8 Research and systematic observation

8.1 General policy on and funding of research and systematic observation

The Norwegian government’s white paper on research Meld. St. 5 (2022–2023) Long-term plan for research and higher education 2023–2032 outlines the Government policy for research and higher education. The white paper identifies climate change as the defining challenge in the world today. The Government will scale up appropriations to research and higher education within six long-term priority areas:

• Oceans and coastal areas
• Climate, the environment and energy
• Health Enabling and industrial technologies
• Social security and preparedness
• Trust and community

International cooperation is a prerequisite for carrying out high-level research. Norway is part of the global knowledge development trend and participates extensively in international cooperation on research and education with countries throughout the world. Norway is participating in Horizon Europe, EUs Research and Innovation programme (2021–2027) and is well-integrated in the European collaboration on research and higher education. Norway has taken part in this competitive arena for more than 20 years. The Government states in the white paper that it will continue its work to stimulate institution-based, long-term international collaboration.

The most recent white paper on climate policy Meld. St. 13 (2020–2021) Norway’s climate action plan for 2021–2030, emphasizes the development of knowledge through research and innovation to combat climate change. The Government has, in line with the EU, a target that public funding of research and innovation should amount to 1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Since 2016, this target has been achieved, and in 2020 the amount was 1,15 per cent.

8.2 The Research Council of Norway

The Research Council of Norway (RCN) is the national strategic and funding agency for research and innovation activities. With an annual budget of approximately NOK 11 billion, nearly one-quarter of public allocations to research and innovation are channelled through the RCN. The remaining allocations consist mainly of direct funding to universities and research institutes. The RCN supports research and innovation of high quality and relevance, to generate knowledge to enable Norway to deal with key challenges to society and the business sector. The Research Council’s strategy for 2020–2024 aims in particular at restructuring society, sustainable development and ground-breaking research.

The total funding of climate research through the RCN, the research institutions, by industry and by the European Framework programmes makes climate research the third biggest national research area in Norway (after energy and the environment). Norwegian climate research is strongly rooted in both Norwegian research policy and climate policy.

8.3 Research

The RCN covers all climate research areas, i.e. the climate system and how it changes, the effects of climate changes on society and nature and how society can transform to meet the climate challenges (adaptation and mitigation). Research on the development of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the development of low emission energy systems is given high priority. RCN collaborates with Innovation Norway and Enova which support innovation and technology development of low emission and environmental technologies in the phase of demonstration and market introduction. This funding has increased substantially over the last years. See chapter 4 for more information about Innovation Norway and Enova. Gassnova and the RCN jointly provide funding for research, development and demonstration of technologies for carbon capture and storage through the CLIMIT programme.

Norwegian climate researchers are active in international research cooperation, e.g. under the Nordic framework, the Arctic Council, the EU Framework programmes and related European initiatives and programmes. Norway participates in JPIs (Joint Programming Initiatives), European Partnerships in Horizon Europe and the SET-plan (Strategic Energy Technology Plan) as well as the Belmont Forum, IIASA (The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) and Future Earth. International collaboration outside these established frameworks is also important, and bottom-up international and bilateral cooperation within research projects is common. For instance, projects under the climate research programme KLIMAFORSK in 2021 included partners from 29 countries. In addition, the RCN participates in climate relevant calls to facilitate bilateral cooperation, in particular with the prioritised countries of the Panorama strategy83.

Norway has world-leading climate research groups with a widespread international reputation and impact. The number of Norwegian researchers serving as authors for the IPCC reports is very high, with as many as 19 to the Sixth Assessment Report. A number of Norwegian researchers also contribute to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and as one response to the deepened understanding of the synergies between biodiversity and climate change, Norway supports the collaboration between IPCC and IPBES. The Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM) is highly recognized and has been used extensively as input for the sixth assessment report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). NorESM has generated several hundreds of publications/papers. In 2021 the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) under the Arctic Council presented a scientific report on Arctic climate change including key trends and impacts with Norwegian scientists as lead and contributing authors.

The RCN’s climate research portfolio was NOK 876 million in 2021, including funding through the RCN and EU of NOK 689 and 187 million, respectively. This is a substantial increase since 2018. Further, the RCN’s portfolio on energy and low emissions was NOK 2 billion in 2021, including funding through the RCN and EU.

The RCN plans, organises and funds basic and applied climate research through an array of different instruments, such as researcher-driven projects, projects involving the public and private sectors, centres such as Centres for Research-based Innovation scheme and Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research, and through mobilising Norwegian research actors, public sector and industry to participate in the EU Framework programmes. The largest and most relevant RCN activities are described below. All activities aim at increasing international research cooperation and promoting sharing and use of research infrastructure and data.

8.3.1 Research and innovation programmes under the research council

8.3.1.1 Climate research

The KLIMAFORSK programme is RCN’s most important funding instrument for achieving wide-ranging, high-quality Norwegian climate research. The objective of the programme is to enhance the quality of Norwegian climate research, and raise knowledge and awareness of climate change, including its impacts and solutions. The calls for proposals are divided into three broad research fields on:

• Natural and anthropogenic climate change
• Impacts of climate change on nature and society
• The transition to a low-emission society and adaptation to climate change

KLIMAFORSK’s strategic priorities include enhancing the international profile and contribution of Norwegian research groups, recruitment of a new generation of climate researchers and dissemination of research results to relevant target groups. Over the past years funding of social science climate research has increased, as well as projects aiming to strengthen user participation in climate research. The large-scale project PLATON will gain and disperse knowledge about how the policy system works and can be adjusted to satisfy the reporting commitments and meet the 2030 and 2050 emission targets of Norway. A recent evaluation of KLIMAFORSK concluded that the ambitious objective, of promoting outstanding climate research and generating essential knowledge about the climate for the benefit of society, has been achieved84.

8.3.1.2 Energy research

The ENERGIX programme and the Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research provide funding for research on renewable energy, efficient use of energy, energy systems and energy policy. These two large funding initiatives are central in Norway’s research efforts on climate change mitigation. They encompass technological, natural and social sciences as well as humanities-related research and development activities.

The energy research funded by the RCN provides support for the long-term development of the energy system. The research activity should contribute to the following main objectives:

• A climate neutral society that preserves biological diversity
• A knowledge based, inclusive and fair energy transition
• A secure and resilient energy system in Norway based on renewable energy resources.

The PILOT-E scheme is a funding scheme for the Norwegian business sector launched as a collaboration between the RCN, Innovation Norway and Enova SF. The objective of the scheme is to promote more rapid development and deployment of new, environment-friendly energy technology and services to help to reduce emissions both in Norway and internationally. Calls for proposals under the PILOT-E scheme are targeted towards specific societal challenges, and the scheme is a good fit for larger consortia that address complex challenges ranging from research activity to commercial realisation. PILOT-E is designed to follow up participants throughout the entire technology development pathway from concept to market. Calls under the scheme have so far targeted zero-emissions related to maritime transport, land-based goods transport, the energy system of the digital age, sustainable industrial processes, the hydrogen value chain and construction and facilities.

