Nansen Legacy contributes to major status- and management reports

An important pathway from knowledge to users goes through national and international science synthesis and assessment initiatives where expertise merges and extracts relevant scientific results to address societal needs for knowledge. Nansen Legacy scientists - especially those working in the management institutions among the project partners - have contributed to several national and international status- and management reports on the ocean and climate state in 2021. This ensures a direct transfer of the new knowledge generated by the Nansen Legacy project into assessment reports used for knowledge-based management and policy making in Norway and the World.
Nansen Legacy scientists contributed to the following reports in 2021:
Assessment of Particularly Valuable and Vulnerable Areas (SVO) in Norwegian seas

Fifteen Nansen Legacy researchers from five partner institutions were involved in a new assessment of Particularly Valuable and Vulnerable Areas (SVO) in Norwegian seas – Environmental values. SVOs are areas that have significant importance for biological diversity and biological production in the sea area, often also outside the areas themselves. SVOs are part of the national management plan for Norwegian marine areas, and hence an important tool in the sustainable management and protection of marine resources. The Nansen Legacy researcher Elena Eriksen, Institute of Marine Research, led the reports editorial group. and policy making in Norway and the World.

Assessment of Particularly Valuable and Vulnerable Areas (SVO) in Norwegian seas

EASAC report ‘A sea of change: Europe’s future in the Atlantic realm’

EASAC – the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council – is formed by the national science academies of the EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom to enable them to collaborate with each other in providing independent science advice to European policy-makers.

In June 2021, EASAC published a report assessing the underlying processes and trends in the Atlantic, and the ways in which the state of the ocean impact Europe’s climate, marine environment and resources. The expert group behind the report was led by Nansen Legacy co-PI Tor Eldevik (UiB).

A sea of change: Europe's future in the Atlantic realm

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report AR6

In August 2021, the first part-report of the Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released. 

This part-report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.

Nansen Legacy members Sebastian Mernild (NERSC) and Sebastian Gerland (NPI) were lead authors in Atlas and chapter 2, respectively, while Nansen Legacy early career scientist Jakob Dörr (UiB) was contributing author in chapter 9. Nansen Legacy scientists also contributed by reviewing draft versions of the report. Nansen Legacy publications were cited in the report.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report AR6

CMEMS Ocean State Report

The Copernicus Marine Service Ocean State Report is a Reference Report of the European Union. It provides a comprehensive and state-of-the art assessment of the state of the global ocean and European regional seas for the ocean scientific community as well as for policy and decision-makers.

Nansen Legacy researcher Sigrid Lind (NPI) contributed to chapter 4 of the fifth Ocean State Report released in September 2021. Their contribution states that despite low sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean this year, the sea-ice extent and ocean conditions were surprisingly normal in the Svalbard-Barents Sea region.  This is explained by persistent northernly winds that forced exceptionally large sea-ice inflows to the Barents Sea from the Arctic Ocean in 2019.

CMEMS Ocean State Report

NSIDC Arctic Sea Ice Analysis and News

The National Snow and Ice Data Centre provides monthly scientific analysis on Arctic sea ice conditions. 

In the September update, Nansen Legacy researchers Dmitry Divine, Sebastian Gerland, Adam Steer and Sigrid Lind (all NPI) provided a summary of the melt season progress and sea ice conditions in the northern Barents Sea based on a series of Nansen Legacy research cruises to the region during the 2021.

NSIDC Arctic Sea Ice Analysis and News

NOAA Arctic Report Card 2021

Nansen Legacy scientists Dmitry Divine, Sebastian Gerland and Adam Steer (all NPI) participated in the sea ice chapter of the NOAA Arctic Report Card 2021, with an update about changes in Arctic sea ice extent, ice age, ice thickness and volume. 

Results from Nansen Legacy observations were among the inputs to this report card chapter.

The Arctic Report Card is a peer-reviewed source for environmental information on the current state of different components of the Arctic environmental system relative to historical records. The Report Card is intended for a wide audience, including scientists, teachers, students, decision-makers and the general public interested in the Arctic environment and science.

NOAA Arctic Report Card 2021