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Norwegian Contributions to Arctic Environmental Sciences from the 1880S to the Third International Polar Year

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Norwegian Contributions to Arctic Environmental Sciences from the 1880S to the Third International Polar Year • Review • Advances in Polar Science doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2016.1.00001 March 2016 Vol. 27 No. 1: 1-7 Norwegian contributions to Arctic environmental sciences from the 1880s to the third International Polar Year Roger G. Barry* National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and Department of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0449, USA Received 1 January 2016; accepted 30 March 2016 Abstract This paper reviews the major contributions made by Norwegian scientists to Arctic environmental sciences since the 1880s. The review begins with the first International Polar Year (IPY) in 1882–83. It then considers the 1890s to 1920s with the scientific expeditions focusing on ocean and sea ice conditions of Nansen, Amundsen and H. Sverdrup, and the mapping of the Queen Elizabeth Islands by Otto Sverdrup and colleagues. The period from 1911 to the mid-1920s also witnessed annual expeditions to Svalbard led by Adolf Hoel. The 1930s to 1945 period encompassed the Second International Polar Year when Arctic weather stations were established or maintained. The time interval post-World War II to 2000 witnessed major advances made possible by technical and organizational innovations. The establishment of the Norwegian Polar Institute in 1948 led to extensive research on the glaciers and snow cover in the Svalbard archipelago and to oceanographic and sea ice research in the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. Remote sensing methods began to be widely used from the 1980s. The new millennium saw the undertaking of the third IPY and a shift to multinational projects. New fields such as ocean–ice–atmosphere variability became active and there was much attention to high-latitude climate change in the context of global warming. Keywords Arctic, Svalbard, environmental sciences, climate change, International Polar Year Citation: Barry R G. Norwegian contributions to Arctic environmental sciences from the 1880s to the third International Polar Year. Adv Polar Sci, 2016, 27: 1-7, doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2016.1.00001 1 The beginning The first Scandinavian to complete the Northeast Passage around Eurasia was N. A. E. Nordenskiold[4], who Norway has a long and distinguished history of polar in 1878–79 commanded the Vega expedition. Starting from exploration and research as recounted by Drivenes and Karlskrona in southeast Sweden on 22 June 1878, the Vega Jølle[1]. Barry[2] and Serreze and Barry[3] provide an historical rounded Cape Chelyuskin in August, and after being frozen view of the context of research in Arctic climate. This in at the end of September near the Bering Strait, completed paper traces Norwegian contributions to Arctic research the voyage successfully in the following summer. This in the domain of physical sciences of the environment demonstrated the feasibility, albeit with great difficulty of a from the 1880s to the present. It shows the transition from Northeast Passage through the Arctic Ocean. largely individual ship or land expeditions to nationally and The Norwegians essentially began Arctic research internationally-organized programs, to permanent bases and during the First International Polar Year, 1882–83. A ring to interdisciplinary, multinational programs supported by of 12 stations was set up around the Arctic that carried out [4] technological advances in instrumentation, field equipment, meteorological, geomagnetic and auroral observations . transportation, navigation and communications. These included a weather station that was operated in northern Norway at Bossekop (69.97°N, 23.25°E) in Finnmark[6]. * Corresponding author, E-mail: [email protected] Meteorological, auroral, and oceanographic observations in www.aps-polar.org 2 Barry R G. Adv Polar Sci March(2016) Vol. 27 No. 1 the fiord at Alta were performed and the results published by to Hisdal[18], who examined diurnal temperature variations in the climatologist A. Steen[7]. Tammiksaar et al.[8] show that an polar regions in winter. unpublished chart of circumpolar temperatures for January From 1898–1902, Otto Sverdrup led the second Fram 1883 was prepared from all available reports by S.B. Ehrhart expedition to northwest Greenland and the high Canadian in Munich in 1902. In 1888, F. Nansen, O. Sverdrup and four Arctic islands. For four years he overwintered on Ellesmere others made the first crossing of the Greenland Ice Sheet on Island and the expedition discovered and explored Axel skis from Umivik on the east coast to Godthaab on the west Heiberg, Amand Ringnes, and Ellef Ringnes islands. His coast — a distance of 450 km[9]. Their main difficulties were surveyor Gunnar Isachsen carried out extensive mapping over landing on the icebound east coast and crossing crevasses an area of 240000 