The Barents Sea

The Barents Sea is an important area for Norwegian fishing, where the water supply from the Atlantic Ocean provide good breeding conditions for the fish in the area. Photo: Odd Harald Selboskar / Norwegian Polar Institute

The common eider in the Barents Sea ice. The area is the home of at least 20 million sea birds during the summer season. Photo: Sebastian Gerland / Norwegian Polar Institute

In several places there are deep trenches that are characterized with horizontal soft bottom because of accumulated sediments. More shallow areas are relatively sediment free due to strong currents.

Northwards ocean currents move Atlantic water east and north, while southwards ocean currents transport Arctic water south. The influx of Atlantic water creates special conditions in the Barents Sea compared to other comparable Arctic areas. This contributes to making this area accessible most of the year.

The Barents Sea is one of the most productive ocean areas in the world, and few other ocean areas sport comparable riches with regards to nesting sea birds. At least 20 million sea birds can be found in the Barents Sea during the summer time. These are distributed between 40 different species and about 1600 nesting colonies.

An area of focus for the Norwegian Polar Institute

The research vessel Lance conduct many cruises in the Barents Sea. The Norwegian Polar Institute conduct a lot of research in the area, among it glaciological research on the sea ice. Photo: Sebastian Gerland / Norwegian Polar Institute

Biologists from the Polar Institute perform research on birds and mammals who spend their lives in the Barents Sea area, and our environmental managers have been involved in the development of the Norwegian Government’s management plan for the Barents Sea.

BarentsPortal is a website that gives first-hand knowledge about the environment in the Norwegian and Russian parts of the Barents Sea. The website is a collaboration between Norwegian and Russian environmental management and research institutions, and the Norwegian Polar Institute has led the Norwegian part of the project.