Norsk Polarinstitutt 0 Arbok 1986
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NORSK POLARINSTITUTT 0 ARBOK 1986 The Annual Report of the Norwegian Polar Research Institute NORSK POLARINSTITUTT OSLO 1987 ISBN 82-90307-48-0 Printed June 1987 Contents Annua! Report of the Norwegian Polar Research Institute ................ "..... ".. "".... "............. 5 Topicalities ................................................................................................................ 20 Published in 1986 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 25 Meetings, courses and teaching . .............................................................................. ...... 31 Institute staff ......................................... ..... .......... ........................................... ........... 33 Accounts for 1986 ....................................................................................................... 36 Grants and financial assistance for research projects ........................................................... 36 Nils A. Øritsland: The reindeer in the Ny-Ålesund area ......................... " "." ...... " ...... ....." 38 Printed in England by Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd Annual Report of the Norwegian Polar Research Institute Norsk Polarinstitutt (NP) is Norway's central institute for the scientific research of Svalbard, Jan Mayen, the polar seas and the Norwegian dependencies in the Antarctic and for the mapping of the Norwegian polar land areas. Apart from its own mapping and research within the fields of geology, geophysics and biology, Norsk Polarinstitutt also acts as an advisor and coordinator for other Norwegian and foreign scientific expeditions to Svalbard. Personnel Ad dress Director: Odd Rogne Rolfstangveien 12, P.O. Box 158 Research director: Jan A. Holtet N-1330 Oslo Lufthavn, Norway No. of permanent posts: 42! Tel: 47-2-123650 No. of temporary posts: 4! Telex: 74745 Polar N Contracted personnel: 16 Telefax: 47-2-123854 Organization (Number of permanent positions in parentheses) \ Geological division (9) I Geophysical division (5) ) I Biological division (2) I Research Geodetic/topographical divi si on ( 4) Director Director )cartographical division (3!) Expedition leader, Arctic Research Stati on (3!) Logistics division (5) \ Svalbard Office office Manager Office administration I'--_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ �� (6!) \ Documentation division ( 4!) 5 The past year Hydrocarbon explorations and exploitation in 1986. At the same time, the Institute was asked Svalbard and the Barents Sea will have significant by the Ministry of the Environment to organize a impact on the environment. The Institute's small expedition to Peter I Øy, Antarctica, in the research activities have therefore to a great extent beginning of 1987. M/S "Aurora", belonging to been directed towards studies which can provide a private Norwegian Antarctic expedition, was to a basis for environmental impact analyses. be used for a period of 38 days, starting from New A project coordinator for the Institute's Zealand in the middle of January, 1987. The environmental research programme was ap very short time available for the planning of the pointed in 1985. The research related to the plan expedition and the shipment of its equipment to ned offshoreexploration in the Southern Barents New Zealand made the last few months of the Sea is funded by the Ministry of Petroleum and year a very hectic time for the expedition mem Energy, which is also in charge of the overall bers and the administration. This was to be the management of all offshore-related projects. firstNorwegian expedition to Peter I Øy for about The terrestrial projects in connection with the thirty years. individual oil companies' activities in Svalbard The Institute took part in the planning and are organized by the Institute in an integrated initiation of several polar anniversary celebrations programme called MUPS (Miljøundersøkelser på throughout the year. The unexpected discovery Svalbard -Environmental investigations in Sval of some old glass plate photos used by Roald bard). In addition to the field work and data Amundsen as illustration to his lectures after his evaluation, a main endeavour in the programme expedition to the South Pole, gathered much pub is to establish a system for environmental impact lic interest. As a result the Institute summoned a analyses in Svalbard. This work builds on experi meeting to discuss the conservation and regis ence gained in similar studies in Canada. The tration of Norwegian polar historical photo drastic drop in oil prices in 1986 reduced the material. To follow up the recommendations of companies' planned activities considerably and the conference, a part time employee was engaged had the same effect on the planned studies. Still, by the Institute, for identification work. Also, an these activities counted for about 20% of the application from the Institute resulted in financial Institute's available resources. More detailed support from the Norwegian Research Council information is found in the "Topicalities" section for Science and the Humanities to employ a pro of this annua! report. ject Ieader within historical source material in The field operations were at a normal leve! in 1987. 