By: Karine N. Aarskog, UiT
After seven years of research, scientists from the Nansen Legacy project have gained valuable knowledge about changes in the northern Barents Sea as the climate shifts. Now, this ambitious research project has formally concluded.
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters first proposed a national Arctic research initiative for the northern Barents Sea in 2011. The idea was to unify Norwegian marine research institutions and optimize the use of both existing and new infrastructure, such as the research icebreaker Kronprins Haakon. Additionally, there was an urgent need for more knowledge about the northern Barents Sea to facilitate a future sustainable management of the area. This vision grew into the national research project the Nansen Legacy.
“This was a large-scale collaborative effort to understand how the ecosystem responds to climate change,” explains project leader and UiT professor Marit Reigstad. With the 2018 launch of the new research icebreaker coinciding with the project’s start, researchers could study the northern Barents Sea in much greater depth, including during winter—a rarity in past research endeavors.
The first annual meeting in the project 2018. Photo: Magne Velle (MET).
By the end of 2017, funding was secured, supported by ten research institutions from across Norway.
“The Nansen Legacy has been a national team effort—not many small, fragmented projects, but one large, coordinated initiative,” notes Professor Nils Christian Stenseth from the University of Oslo, one of the project’s initiators. This model of collaboration, he adds, was a novel way to organize research in Norway, which he hopes will inspire future projects.
Honoring the scientist Fridtjof Nansen
Over 300 researchers participated in the project, including 54 postdoctoral researchers, 37 PhD candidates, and 29 master’s students. The project spanned 350 expedition days and contributed extensively to scientific reports and management plans. The formal conclusion of the Nansen Legacy was celebrated at a seminar held at the Framsenteret in Tromsø. State Secretary Signe Bjotveit expressed gratitude to the participants and conveyed greetings from the Ministry of Education and Research.
“Norway has a proud history of polar explorers, discoverers, and knowledge seekers. Fridtjof Nansen was one of them, but above all, he was a scientist. This project honors the legacy of the scientist Fridtjof Nansen, both through its name and its activities,” said Bjotveit.
She highlighted the project’s importance in fields critical to Norway and where Norwegian researchers are global leaders, adding, “I believe the Nansen Legacy has further strengthened this position.”
Observations of a changing Arctic
One key focus was documenting the effects of the Atlantic Water Current on the northern Barents Sea, building on knowledge dating back to 1909, when Nansen and oceanographer Bjørn Helland-Hansen first wrote about it. The project found that Atlantic water not only enters the Barents Sea from the south but also from the north.
Researchers also documented how thinner ice, less ice cover, and more open water influence weather patterns hundreds of kilometres away, extending to Norway’s coast of Finnmark.
“Due to climate change, the Barents Sea is set to become the first Arctic shelf sea to be ice-free in winter,” explains Reigstad. This warming allows species to migrate further north, while new species enter from the south, altering ecosystems.
“This new knowledge provides a critical foundation for managing these marine areas,” Reigstad adds.
Advancing technology and open data
The Nansen Legacy project also embraced technological innovation, employing satellites, drones, and autonomous underwater vehicles. Some of these vehicles were equipped with artificial intelligence to make autonomous decisions about their routes and measurements.
“We aim to enable underwater robots to understand their tasks and decide where to go for further measurements,” says NTNU professor Martin Ludvigsen.
Open data was another cornerstone of the project. From the outset, efforts were made to systematically store and organize data for national and international accessibility.
“Data collected during the project should remain usable for generations to come, addressing questions we may not yet have,” states Professor Tove Gabrielsen from UNIS in Svalbard.
During the project’s early stages, the at-that-time-State Secretary Bjørn Haugstad questioned whether the initiative was too ambitious for a country like Norway. Professor Stenseth strongly disagreed, arguing that the project would ultimately become a source of pride. Reflecting on its achievements, he reiterates:
“We are proud—thanks to the researchers, participating institutions, and project leadership. This is something to celebrate.”
… And the group photo from the last annual meeting in the project in 2023. Photo: Charlotte Stark (MET).
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