in the Arctic and Antarctic.
Research & environmental management
Norwegian Polar Institute runs research in the Arctic and Antarctic, and is the supplier of knowledge and an adviser to the Norwegian authorities in the polar regions.
-
-
Institute research on areas where we lack knowledge about the geological conditions, and is responsible for geological mapping in the Norwegian polar areas.
-
A warmer Arctic is influencing wildlife and the marine environment. The Norwegian Polar Institute conducts scientific research on species particularly vulnerable to climate change, especially those that depend on ice for survival.
-
Our scientists gather knowledge about the causes and consequences of pollution in the European Arctic. The main focus is on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which accumulates up the food chain.
-
The Arctic sea ice melts and becomes both thinner and cover a smaller area. Norwegian Polar Institute research on sea ice and snow, especially how the sea ice and snow affect and are affected by climate conditions.
-
Climate is what takes up most of the Norwegian Polar Institute researchers, since climate change affects most of the conditions in the polar regions. We research both past and present climate physical processes in the ocean, sea ice and land ice.
-
We study the glacier mass and distribution, and how climate change affects them from year to year. Old ice from glaciers can also be used as a climate archive, and as indicators of the spread of pollutants.
-
We gather knowledge about the peculiarities of havforholdene in the Arctic Ocean, its role in climate and climate change, and how variations in sea level and changes in ocean climate may affect marine life.
Monitoring the environment is an important part of our work, and the institute has long time series of the physical environment and the ecosystems, which in the Arctic is mediated in part through the projects State of the Environment in Norway and Environmental Monitoring Svalbard and Jan Mayen (MOSJ). This provides an overview of the state of and developments in climate and the environment.
In Antarctica, the Institute is also responsible for administering environmental regulations and implementing the management of the Norwegian claims in Antarctica in accordance with applicable regulations and international agreements.
In recent years, climate change has become one of the most important research topics in the polar regions, with the entire world's focus on global warming – which is now taking place with the highest rate of change measured in the Arctic. Climate research at the Norwegian Polar Institute focuses in particular on sea ice, glaciers, oceanography and marine ecosystems and is coordinated through the Centre for Ice, climate and ecosystems (ICE). Hazardous substances, biodiversity and geological mapping are also important research fields for the institute in the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Sverdrup Research Station in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Photo: Norwegian Polar Institute
Research Stations
Expeditions & field work
Field work has always been important for the Norwegian Polar Institute. We equip and organize large expeditions to both poles, are the owner of the research vessel Lance and run the Sverdrup Station and the Zeppelin station for atmospheric research and monitoring in Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard), as well as the Troll research station and Tor field station in Antarctica.
Research projects
At any time, The Norwegian Polar Institute is working with a number of research projects. Currently, many of them are related to climate change.
- Marine mammals exploring the oceans pole to pole (MEOP)
- Contaminants in polare marine ecosystems (COPOL)
- SEAPOP
- AMORA
- Other projects