8.3.1.3 CO₂ capture and storage

CLIMIT is Norway’s public programme to accelerate the commercialisation of CCS. Through the programme applications can be submitted for funding for research, development and demonstration of technologies for CO₂ capture, transport and storage. CLIMIT’s main focus areas are:

• Decarbonisation of industry and energy resources
• Large-scale CO₂ storage sites on the Norwegian continental shelf
• Innovative technology development and solutions for CCS CO₂

CLIMIT is administrated by both the RCN and Gassnova (a state enterprise for CCS activities) in unison. The RCN manages research and development activities while Gassnova manages the development, piloting and demonstration of CCS technologies.

8.3.1.4 The Green Platform Initiative

The aim of the Green Platform initiative is to accelerate the green transition of Norwegian businesses. This is done by providing funding for enterprises and research institutes engaged in green growth and restructuring driven by research and innovation. Beyond high ambitions for value creation for the businesses, the funded projects should provide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time do no harm to biodiversity nor the environment. The Government wishes to use the Green Platform Initiative to stimulate bigger and more rapid investments from companies in green sustainable solutions and products. This will strengthen Norwegian exports and value creation enabling us to implement the green transition and create green growth. It will also make Norwegian companies and research institutions better equipped to exploit the opportunities provided by the EU’s Green Deal initiative.

The objective is to trigger opportunities for green value creation through major projects. They should comprise the whole value chain from research and knowledge production to testing, commercialisation and industrialisation of sustainable, green products and services. The initiative is managed by the RCN, Innovation Norway and Siva and is funded by The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

8.3.1.5 Polar research

The Polar Research Programme (POLARPROG) is the RCN’s most important funding instrument for achieving wide-ranging, high-quality Norwegian polar research.

The priorities of RCN’s funding of polar research are climate and environment, sustainable business development in the polar regions and policy and management. Climate and environment issues are the most prominent of the three thematic areas. Polar research is highly international. RCN’s funding aims at strengthening international cooperation, recruitment of a new generation of polar researchers and dissemination of research results. The Norwegian polar research is dominated by Arctic research with Antarctic research less than 10 per cent of the total. Approximately 80 per cent of the RCN funded polar research projects are within natural sciences where climate related disciplines and biological sciences dominates. Social sciences make up a smaller part (<5 per cent) of Norwegian polar research, partly because Norwegian polar (Arctic) research is within high Arctic only.

The Nansen Legacy is a novel and holistic Arctic research project providing integrated scientific knowledge for sustainable management of the marine environment and resources of the northern Barents Sea and adjacent Arctic Basin. The Nansen Legacy unites about 280 researchers, early career scientists and technicians from ten Norwegian research institutions. The research team includes interdisciplinary arctic marine expertise within physical, chemical, and biological oceanography, as well as geologists, modelers and underwater robotic engineers. The total budget for the Nansen Legacy project is NOK 740 million. The project runs for seven years (2018–2024) and is funded by the RCN and the Ministry of Education and Research. They provide 50 per cent of the budget while the participating institutions contribute with 50 per cent in-kind.

8.3.1.6 Environmental Research for a Green Transition

The research programme MILJØFORSK has a very wide thematical scope and is cross-disciplinary. It generates more knowledge about key environmental challenges to the government administration, trade and industry, and society at large with a better foundation on which to take decisions to promote a green societal transition. The budget’s thematic responsibilities are terrestrial biodiversity, terrestrial pollution, cultural heritage, and land use. Through a number of cross-cutting thematic calls in cooperation with related budgets, MILJØFORSK contributes substantially to new research with relevance for climate. Recent call topics with relevance for climate where MILJØFORSK takes part are Areas under pressure, Marine and coastal environment, Food systems, and Circular economy.

8.3.1.7 Marine research

The research programme on Marine Resources and the Environment (MARINFORSK) is responsible for research related to ocean and coastal areas, and is the RCN’s most important thematic initiative in the field of marine research. MARINFORSK is designed to provide the government administration with a sound knowledge base and promote increased value creation based on marine resources, with sustainability as an underlying principle. Among core priorities are research to improve knowledge on marine ecosystems as such and how marine ecosystems they are affected by climate change, pollution and other anthropogenic factors. The different anthropogenic drivers of change most often involve complex interactions, where the response to a driver of change may depend on others. Understanding how these drivers interact with one another requires targeted studies and multidisciplinary approaches. Climate change affects the established distribution of natural resources and areas among various national and international interests, which leads to social and economic consequences. There is also a major need for research on the Law of the Sea regarding, for instance, issues of safeguarding national rights associated with changes in migration patterns in fish stocks due to changing climate

8.3.1.8 Land-based food, the environment and bioresources

The portfolio covers research and innovation on landbased food, biological resources, circular economy, biodiversity and the environment and aims to promote research that increases the level, profitability and sustainability of production in the bio-based industries. The expected societal impact of the portfolio addresses climate gas emissions directly, and there is an increased investment in research projects addressing reduced emissions. During the last three years, investment in reduced emissions of greenhouse gasses has more than doubled, in line with expectations from Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Climate and Environment.

8.3.1.9 Circular economy

The purpose of the programme on circular economy (SIRKULÆRØKONOMI) is to ensure that the RCN targets circular economy in a holistic manner. The concept covers a wide array of topics such as sustainable production and consumption, consumer behaviour, framework conditions and innovative business models. Furthermore, the programme coordinates the funding cooperation the RCN has with the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund for research targeting plastics. Since 2020 there has been annual national calls dedicated specifically to the circular economy. The programme contributes substantially to the green transition by the projects it funds.

8.3.1.10 Norway – Global Partner

With funds from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the RCN has several activities within north-south research cooperation. Among them, NORGLOBAL-2 stimulates innovative high quality research in support of global efforts towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ambition is to enhance Norway’s contribution to global research and knowledge production, and all projects have partner institutions from developing countries. Adopting a challenge-based approach, there is great emphasis on research with the potential for positive impacts on development ideas, policies and aid. NORGLOBAL-2 aims to contribute to progress towards UNs sustainable development goals by research-based knowledge of high quality on poverty reduction and sustainable development that can inform development policies, development programs, private sector investments and further research.

8.3.2 Research infrastructure

The objective of the National Financing Initiative for Research Infrastructure (INFRASTRUKTUR) is to provide researchers with the equipment they need to perform high-quality science and efficiently meet the needs of the business as well as public sector for high-level research. In addition, the initiative aims to enhance the Norwegian research community’s international reputation as a provider of outstanding research and observation infrastructure.

INFRASTRUKTUR has since the first call in 2009 allocated NOK 7,6 billion to new infrastructure in all fields of research, including climate relevant infrastructures such as polar buoys and autonomous underwater vehicles, drones, infrastructure for high-precision palaeoecological analyses and databases for climate and environmental data.

