It had been dormant for 800 years, but in March 2021, the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland came to life. While the eruption was ongoing, large-scale field experiments were conducted to build defensive earthen barriers aimed at slowing down the molten lava flow.
Norway’s law on mining seabed minerals is too unclear, the knowledge base too flimsy, and the Storting’s White Paper on seabed mining does not hold water.
The ice sheet in Queen Maud Land in East Antarctica is not stable. Large amounts of ice have melted in the past, most recently as 5,000 years ago.
This summer, a coalition of researchers led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology reported the first-ever use of a fibre-optic cable network to eavesdrop on whales in the Arctic. Now they suggest these networks be used to establish a low-cost global ocean-earth observatory.
Australia has a seafloor monitoring program where they can precisely surveil the changes in the environment. NTNU has attracted one of the key researchers from this project. Oscar Pizarro’s research goal is to find tools to facilitate continuous observation with less resources.
Metal production generates considerable emissions of greenhouse gases. But the type of ore used in production can make a big difference.
Low oil prices have fueled the debate about which industries Norway should develop and live on in the future. In the government’s revised national budget, the extraction of seabed minerals emerges as a clear investment area.
For the first time ever, researchers have been able to peek deep into the mantle of the Earth under an ultraslow mid-ocean ridge, where they have been able to observe mantle melting and growth of the Earth’s crust.
Research on minerals and materials is important in helping society make the transition to a greener economy. NTNU, the Geological Survey of Norway and SINTEF have joined forces to establish a national laboratory to that end.
Natural history collections aren’t just dusty financial sinkholes. Actually, they can be gold mines for industry.
Norwegian research scientists are contributing to the development of the world’s hottest geothermal well in a non-volcanic area. The goal is to exploit the inexhaustible supply of heat from the interior of the Earth, and this calls for equipment that can withstand the most extreme conditions.
Vampire bats are the only mammals that feed exclusively on blood. The way they manage to do that offers us some remarkable insights into evolution.
Ancient Norwegians made top-quality iron. But where did the knowledge to make this iron come from? An NTNU professor emeritus may have solved this riddle.
Did some of our human features evolve while our ancestors were living in water? The aquatic ape theory has been disregarded by paleoanthropologists, but it deserves another chance.
Japanese researchers have access to the largest scientific vessel ever constructed, one that has a 120 metre tall derrick capable of drilling to 7500 metres below the seafloor. They’re using it to hunt for life deep under the seafloor and explore for mineral deposits at the bottom of the ocean — topics that are of great interest to Norwegian researchers.
How and why do movements of the Earth’s crust still cause death and destruction millions of years after they first happened? A new technique sheds light on this question.
Svalbard’s cold climate means that its glaciers are solid and frozen to the ground. This allows for winter travel into unique ice caves that contain plants and material that froze into the glacial ice as it formed.
The 11 March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake was the largest and most destructive in the history of Japan. Japanese researchers — and Norwegian partners — are hard at work trying to understand just what made it so devastating.
The deep sea contains mineral riches that offers a new frontier for research and exploration — and a new way to employ Norway’s deep sea expertise.
Ocean dumping of munitions from WWII was common in Norway and along the European coast. Some of these bomb dumps offer a natural living laboratory where biologists can study cold-water coral reefs.
The polar night descends on the arctic archipelago of Svalbard for more than 100 days a year. But even in the depths of this darkness, the oceans are churning with activity.
The Norwegian arctic island archipelago of Svalbard offers scientists the chance to investigate some of the most intriguing – and perplexing – puzzles facing the high north.
