– The first camera was put in place a couple of weeks ago, so now we are up and running. Christina Pedersen at the Norwegian Polar Institute says so. She is the project manager for the “Troll observation network”. Troll is the Norwegian research station in Antarctica. It is located in a mountainous area 23 miles from the coast. Here there is ice on all sides. And huge numbers of birds. Primarily Antarctic petrel and snow petrel. In March, news told the story of the empty bird’s nest at Svarthamaren. Svarthamaren is known for having the largest colony of Antarctic petrels in the world. But when the researchers got there, it was empty. Apart from four dead chickens. – Would have known more if we had had a camera there – If we had had a camera deployed at Svarthamaren at the time, we would have known more than we know today. Then we would have had more information about what happened before the researchers came to the empty bird mountain, says Pedersen. The Polar Institute has been researching the seabird populations at Svarthamaren since the 1980s. The petrel finds its food out in the Southern Ocean, but has a base far inland. He is therefore extra interesting for researchers. – Now we will have automatic monitoring systems in two places here, and will thus also gain better knowledge about the marine environment in the sea, says Pedersen. Timelapse cameras are already in place among the Antarctic petrels in Jutulsessen, not far from the Troll station. Photo: Sebastien Descamps / Norwegian Polar Institute Biggest investment in Antarctica to date More cameras are on the way. Weather stations are to be set up, sensors are to be deployed in the ice and rigs with instruments are to be put out into the Arctic Ocean. Data must be collected from the atmosphere, the ice, the land and the sea. – Today we have little observational data from this area. The new network will be very important for giving researchers more knowledge about climate and environmental changes in the south. We get far more complete access to data, says Pedersen. The price tag is NOK 300 million. The Norwegian Research Council has put forward 157 million of this. The rest comes from the actors involved in this collaboration – five Norwegian and three international. According to the Norwegian Polar Institute, this is the largest Norwegian investment in research in Antarctica since Troll was established in 1990. Snow petrel hovering over Troll. Photo: Stein Tronstad / Norwegian Polar Institute Drone with radar measures ice and snow At the research institute NORCE, a new drone service is taking shape. This will be an important piece in the new network. – We will install two radar systems on two large drones that will collect data over large parts of the Norwegian area of Queen Maud Land. The range will be around 1,500 kilometers from Troll, says department manager Rune Storvold. With the new equipment, they can measure exactly how much ice and snow there is in this area. The melting of ice and snow, and the “topping up” of snow, are recorded precisely. They will also be able to see how quickly the ice masses are moving out to sea. In addition, the radars will be able to measure how thick the layer of snow, which lies on top of the ice, is. – Here we will be able to see the rainfall in the area year by year, around 200 years back in time. The measurements of snow and ice will be able to give the researchers a good basis for preparing forecasts for future developments, says Storvold. The Troll research station is located in Dronning Maud Land, a data-poor area in Antarctica. Photo: Trine Lise Sviggum Helgerud / Norwegian Polar Institute The ozone layer, as well as the CO₂ and methane levels will also gradually be measured with the new system. And out on the coast, the production of plankton will be recorded with a camera that can distinguish between 250 colours. – Today measurements are being made of some of this at Troll. But when we can now operate over a large area with two advanced radar systems and cameras, the researchers will have access to completely new data that will be very important for international climate research, says Storvold. Important for the UN climate panel The observation network must be complete in 2027. – With the new network in operation, we will be able to obtain continuously updated data from Antarctica. It will give the researchers an insight that they do not have today. We will be able to make much better forecasts about the developments that lie ahead, says Ole Arve Misund, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute. Ole Arve Misund, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute Photo: Eivind Molde / news – Is it necessary to spend so much money on this? – It is absolutely worth every penny. As a polar nation, Norway has a special responsibility, also in international research collaboration. It is a collaboration that will become more extensive now. – Do you have an example of how this would be useful internationally? – Among other things, it will go directly into the work of the UN climate panel. The development in Antarctica is absolutely central when it comes to changes in sea level and the global ecosystems. Troll observation network as it is intended to look when everything is in place. The University of Oslo, the University of Bergen, NORCE, NILU and NORSAR are Norwegian partners in the project, which is led by the Norwegian Polar Institute. Illustration: Norwegian Polar Institute
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The camera will show how the birds are doing in Antarctica – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