Norway takes active part in the ESFRI-work (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures). Norway is hosting the ECCSEL (European Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Laboratory Infrastructure) project. The main objective is to address the primary tasks necessary to establish a new distributed, goal-oriented, integrated pan-European infrastructure for state-of-the-art research on technologies enabling CO₂ capture, transport and storage (CCS). The consortium team is from 10 countries across Europe.

Of particular importance to Norwegian climate research is the ESFRI Argo drifting buoy, ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System), ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research Infrastructure Network) and the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS). SIOS is an international infrastructure project and observing system for long-term measurements in and around Svalbard addressing Earth System Science questions. The SIOS consortium consists of 28 institutions from 10 nations. The SIOS Knowledge Centre and services are financed by the Ministry of Education and Research through a Norwegian Research Council project and is coordinated by The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI). Furthermore, INFRASTRUKTUR is funding the Climate-Ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra (COAT), that monitors long term effects of climate change on land areas in North-East Norway and Svalbard, as well as upgrading of the Norwegian Earth System Model NorESM.

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are important parts of the Earth system. INFRASTRUKTUR has recently provided funding to the establishment of the Troll Observing Network (TONe) as a state-of-the-art, multi-platform, multidisciplinary observing network in the data-sparse region of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, to secure and make available key observational atmospheric, terrestrial and marine data required to respond to the societal challenges and uncertainties related to climate change.

8.4 Systematic observation

The Norwegian Environment Agency is responsible for management and funding of a number of environmental monitoring programmes. One of the monitoring programs that are conducted by the agency includes the monitoring of greenhouse gases, ozone layer thickness, UV-radiation levels, aerosols and other air pollutants.85 Other monitoring programs that relate to climate change include coastal monitoring of flora and fauna, ocean acidification and terrestrial observations. These programmes are assigned to research institutions and in some cases combined with observations in the context of distributed European research infrastructures (e.g. Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) and Aerosol,Clouds and Trace gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS)) and monitoring obligations (EU Water Framework Directive, European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) or other international networks (e.g. Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE)). This is elaborated in the following.

8.4.1 Meteorological and atmospheric observations

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway) provides expertise on climate conditions on the global and national scale and provides climatological information for monitoring and planning purposes, and as input to the formulation of national climate policies.

MET Norway has included 10 existing meteorological surface observing stations and one upper air station (Jan Mayen) as part of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). The goal of GCOS is to provide comprehensive information on the total climate system, involving a multidisciplinary range of physical, chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, cryospheric and terrestrial processes. The stations report to the World Meteorological Organisations (WMO) international data exchange according to standard procedures. Norway does not have a separate national GCOS programme.

MET Norway operates six upper air stations, including two stations at the Arctic islands of Jan Mayen and Bjørnøya, and a station at the Ekofisk oil field in the North Sea. These stations make soundings twice daily measuring temperature, humidity and wind every 2 sec up to a height of approximately 28 km. In the winter season, Jan Mayen and Bjørnøya make soundings four times a day. The institute also collects upper air data from a station operated at Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen by the Alfred Wegener Institute.

The surface-based meteorological network for real time synoptic observations comprises approximately 270 stations, including the manned Arctic stations at Jan Mayen, Bjørnøya, Hopen, Svalbard Airport and 11 automatic meteorological stations on Svalbard. In addition, MET Norway collects data from 41 offshore platforms, 5 buoys and 5 ships in the Norwegian and Barents Sea. Many of these stations report on an hourly basis. A synoptic meteorological station has also been set up at Troll, the Norwegian Research Station in Antarctica.

Real-time data from the Norwegian meteorological stations are exchanged internationally through the WMO international data exchange and are sent to the World Data Centres according to standard procedures. The institute also operates a network of manual precipitation stations consisting of 211 stations. Approximately 80 per cent of these stations report the data on a daily basis. The rest only report daily on weekdays or on a weekly basis.

MET Norway has operated meteorological observing stations for more than 100 years at a number of locations, and WMO has recognized 7 of these stations as Centennial Observing Stations. The climate database of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute therefore includes very long records of climate data. These databases are now freely available on the web at seklima.met.no. This web site includes both real-time data and long historical climate series. Data is also available for download from the Frost API (frost.met.no).

Norway contributes to the European Climate Assessment and Dataset (ECA&D), a service that provides a consistent climate database covering most of Europe. This is a European collaborative effort within the European Meteorological Services Network (EUMETNET), as well as being co-funded by several FP7 (The EU 7^th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development), projects within H2020 (Horizon 2020, The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation) and is now an operational service within the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Norway also contributes to the Nordic Climate Data Set (NKDS). This dataset contains high-quality monthly climate series back to the 1890s and is established in the project NORDKLIM within the framework of the national meteorological services in the Nordic countries (NORDMET). NORDMET aims to achieve better cost efficiency by sharing resources in such area as observation, information management, production and education. Furthermore, the Nordic Framework for Climate Services (NFCS) within NORDMET has the main objective to boost the availability of climate information in the Nordic countries, by developing and sharing best practices in data handling, climate service products and communication with users. Norway was also leading a EUMETNET-project (EUMETGRID) aiming at producing fine-scale climate maps for Europe. This initiative is now partly continued as one component in the Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S), in which Norway has the responsibility to provide high-resolution regional gridded climate data for the Fennoscandia (Nordic Gridded Climate Dataset – NGCD).

NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) has the main responsibility for performing the monitoring of greenhouse gases and aerosols (particles) in the atmosphere above Norway. Air sampling and measurements of meteorological parameters are mainly performed at two sites in Norway: Birkenes Observatory in the Southern part of Norway, and at Zeppelin Observatory outside Ny-Ålesund Research Station, Spitsbergen (Svalbard) in the Arctic. The unique location of the Zeppelin Observatory at Svalbard together with the infrastructure of the scientific research community at Ny-Ålesund Research Station, makes it very suitable for monitoring the hemispheric changes of the atmosphere. There are few local sources of emissions, and the location is important as the Arctic is a particularly vulnerable region. The observations at the Birkenes Observatory complement the Arctic site. Birkenes Observatory is located in a forest area with few local anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases and climate-relevant air pollutants, but occasionally receiving polluted air downwind from Europe. NILU also operates the Trollhaugen Observatory in Antarctica, which also has a comprehensive measurement program related to atmospheric composition.

The main objective of the monitoring programmesis to observe, identify, analyse and interpret the changes in the atmospheric concentrations of all the main climate gases also those included in the Montreal protocol. Furthermore, the programme includes observations of aerosol properties and chemical composition. Information on these short-lived climate forcers provide increased understanding of climate change. The data provided from the monitoring programme are used for trend analysis and are also being used for a wide range of both Norwegian and international climate research projects and programmes.