1986. Priority was given to sea ice investigations and oceanography in the northern Barents Sea, which is an interesting region for the oil industry Appointments and for environmental assessment studies. We have only fragmentary knowledge of the physical Geologist, Dr. Philos. Anders Elverhøi was environment of the Barents Sea today, which appointed professor of geology and biologist Dr. means that in order to secure a reliable data base, Philos. Nils Are Øritsland professor of biology at investigations in the area will have to be continued the University of Oslo. Dr. Øritsland also for several years ahead. received the Nansen Prize for his outstanding The ordinary biological field work was kept scientificwork in the Arctic. The former director at a high leve! and was coordinated with the of the Institute, Dr. Tore Gjelsvik, was awarded environmental assessment studies. The geological the Copernicus Meda! by the Polish Academy of field work was reduced to a minimum to let the Sciences. geologisrs work on previously collected data and to accelerate the evaluation of data for map compilation. The planning of a new Antarctic expedition in Field work 1987 /88 was started at the beginning of the year. It continued until the late autumn when it became The 1986 expedition was the 73rd regular clear that the expedition would not be funded in Norwegian governmental expedition to Svalbard 6 ", ", 1fN 19N 15N 1tN 7 f N 0 * Current meter mooring t::. Ti de gauge ., Fig. J. Cruise tracks for the expedition vesscl M/S LANCE in the summer of 1986. and the 59th field season of the Norwegian Polar the scientific programme, the expedition was Research Institute in the Arctic. The exploratory responsible for the annua! maintenance of the programme included both marine cruises and ter navigation lights and beacons at Spitsbergen. Dis restrial field investigations, with research projects regarding the continuous observations made at within biology, geophysics, geology and geodesy / the Institute's research station in Ny-Ålesund, the topography. field work started in February with studies of the The main emphasis this year was on the bio reindeer population and ended in November with logical and geophysical projects. In addition to the deployment of current meters and an upward- 7 looking sonar under the ice in the Barents Sea. North Atlantic, and to the study of mixing pro The most active fieldseason, however, took place cesses and water mass transformations in con in the summer months July and August. nection with cooling, ice formation, and ice melt. New in the expedition this year, were the exter For the firsttime subsurface ice topography was nally funded projects under the programme for measured in the Barents and Greenland Seas with evaluation of environmental impacts of oil explo a scanning sonar. Surface stereographic photos ration and exploitation. were also taken to get the relationship between A total of 151 persons took part in the bottom and top topography of the ice. Coded Institute's fieldprogrammes in the Svalbard area, characteristics as well as thickness measurements of which 26 were from the Institute's staff, 39 were made on a routine basis. were engaged professional personnel and field Using the expedition ship as a base, incoming assistants, and 86 were scientists involved in coop and outgoing solar radiation as well as the total eration projects. A number of other programmes radiation balance were measured over different were supported logistically and/or financially types of surfaces: snow covered ice floes, melt through the scholarship account (see page 36.) ponds, and open water (leads). The first geophysical cruise (17/7 -13/8) con centrated on the Barents Sea. The basic NP pro grammes on physical oceanography and sea-ice were supplemented by radiation studies (NP), a substantial chemical oceanography programme in A. Svalbard cooperation with the University of Gothenburg, and further sea-ice work together with the Mul 1. Scientific cruises lard Space Centre, Cambridge, and SINTEF, Trondheim. A biological team from the Uni Three scientific cruises were carried out with the versity of Tromsø joined the cruise to continue expedition vessel R/V Lance in 1986, as apart of the studies of the ice fauna which was started at the Institute's field activities. A spring cruise in the PRO MARE cruise.