EPOS Norway

Many of the smaller research groups in Earth sciences in Norwegian universities have recently been joined into larger units providing the essential critical masses in meeting the future challenges in solid Earth research. Together with the national institutions, as well as the independent research institutes, the Earth science community in Norway has developed the ability to address the main scientific issues related to the monitoring, processing, integration and analysis as well as modeling of complex geodynamic processes. While some of the thematic problems such as the climate change, petroleum research and renewable energy, have been given high priority in the Norwegian national research agenda, basic research in other Earth science disciplines or thematic areas such as seismology, geodesy and natural disasters, have not been sufficiently focused. The research groups falling into the latter category have traditionally had strong international research networks (European and global) that have enhanced their capacity and competence as well as competitiveness. Part of this development has also its roots in the very nature of these disciplines because the geodynamic processes that result in natural disasters, such as earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis or volcanic eruptions, can only be studied by a global approach which requires international collaboration. In most of the European research initiatives in recent years, Norwegian solid Earth science community have participated strongly, demonstrating their capacity.

Within the framework of the EPOS project, Norwegian interests are significant, not only in fundamental scientific issues related to geodynamic processes, but also in terms of the application of these in to several central problems such as CO2 storage (or other toxic waste repositories) in geological formations, geothermal energy (hot-dry rock) potential, geohazards and their consequences to the society. In this regard, the large earthquake of magnitude 6.0 which occurred on February 21, 2008, in the continental shelf area of Spitsbergen, Southeast of Longyearbyen, is a recent reminder of the significant earthquake hazard and risk in Norway and the adjacent offshore areas. An earthquake of similar size near a densely populated area would have resulted with disastrous effects. Another important dimension is the Arctic areas. The Barents Sea region, Svalbard area, Jan Mayen (with an active volcano) and the Norwegian continental shelf including also deep sea areas with the major plate boundary in the northern North Atlantic and its continuation in the Arctic Sea constitute an area with significant geographical extent within the European plate. Norwegian monitoring networks (both seismological as well as geodetic) have a special geographical coverage in the Arctic, which is unique and superior to most of the other countries in Europe participating in the EPOS project. In this context, the other ESFRI initiatives where strong Norwegian participation is established, such as SIOS, EMSO and Aurora Borealis will have significant synergy effects in terms of establishing an advantage for the Norwegian Earth science community. The already existing links with these initiatives, combined with the strong links with the Norwegian Oil Industry, where geodynamic processes constitute the fundamental element for exploration and production as well as the related environmental issues, provide the necessary platform to collaborate and develop a significant dimension and balance in the European Research Area.