A wide range of greenhouse gases are monitored at the Zeppelin Observatory, in total more than 40 gases These include CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, CO and more than 30 halocarbons, which is wide range of halogenated species (including CFC, HFC and HCFC gases, SF₆, NF3), some volatile organic carbon (VOC) compounds, and tropospheric and stratospheric ozone. In addition, the programme includes measurements of aerosol absorption (black carbon), scattering, size distribution, chemical composition, and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), which describes the total amount of aerosols in the atmosphere above the Zeppelin observatory. The Zeppelin Observatory is also the basis for measurements of aerosol properties performed by Stockholm University, funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. The station is a part of the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme, and EMEP86 site under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) under United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Zeppelin is an ICOS87 and ACTRIS88 site, contributing to two distributed European research infrastructures89. Furthermore, there are contributions to the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment Network (AGAGE) and to the international Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC).

NILU measures CO₂, CH₄, CO, tropospheric ozone and aerosol chemical, optical and physical properties (including aerosol optical depth) at the Birkenes site in Southern Norway, also contributing to EMEP, ACTRIS and ICOS. NILU also operates a number of background sites with air and precipitation chemistry observations in support of EMEP. NILU hosts the EMEP database and is the WMO-GAW World Data Centres for Aerosols and reactive gases. NILU also hosts the the ACTRIS Data Centre for the large EU infrastructure project ACTRIS – Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research Finally, NILU hosts the European part of the NDACC database and operates the European database for stratospheric ozone (NADIR), which contains data from several projects on stratospheric ozone founded by the European Commission.

Data generated from the atmospheric monitoring program are reported online in the EBAS-database90. This includes all EMEP data, all ACTRIS In-Sitiu datya and all data from the national monitoring program making all data accessible for both research communities and authorities. Three annual data reports are produced from this programme for the Norwegian environmental agency: one for greenhouse gases and aerosols, a second report for long-range transboundary air pollution and particles, and a third report for atmospheric ozone and UV-radiation levels. Annual reports are available at the Norwegian environmental agency web page91.

8.4.2 Oceanographic observations

The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) has an extensive monitoring programme on physical and biological oceanographic parameters. Temperature and salinity observations are made at 9 fixed coastal stations from Skagerrak to the Barents Sea with vertical profiles occupied 2–4 times per month. The monitoring started in 1936. IMR also occupies standard sections along the Norwegian coast between 2 and 4 times per year monitoring physical, chemical and biological oceanographic parameters. Most of these time series have been maintained since 1970s. IMR has a close collaboration with the Russian sister organisation PINRO in Murmansk, which maintain the hydrographic section Kola in the eastern Barents Sea and make the data available for IMR. The section is the most comprehensive oceanographic time series in the world, started by the Russians in year 1900 and taken monthly since the 1920s. In addition to fixed hydrographic stations and sections, IMR conduct regional physical, chemical and biological oceanographic monitoring on annual surveys covering the North, Norwegian and Barents Sea.

The ocean plays a key role in the global carbon cycle and absorbs about 25 per cent of the anthropogenic emitted CO₂ to the atmosphere. This again leads to acidification of the oceans and may have major consequence for the marine ecosystem. On behalf of the Norwegian Environment Agency, the IMR, The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and Uni Research monitor the carbonate system in Norwegian Seas including the areas in northern Barents Sea and Svalbard, since the Arctic is deemed particularly sensitive to ocean acidification. The program started in 2010. Data from ocean acidification monitoring are reported to CARINA (Carbon dioxide in the Atlantic Ocean), CDIAC (Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) and SOCAT (Surface Ocean Carbon dioxide Atlas).

The ECOCOAST-monitoring program covers oceanographic coastal observations along the Norwegian coast from the border of Sweden in the south to the border of Russia in the north. It applies monthly sampling of key chemical and biological parameters in different water types, as well as annual biodiversity monitoring on hard- and soft-bottom. The monitoring program is a continuation of the coastal monitoring program along the southern coast with startup in the year 1990 and is funded and coordinated by the Norwegian Environmental Agency. The older data from the southern coast have proven to be very useful for assessing effects of climate change on biodiversity. Data from ECOCOAST are primarily reported to OSPAR, with ICES as data host. These data are also shared via ICES with the European Environment Agency (EEA) through the Eionet cooperation arena. It is also the intention that the same data should be included in our reporting to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).

The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) maintains a monitoring programme in the Fram Strait; the Fram Strait Arctic Outflow Observatory, monitoring the oceanic output from the Arctic Ocean to the subpolar seas. The programme is an international collaborative effort with the German Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). The latter institution is responsible for monitoring the input of heat and salt to the Arctic, while NPI monitors the export of freshwater and sea ice since the early to mid 1990s, as well as Atlantic Water and deep ocean temperatures. Since 1990, sea ice thickness has been continuously monitored with two to four upward looking sonars, and the by now 30-year record, shows an exceptional large reduction in Arctic sea ice export in recent years. Since 2008, the programme also includes components to measure Arctic freshwater tracers, the carbonate system, and ocean acidification state. In recent years and in the near future, there has been an interest to expand the monitoring with marine plastic, biology and marine sediment. The Fram Strait program contributes to the national infrastructure NorEMSO. The Norwegian Polar Institute also monitors the marine living environment and sea ice properties in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, as well as sea ice and snow thickness in Storfjorden and Hopen, Svalbard.

A-TWAIN (Long-term variability and trends in the Atlantic Water inflow region) is a NPI lead monitoring program established to gain understanding on how the inflowing current system is distributed at different depths along the continental slope in the Arctic Ocean north of Svalbard including how it responds to local, short lived atmospheric changes, and how it varies on seasonal and inter-annual timescales. The primary objective of this project is to understand how heat from the Atlantic Water influences the Arctic Ocean sea ice cover, but also to provide data for understanding the playing field for some of the key actors in the ecosystem, and components of the carbon system. The program receives funding from the Research Council of Norway through the SIOS-InfraNor project. International A-TWAIN collaborators include IOPAS (Poland), SAMS (UK), Sorbonne Université (FR), and WHOI (USA).

In 2019 NPI in collaboration with UiB established a Multidisciplinary Ocean Moored Observatory (MOMO) at the continental shelf break of Kong Håkon VII Hav along the coast of Dronning Maud Land. An array of multidisciplinary oceanographic moorings is maintained to monitor physical, chemical and biological parameters of the Antarctic coastal- and slope current, targeting key questions of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation, carbon cycle and ecosystem dynamics. Year-round time series along the Antarctic coast are rare and MOMO fills an important gap in monitoring the inflow region of the Weddell Gyre (Vernet et al. 2019, Lowther et al. 2022), extending national (UiB) and international efforts (AWI, BAS, L’OCEAN) that are traditionally focusing more on Weddell Sea further downstream. In addition to the open ocean moorings, NPI operates Fimbulisen Ice Shelf Observatory (FIO), which since 2009 provides continuous time series of ocean temperature and currents from below Fimbulisen, accounting for the world’s longest continuous ice shelf cavity record. Else, at the coast of Dronning Maud Land in Rektangelbukta, opportunistic landfast sea ice thickness is measured and recorded during southern summer since 2005 when conditions allow. Since 2017, and in collaboration with UiB, the under-ice shelf moorings are complemented by ice shelf thickness radar and surface mass balance measurements, providing unique insights on glacier ocean interactions (and impact on sea level) on seasonal to interannual time scales in Dronning Maud Land and relation to oceanic and atmospheric changes. Both FIO and MOMO will be renewed, extended and maintained through the recently funded NPI-led NFR infrastructure project Troll Observing Network (TONe), also integrating with international networks, such as the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) through a number of initiatives.

The Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme (JAMP) adopted by OSPAR 2005 (MASH 05/6/Info.2) has been developed to provide the basis for considering OSPAR’s requirements for monitoring the species and habitats. Norway also contributes to a reporting and coordinating mechanism for WMO operational marine activities, the Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM).

SEAPOP (Seabird Population Management and Petroleum Operations) is a national seabird mapping and monitoring programme. The programme, which has been developed in collaboration with research institutes, oil industry and management, will provide improved data on seabirds. In addition to helping to implement ecosystem-based management, this will also provide valuable information on the possible impact of climate change on biodiversity. The programme now covers the whole Norwegian coast.

A national programme for mapping of coastal marine biodiversity started in 2007 as a joint venture project between the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal affairs. The mapping is foreseen to be completed by 2018 and will result in a classification of marine habitats and key areas that are significant for biological diversity at a local, regional or national level in all the Norwegian counties along the coast.

The UN Decade of Oceans Science for Sustainable Development has indicated the need for a comprehensive map of the world’s oceans seabed as a strategic pillar for the knowledge we need for the ocean we want. Norway (through the Norwegian Mapping Authority’s representative) currently leads the global endeavour of improving seabed knowledge as chair of the joint IHO IOC GEBCO Guiding Committee.

MAREANO is an integrated mapping programme for the Norwegian seas and coastal areas carried out by the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) and the Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA). The programme initiates a detailed baseline mapping of the physical, chemical, biological environment of the sea bottom in Norwegian offshores areas. The programme started mapping the Barents Sea in 2006, the Norwegian Sea in 2012. At the end of 2021 MAREANO has mapped approximately 288 000 km² of the depth and about 260 000 km² of the geological, biological and chemical environment. Norway has large natural resources in the coastal and shelf regions that are managed by different bodies within the government, counties and local communities. The MAREANO programme collects and compiles knowledge about offshore areas into an integrated database, and make the results available on the Internet using state-of-the-art GIS technology (www.mareano.no). The goal is to provide society with up-to-date, quality-controlled data for management, sustainable development and exploitation, making baseline data for any future changes in the composition of benthic communities that may reflect and quantify the biological effects of climatic change, among other factors. In 2022 MAREANO started mapping in the South area of the North Sea, to gather knowledge around the planned offshore wind farms.

In 2020 a 3-years pilot project was started with the name Marine Basemaps for the Coastal Zone. It is a cooperation project with the 3 MAREANO partners; NMA (leading the project), IMR and NGU. This cooperation allows for a streamlined process from data collection to distribution. It also has the added advantage of better coordination and management of resources. Marine Base Maps for the Coastal Zone, is all about gathering detailed information and boosting the knowledge of the sea bed and marine coastal systems along Norway’s coast – for a sustainable ocean economy. The aim is to provide new business opportunities, stimulating and optimising the growth of industries, better public administration and effective coastal zone management to benefit people, nature and the economy. Marine base maps in Norway will (i) map on a large scale the seabed’s physical, biological and chemical environments (ii) analyse the data and (iii) distribute a set of standardised products in formats that would cater to the different needs of end users. The marine data collected is distributed as stand-alone or combined with other datasets to create “Marine Base Maps”. Parallel with the pilot we are working towards a national program: Marine Base Maps for the Coastal Zone, Norway and an investment proposal was delivered to the Norwegian government in October 2021. A socio-economic analysis and uncertainty analysis is part of the scope as is fundraising from the users as the national program will be co-funded by the users.

8.4.3 Sea level observations

The Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) provides expertise on tides, sea level extremes (storm surges), reference levels for use in planning, and observed and projected changes in sea level. The authority is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of Norway’s sea level observing system and products related to this system. The system is comprised of the national tide gauge network and a network of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) stations supplemented by other geodetic measurements. Observations from these networks are useful for climate, oceanographic and coastal sea level research. They also contribute to the overarching goals of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).

The NMA operates a network of 24 permanent tide gauges on mainland Norway and one on Svalbard. The longest records from Oslo and Bergen date back to the early 1900s. The tide gauge network continuously monitors water levels along the coast of Norway. In addition to the permanent network, several hundred data series from temporary tide gauges help improve the spatial coverage of the observations. Both real-time and historical data from the network are freely available to view or download from http://www.kartverket.no/sehavnivahttps://www.kartverket.no/en/at-sea/se-havniva. The Norwegian tide gauge network contribute to the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS) of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The core GLOSS network provides an evenly distributed sampling of global coastal sea level variations and contributes to monitoring long-term trends and accelerations in global sea level. Data is available through the different GLOSS data centers; both real-time and historical tide gauge observations, mean sea level data and land motion data. Data is also provided to a number of additional data portals, such as EMODnet Physics and Copernicus Marine Service.https://www.psmsl.org/

As data from the tide gauges are increasingly being used for prediction of meteorological surge (including preparedness to extreme surges) and adaptation to a changing climate, the NMA has identified that the main challenge with the existing network is the lack of geographic coverage. There are large coastal stretches and long fjords without any permanent tide gauges. The NMA therefore launched a project in 2021 that aims to provide Norway with a denser tide gauge network, according to the user needs. As tide gauge observations record the sea surface relative to the nearby land, local vertical land motion can be a significant contribution to the measured sea-level change. This is of particular importance for Norway where the Earth is rebounding following the last glacial. The Norwegian GNSS network thus provides important observations and constraint on land motion. The network was established in the 1990s and contributes to the work of the International GNSS service (IGS) on sea level. Currently the network is comprised of ~200 GNSS stations, the longest data series are over 20 years. All data from the network is stored at NMA and are freely available.

8.4.4 Terrestrial observations

Norway has some terrestrial monitoring programmes that include climate parameters or indicators, which also may be used to evaluate the effects of climate change. Mass balance of glaciers, permafrost and snow distribution in Svalbard (MOSJ), arctic tundra biodiversity (COAT), changes in populations of passerine birds in all terrestrial ecosystem (bird index), palsa mire changes, changes in forest growth and vitality in forests (National Forest Inventory) and changes in water chemistry and biota are some of the parameters or indicators that are useful to monitor with respect to climate responses.

