26,9 million NOK to use ships of opportunity for marine and atmospheric research

The Research Council of Norway has allocated almost 27 million NOK to the NIVA-lead project within Research Infrastructure, NorSOOP (Norwegian Ships of Opportunity Program), for the period 2018-2024. The objective of NorSOOP is to support oceanic and atmospheric research and observations, and to help find ways to detect and manage human impacts on the ocean.

The oceans account for about ~3/4 of the Earth's surface and produce about 1/2 of the oxygen that we breathe. They provide protein for human consumption through wild and farmed fisheries, they have a strong control on weather and climate, and they influence our health and well-being. Basically, our oceans are vital.

A national infrastructure called NorSOOP (Norwegian Ships of Opportunity Program) that uses ships of opportunity, such as container ships, ferries, and cruise ships, will be established by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Institute for Marine Research (IMR), Akvaplan-niva (Apn), and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway). The objective of NorSOOP is to support oceanic and atmospheric research and observations, and to help find ways to detect and manage human impacts on the ocean. NorSOOP will have ships that operate regularly in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea (including coastal Norway and fjords), and the Barents Sea in the Arctic. The ships will be outfitted with state-of-the-art environmental sensors and samplers to measure physical, chemical, and biological processes in Norwegian waters. Some of the ships will also have lab space available for advanced tasks and experiments.

>> Further reading: Ferrybox - ships of opportunity