km2, and significant botanical, zoological, on their descent to the west coast. They demonstrated that and geological work was undertaken by the expedition[19]. the inland ice was continuous. This success triggered a Again Mohn reported on the meteorological findings[20]. wave of enthusiasm for polar exploration in Norway that Between 1900 and 1906 there were almost annual built on its prowess in maritime affairs and its experience in cruises around Bear Island making oceanographic and fishery cold climates, snow and sea ice. Nansen was regarded as a investigations. In 1900 an oceanographic expedition led by J. national hero and the Greenland crossing boosted patriotic Hort sailed to the north of Iceland, the sea ice area known as self-esteem[10]. Nansen’s achievement led directly to the the Western Icefield, Jan Mayen and Bear Island (Bjørnøya). founding of the Norwegian Geographical Society according Expedition members included F. Nansen, oceanographer to Orheim[11]. B. Helland-Hansen, a biologist and a zoologist. In 1901 Amundsen made oceanographic observations in the Arctic 2 Scientific research from the 1890s to seas[21] that were referenced 80 years later by Rudels[22]. They concerned the Atlantic source of deep water in the the 1920s Arctic Ocean and the possible additional role of the Barents This account draws heavily for its starting point on the Sea and continental shelves. In 1902–03 the Norwegian chronology of Norwegian expeditions provided by Barr[12]. Aurora Polaris expedition was organized by K. Birkeland. However, commercial expeditions for purposes of hunting Parallel observations were maintained at stations on Iceland, are omitted from this discussion. Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya, and in Finnmark, Norway. Two The earliest oceanographic work in the northern North observatories on Novaya Zemlya operated from 30 August Atlantic extending to Svalbard was undertaken in 1876–78 1902 to 11 Mach 1903. In addition to meteorology, botanical by H. Mohn and G.O. Sars who led the Norwegian North and zoological studies were undertaken. Nansen undertook Atlantic Expedition. This also made geographical and further oceanographic observations during a cruise of the zoological contributions[13]. Veslemøy off Spitsbergen in summer 1912[23]. On this occasion Fridtjof Nansen and colleagues carried out the first major he was able to employ the Nansen bottle, that he had invented research program in the Arctic during the Fram expedition two years earlier, to collect water samples at various depths. of 1893–96[14]. In 1885, sealskin clothing from George de This device was only replaced in 1966, Long’s vessel the USS Jeanette, that had been abandoned The union of Norway and Sweden ended in 1905 after drifting from the Bering Strait in the pack ice off Siberia and Sörlin[10] points out that Norway’s main foreign policy to 77°15′ N, 154°59′ E in June 1881, was found in 1885 on concern became the “northern areas” i.e. the Arctic waters and the southwest coast of Greenland. Nansen was among a few islands of the Svalbard Archipelago. scientists who argued that this demonstrated the existence of In the North American Arctic, Otto Sverdrup was an ocean circulation westward from Siberia and he planned followed by Roald Amundsen[24] on the sloop Gjoa, who to make use of it by freezing the specially built Fram into the during 1903–06 successfully traversed the Northwest Passage ice and allowing it to drift. He hoped the motion would carry via Lancaster Sound, south on the west side of Somerset it close to the North Pole. De Long’s ill-fated expedition had Island, and then south of Victoria Island, which was mapped, finally laid to rest the long-standing notion of an open polar to Alaska. Amundsen made a sledge trip to Eagle City ocean[15]. On 25 September, 1893 the vessel Fram was frozen near the Yukon River to telegraph news of conquering the into the pack ice near the New Siberian Islands and from there Northwest Passage. it slowly drifted northwestward reaching 86°N. Nansen and In 1909 zoologist J. Koren travelled from Nome, a colleague skied some distance to the north and then turned Alaska, through Bering Strait to the Chukchi Peninsula back, whilst the ship drifted southward before becoming free studying bird life, becoming the first to locate the nesting sites of the ice in the Greenland Sea on 14 August, 1896. A large of the spoonbill sandpiper. During 1911–13 Koren returned collection of oceanographic and meteorological observations and overwintered up the Kolyma River. After their ship sank was assembled and these are now available in digital form[16]. in the ice, the party returned in a whaleboat to the Diomede The meteorological observations made on this first Fram islands from where Koren walked over the sea ice to Alaska expedition were reported by Mohn[17]. The coldest winter in March 1913. months averaged between 36°C and 37°C.It is interesting Adolf Hoel published a summary report on the to note that the results were still of interest five decades later Norwegian expeditions to Svalbard from 1906 to 1926[13].
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