Ongoing monitoring programmes of special interest with respect to climate change:

• Representative Nature Monitoring (ANO) covers the whole of the Norwegian mainland and records data on nature types, plant species cover and vegetation vertical structure in a representative sample of plots in all non-anthropogenic terrestrial ecosystems.
• The Bird Index is a national bird monitoring programme. This programme gives representative data on bird observations from a national network (fully established from 2013) to a “common bird index” for Norway, and is included in the European common bird index, reported by Norwegian Environment Agency/Norwegian Institute for Nature Research). Bird data are reported to EEA (European Environment Agency).
• Monitoring of palsa peatlands (Norwegian Environment Agency) captures the constant flux of changes caused by permafrost alternations, including palsa features, thermokarst pond development, pond colonization and vegetation change.
• The Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) is an international long-term monitoring program and site-based network studying high-mountain vegetation and its biological diversity under the impact of accelerating anthropogenic climate change. Norway participates with six mountain sites in a coast – inland gradient in central Norway and Northern Norway. (Norwegian Environment Agency/Norwegian University of Science and Technology/ Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research)
• Forest monitoring programme (Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research). Data on state/vitality of forest ecosystems are reported to ICP Forests, which is the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests operating under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). Data from monitoring of forest resources, Pan-European Criteria & Indicators are reported to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)/Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
• National Forest Inventory (inventory of forest stocks and various environmental variables on permanent plots all over the country at 5-year intervals) (Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research). Data on state/vitality of forest ecosystems are reported to ICP Forests.
• Ecosystem monitoring in freshwater (ECOFRESH – Norwegian Environment Agency/Norwegian institute for Water Research/Norwegian Institute for Nature Research) consists of two parts:
• Monitoring of effects of acidification on chemistry and biology inn small acidified lakes and catchments. Time series from 1980s and 1990s. Although originally designed to monitor effects of acidification, the program also includes climate relevant parameters.
• Reference monitoring of small to medium-size lakes according to the Water Framework Directive (Norwegian Environment Agency). Started in 2009. Some of the lakes have been selected as long-term monitoring sites to study effects of climate change.

Data from ECOFRESH are reported to the European Environment Agency (EEA), some sites are also reported to ICP Waters and ICP Integrated monitoring (CLRTAP-ECE).

• Ecosystem monitoring of large lakes (ECOLARGE) according to the Water Framework Directive (Norwegian Environment Agency) started in 2015. Some of the lakes have been selected as annual long-term monitoring sites to study effects of climate change. Data are reported to the European Environment Agency (EEA).
• The Norwegian Area Frame Survey of Land Cover and Outfield Land Resources (AR18X18) (Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research) which is a national survey of land cover resembling the Eurostat Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey (LUCAS).
• Environmental monitoring of Svalbard and Jan Mayen92 (MOSJ) is managed by the Norwegian Polar Institute. MOSJ aims at collecting and interpreting monitoring data from the central components of the ecosystem, including climate and the major types of human impact in the Norwegian Arctic.
• Climate ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra (COAT)93 – coordinated by the University of Tromsø, is an ecosystem-based observation system aiming at detecting, documenting and understanding the impacts of climate change on arctic tundra. Data from COAT/MOSJ will be reported to CBMP (Circumpolar Biodiversity monitoring programme) coordinated by the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council (CAFF – Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna). Some of the data are also reported to working groups under AMAP such as climate indicators and monitoring series on contaminants.
• The Riverine Inputs and Direct Discharges to Norwegian coastal waters (RID) Monitoring programme is carried out as a part of OSPAR’s Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme (JAMP). The monitoring programme has been on-going since 1990 and reports loads to the sea of nutrients, metals, some organic contaminants as well as various additional climate sensitive parameters (temperature, suspended particulate matter, turbidity, pH, conductivity, and total organic carbon).

8.4.4.1 Existing national plans

A national plan for biodiversity monitoring was adopted in 1998. This plan includes different threats against biodiversity, including climate. Recommendations from this plan have been implemented to a varying degree in ongoing national programmes.

The Norwegian nature index is presented every 5th year from 2010, next presentation is in 2020. The nature index presents trends in biodiversity for the main ecosystems by aggregating data from about 300 indicators/indexes, responding to different pressures, including climate change.

Since 2016 a system for assessment of ecological condition has been under development. Here ecological condition is assessed for the major ecosystems on the basis of seven different ecosystem characteristics, described by selected indicators. The assessment is based on data from environmental monitoring. So far ecological condition has been assessed for forests, mountains and arctic tundra throughout Norway.

Since 2016 Norway is a formal member of the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER), coordinated nationally by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. ILTER aims to coordinate and harmonize site-based long-term ecological studies to elucidate the possible effects of external drivers, climate change included, on ecosystem processes and biodiversity.

The Norwegian Red Lists for species and ecosystems, and national risk assessment on alien and invasive species, including a list of alien species that poses the most severe threats to Norwegian biodiversity, are produced and periodically revised by the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre. These systems provide important tools for nature management, including climate change assessments. The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre also presents map access to records of species occurrences in Norway (Species map service) and operates Species Observations System (a Citizen science project for recording species on maps into a national and freely accessible database).

8.4.5 Cryosphere climate observing systems

Long-term monitoring programs of several glaciers on the Norwegian mainland is performed mainly by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The monitoring program includes measurements of mass balance, glacier length change, glacier velocity, meteorology and other glaciological investigations. In 2016, monitoring of mass balance was performed on 13 glaciers and monitoring of length change on 36 glaciers. The annual results from mass balance and glacier length changes are reported to the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) in Switzerland.

The Norwegian Polar Institute monitors glacier mass balance annually on five glaciers in Svalbard: four near Ny-Ålesund, and one on Austfonna, together with the University of Oslo. These are long-term measurements; the shortest time series starts in 2004, and the longest in 1966, the latter being among the longest Arctic mass balance time series. These data are reported annually to the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS). As a contribution to the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS/GTOS) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and to the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the WGMS of the Commission on Cryospheric Sciences of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (CCS/IUGG) and the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services (FAGS/ICSU) today collect and publish worldwide standardised glacier data.

Frozen ground (as measured by permafrost temperatures and the thickness of the active layer) is sensitive to climate and environmental change in high latitude and high elevation regions. Changes in the thermal state of permafrost and subsurface conditions can have important impacts on terrain stability, coastal erosion, surface and subsurface water, the carbon cycle, and vegetation development. Combined monitoring of meteorological and hydrological variables, soil and vegetation parameters, carbon dioxide and methane fluxes, and the thermal state of the active layer and permafrost at upgraded “reference sites” is the recommended observing approach. On mainland Norway long term permafrost monitoring programs, measuring permafrost temperatures and the thickness of the active layer, are run mainly by University of Oslo and Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway) for 18 boreholes at 7 different sites and various depths. All the drilling sites have been carefully selected in order to avoid geothermal disturbance from undesirable sources. A significant upgrade and extension of the permafrost monitoring program on mainland Norway was performed by MET Norway in co-operation with University of Oslo in 2014 at three main sites (Juvvasshøe, Snøheim and Iskoras). They are now operational and a part of the official national network of real-time meteorological observations run by MET Norway. New official automatic weather stations (AWS) were also established at these sites. They serve as key-stations for the long-term permafrost and climate monitoring programs in Norway. On Svalbard more than 20 permafrost boreholes with continuous monitoring exist, mainly in central Spitsbergen (Longyearbyen-Adventdalen area). They are run mainly by The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), but also the Alfred Wegener institute (AWI) and MET Norway are responsible for some key reference sites. In recent years (2019–2021), new permafrost boreholes have been established at remote locations on Svalbard as part of the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS, https://sios-svalbard.org/) and Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra (COAT, https://www.coat.no/en/) projects. There are also established operational weather stations with extended measurement programmes at the same locations. This collocated monitoring provides daily updated data for investigating and monitoring the current state, trends, and impacts of e.g. extreme climate events on ground temperatures in the permafrost on Svalbard. The Norwegian permafrost program is reported to the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P), coordinated by the International Permafrost Association (IPA), which forms a GCOS/GTOS baseline network for these variables. The GTN-P Secretariat maintains both borehole temperature and active layer thickness metadata and coordinates data management and dissemination. A network of GTN-P National Correspondents (NC) was established in 2013. Currently 26 partner countries are involved through the involvement of National Correspondents and Young National Correspondents. One station (Janssonhaugen) at Svalbard is reported to MOSJ.

