image: The Barents Sea system – gateway to the changing Arctic provides an overview of the interconnected elements of the Barents Sea, from microbes living in the sediments to seabirds at its surface, from the cycling of tiny particles of trace minerals to large-scale atmospheric and ocean currents. Also described are the methods and technologies used to observe and understand the system, including newly developed tools that make the Arctic Ocean more accessible to scientific inquiry than ever before. This book also explains how the region is managed: knowledge-based management is the key to maintaining a well-functioning Barents Sea.
Credit: Fagbokforlaget
Roughly 300 scientists, students and technicians from ten Norwegian research institutions worked together in a six-year national effort to investigate the Barents Sea. The Nansen Legacy research project, which ran from 2018-2024, involved biologists, chemists, technologists, physicists, historians and cyberneticists working side by side.
Their interdisciplinary collaboration relied on a number of new methods to carry out a thorough survey of the environment in the Barents Sea management plan area.
The research results from this huge national effort are collected in the new book The Barents Sea system – gateway to the changing Arctic. Geir Johnsen, a professor of biology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is one of the book’s three editors.
“The most important thing in this major research project is interdisciplinarity. We work closely together across disciplines, and we work well with each other,” Johnsen said.
The researchers believe the book will be an important contribution to knowledge-based management of this important international resource.
Autonomous vehicles played key role
The researchers deployed instruments in the skies, on the sea surface, under sea ice, in the water column and on the seabed. These different platforms could collect data simultaneously, providing a nearly real-time understanding of what was happening in a specific place.
"Instrument-carrying robot platforms have made it possible to carry out scientific investigations in a very efficient way," says Johnsen.
The researchers used flying drones, small satellites, autonomous boats and underwater robots that could be fitted with hyperspectral cameras.
This type of camera can capture very precise images of large areas, making it possible to see nuances in the colour of the sea surface that can help researchers assess algae blooms, as one example.
The robots are also equipped with sensors that measure temperature and light, as well as acoustic meters and water samplers.The Observational Pyramid
Researchers called this combination of observational tools the Observational Pyramid. It allows researchers to scan the ocean from sky to seabed, collect water samples and perform various tests in the same area at the same time.
"The observation pyramid looks at phenomena in time and space and collects data at many different levels. We get 100 times more information compared to only information from research vessels," Johnsen said.
"The method can be scaled up and down: With the help of satellites, we can map areas of several hundred thousand square kilometers. And we can also zoom in on details and examine a drop of water or a cell," he said.
Why the Barents Sea?
The Barents Sea contains many mysteries and unanswered questions, yet it is a critical area for marine resources, geopolitics and shipping.
The Arctic is becoming increasingly ice-free, and it is precisely in the Barents Sea that the melting of sea ice is most noticeable, including with the greatest temperature increases. That makes the Barents Sea an important place for tracking environmental trends and climate change.
The researchers have studied the past and present climate and ecosystem in the Barents Sea. These data enable researchers to make better predictions about future changes and offer important information for being able to manage resources in the best possible way.
"Other sea areas in the Arctic are likely to experience similar changes as we are seeing in the Barents Sea now. This knowledge base and the book will be an important resource for understanding changes that are taking place in the ocean," Johnsen said.