Snow cover is an indicator of climate change, since it is controlled by both temperature and precipitation. Snow cover is a complex unit to monitor, but at the same time very important both in the ecosystems and the climate system. Snow-covered ground greatly influences the exchange of energy to the atmosphere and is also a measure of an important feedback mechanism for climate, in that the ability of the ground to reflect (the albedo) is reduced when the snow-covered period is shortened. The observations are made in keeping with national and international guidelines for observations of snow cover. Snow depth is observed on a daily basis at many of MET Norway’s weather and precipitation stations in mainland Norwand and on Svalbard. Many of the stations have long-term series for high-quality snow depth observations. Some of these stations are especially important for cryosphere research. Monitoring of snow cover duration is monitored on Svalbard at selected manned stations and reported within MOSJ.

The operational sea ice service (Norwegian Ice Service94) at MET Norway produces high resolution sea ice concentration charts based on a manual interpretation of satellite data. The ice charts are updated every weekday.

Sea ice products are produced on a daily basis and with global (or hemispherical) coverage. These products have been generated operationally for several years as part of the EUMETSAT OSI SAF programme in a cooperation between MET Norway and Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). The products (also back in time) can be found in the EUMETSAT OSI SAF sea ice archive. In recent years more effort has been put into developing climate consistent data records of sea ice. This work has been carried out through the collaboration in several European projects, including EUMETSAT OSI SAF, ESA CCI and EU C3S (Copernicus Climate Change Service). Daily updated operational and climate products are found at cryo.met.no.

Further sea ice modelling, as part of coupled ocean/sea ice models, is performed on an operational basis and in several projects. Sea Ice is an important component of the Norwegian Earth System Model, NorESM that contributes to the international work on climate predictions. As a part of Copernicus Marine Service, The Nansen Centre, MET Norway and IMR are responsible for Arctic forecasting including sea ice, and MET Norway is running regional ocean and sea ice forecasting models for Norwegian areas of interest.

8.4.6 Space based observing programmes

8.4.6.1 Introduction

Observations from space provide information that greatly assists the understanding and management of climate change, also complementing the ground based monitoring. The Norwegian membership of the European space organisation ESA (European Space Agency) has been the main pillar of Norwegian space research, since Norway became a member in 1987. It has enabled Norway to develop its own technological capacity, and at the same time have the advantage of scale from cooperating within a large organisation. Since the member states combined their resources through ESA, they have achieved results the majority of the countries would not otherwise have been capable of.

Norway takes part in international cooperation in space through ESA, through EUs Galileo and Copernicus programs, as well as in bilateral contracts with different nations. This cooperation gives the Norwegian research communities, governance and industry a secure access to data and possibility to influence which data should be chosen within the different satellite programmes. It also helps Norway building scientific and technological knowledge and capacity in areas that are of great strategic importance for Norway.

During the last 25 years, a rapid change in what can be measured from satellites has taken place. Although almost all Earth-observing satellite systems were not specifically designed for climate monitoring, space agency efforts have initiated a remarkably comprehensive climate data record that is forming the basis for a better understanding of the Earth’s climate system. Much has been accomplished, but more remains to be done. Significant gaps remain in measurement capabilities and their continuity. CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites) agencies currently operates 107 satellites with an Earth observation mission including instruments. A number of important indicators and figures used and presented in IPCCs 6th assessment report derive from satellite observations, e.g. sea surface temperature and height, sea ice, aerosols, ozone, emission data from fires and sea level.

8.4.6.2 Using satellites in climate and environmental monitoring

Climate and environmental issues have been on the political agenda for many years, both in Norway and internationally. Enhanced political interest entails a need for improved knowledge to ensure that political decisions are based on solid foundation. Observations from space provide information that greatly assists the understanding and management of climate change, also complementing the ground based monitoring. Norway is taking part, through ESA and EUMETSAT (EUropean organisation for the Exploitation of METeorological SATellites), in the development of the next generation of polar and geostationary meteorological satellites.

Copernicus is the European Programme for the establishment of a long-term European capacity for Earth Observation. The provision of Copernicus services is based on the processing of environmental data collected from a space component consisting of several Earth observation satellites and an in-situ component consisting of a multitude of sensors on the ground, at sea or in the air. The European Environment Agency (EEA) is responsible for the development of the in situ component and coordinates the gathering of data coming from both European and non-European organizations.

Norway takes an active part as a participant in the Copernicus programme and through ESA and EU’s H2020 Space. The ESA is developing and operating six missions called Sentinels specifically for the operational needs of the EU Copernicus programme. Each Sentinel mission is based on a constellation of two satellites to fulfil revisit and coverage requirements to provide robust datasets for Copernicus services. The Sentinel missions will have a free and open data policy.

The Copernicus services component is organised in six thematic services, namely the Atmosphere Monitoring Service, Marine Environment Monitoring Service, Land Monitoring Service, Climate Change Service, Emergency Management Service, and Security Service. These Copernicus services support a wide range of downstream applications in various public and commercial domains.

The objective of the Climate Change Service that will be operational from 2017 is to build an EU knowledge base in support of mitigation and adaptation policies. The Copernicus Climate Change service is led by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and will be of great importance to Norway. MET Norway and the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre (NERSC) take part in these activities.

The CryoClim project supported by the Norwegian Space Centre and ESA and led by the Norwegian Computing Centre has developed a new operational and permanent service for long-term systematic climate monitoring of the cryosphere by satellite. The product production and the product depositories are hosted by mandated organisations (MET Norway, NVE and Norwegian Polar Institute), and the service is delivered through a state-of-the-art web service and web portal. The service provides sea ice and snow products of global coverage and glacier products covering Norway (mainland and Svalbard). Cryoclim has potential to be a Norwegian contribution into both the Copernicus Climate Change service and the WMO Global Cryosphere Watch Initiative.

The ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (CCI) is making full use of Europe’s Earth observation space assets to exploit robust long-term global records of essential climate variables. Norway is participating in CCI projects on sea ice (led by NERSC with MET Norway in the project team), aerosol (MET Norway and NILU), glaciers (University of Oslo and Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate), ice sheets (NERSC and Science & Technology AS), ocean color (NERSC), sea level (NERSC) and sea surface temperature (MET Norway). CCI was cited in the IPCCs 5th assessment report with respect to glaciers, sea level and ice sheets, despite only preliminary results being available by the cut-off dates.

Norway currently operates two satellites that were launched on 14 July 2017, NorSat-1 and NorSat-2. NorSat-1 hosts a Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) instrument of high value for climate research.

Some other examples of how satellite observation is used in monitoring climate and research are shown below.

• Polar areas: Satellite measurements are unsurpassed in providing a quick overview of status in the polar areas. Sea ice is obviously applicable, since reliable measurement is in practice is impossible without data from satellites. In addition to edge, concentration, thickness and drift, information about the sea-ice as habitat and transport medium can be obtained. On land we can measure glaciers’ characteristics, extent and volume as well as their dynamics (speed, changes over time). Snow cover can be mapped and wet snow (beginning of snow melt) determined. Change in vegetation, albedo and length of growth season can be determined.
• Oceans: Earth observation is particularity suitable over the open oceans, with limited needs for high spatial resolution. Satellites monitor sea level, sea ice, objects on the sea surface, height of waves, currents, ocean colour (for biological activity), sea surface salinity, sea surface temperature, for instance linked to content of particles, and extent of oil spill.
• Further, satellite measurements are essential for establishing data records on precipitation, earth radiation budget, upper air temperature, wind speed and direction, water vapour and cloud properties.
• Greenhouse gases and other climate drivers: The application is different for different gases, depending on their absorption characteristics. It is possible today to measure some greenhouse gases by satellite, and products for CO₂, CH₄ and H₂O are available. In Norway, satellite observation is used in combination with ground-based observations of CO and aerosols to detect and classify high aerosol episodes, like burning of agricultural waste and forest fires in Eastern Europe and Russia.
• Ozone, UV and insolation: Norway combines satellite-based monitoring of stratospheric ozone with ground-based observations of ozone and UV at 2–3 stations: Oslo, Andøya and Ny-Ålesund. The combined monitoring covers Norwegian territories and adjacent areas from 55 -80 degrees north. The results are shared with global observation networks and used for research in Norway and for international research activities on the development of UV radiation and the ozone layer. Satellite data provides valuable information on spatial distribution of ozone and UV radiation and makes it possible to monitor the geographical extent of low ozone episodes during spring and summer and thereby discover enhanced UV intensity on a regional level. Satellite monitoring of ozone in Norway has been carried out since 1979.
• Air pollution, local and global: Satellite observation is increasingly used in combination with models and in-situ data on the ground. Measurement of NO₂, SO₂, CO, CH₂O and aerosols will be further developed in the next decade e.g. through the Copernicus Atmosphere service in synergy with national activities. The good spatial coverage and the improved spatial and temporal resolution will probably make the Sentinel 5p/5 satellites essential tools in future atmospheric monitoring in Norway and the Arctic. Sentinel- 5p is scheduled to be launched in October 2017. Work is also underway to evaluate the possibility of including a satellite measuring global CO₂ in the long-term scenario of the Copernicus program.

Sentinel data will provide the long-term measurements that climate change science requires.

8.4.6.3 Geodesic Earth observations

The Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) measures changes to and motion of the Earth with an accuracy of millimeters from its geodetic observatory at Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard.

This facility forms part of a global network that contributes to the global geodetic reference frame. This reference frame is crucial for society’s satellite-based infrastructure and provides the basis for accurate climate monitoring. With its northernmost location in the global network, Norway’s geodetic calculations are a strong contribution to the worldwide collaboration on geodetic Earth observation. The importance of the global geodetic reference frame is now also a part of the UN-GGIM (United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management) agenda. In February 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution “A Global Geodetic Reference Frame for Sustainable Development” – the first resolution recognizing the importance of a globally coordinated approach to geodesy.

Using geopositioning, one can locate a point or an object as it moves within the terrestrial reference frame on the millimeter level. Such exquisitely precise measurements provides critical information for many factors such as global and regional sea level changes, ocean currents, ice melting, and movements in the Earth’s crust and Earth orientation.

The global geodetic reference frame is a very accurate reference frame for the whole Earth. It is a coordinate system that allows you relate measurements taken anywhere on the Earth. The reference frame is established by equipping selected reference points with a combination of radio telescopes (Very Long Baseline Interferometry), laser ranging systems (SLR), Global Navigation Satellite System receivers (GNSS) and radio beacons, and sometimes gravimeters. The new state-of-the-art space geodetic observatory that NMA is establishing in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard is an example of such a modern geodetic site.

Norway has participated in building the European satellite navigation systems Galileo and EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service). Active Norwegian participation gives the Norwegian government, industry and institutions the opportunity to influence coverage, entry and use of services. A central aspect of participation in Galileo and EGNOS is to secure that the systems for satellite navigation and observation will perform sufficiently over Norwegian territories, especially in the Arctic.

8.5 Actions taken to support capacity-building related to research and systematic observations in developing countries

Cooperation between MET Norway and the NMHSs in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam on Capacity Building are supported and funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and are in collaboration with Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)95. The focus is on capacity building at the organizational and individual level, with emphasis on forecasting, forecast verification, climate services and ocean modelling, as well as to strengthen early warning systems as part of national prevention plans to prevent disasters by extreme weather. MET Norway’s state-of-art facilities are used to strengthen and develop the operational forecasting and climate services through capacity building, by implementation of integrated forecasting tools and building and utilizing existing climate information in creating modern climate products and services. By working on digitization of climate data, quality control and establishing a climate database, the countries are now able to generate climate products and national climate reports.

8.6 Opportunities for and barriers to free and open international exchange of data and information

International exchange of data and information is facilitated by the formal requirements of EU research programmes and other international cooperative research initiatives. Increasing use of common data gathering platforms, like remote sensing and coordinated site-based networks, also contribute to better opportunities for reliable data exchange among researchers. However, there are still considerable challenges pertaining to free and open data exchange, including formal restrictions on data access, an unwillingness of scientists to share data, and incompatible methods and sampling protocols. Hence, increased efforts are needed to reduce such barriers to effective data exchange in research and management.

To secure a cost-efficient exchange of information, data and products, data providers need to implement standardised licenses that are widely used and understood, not only in the community as such but also among all potential user groups. Standardised licenses, e.g. the Creative Common attribution license, makes it easy for the data providers to handle the formalities as the license is made ready to use out of the box. It is also easy to cater for the need for compatible conditions when putting together information or mashing up data sets when using standardised licenses.

One of the biggest barriers to sharing data is conversion of data formats to suit the different reporting systems. The development of IT solutions is required to overcome this challenge. The Norwegian Environment Agency has for instance been developing IT solutions that enable to extract and convert data from the Norwegian Water Information System (Vannmiljø) for reporting in the required formats to the relevant systems. However, reporting systems may require data that we do not have available.