Greetings from beautiful, but rainy Norway, where your intrepid reporter is spending a sabbatical leave from the University of Prince Edward Island.  Unfortunately, I am not at the beautiful Flam Valley deep in the fjords (left) but at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (right) in Oslo, which is an elegant, 1000 year old city.                

Norway is a beautiful country, carved by glaciers into awesome valleys and deep fjords.  It is also a very northerly country, with Oslo, the capital city being at the same latitude as Whitehorse, Yukon.  It is also a very long country, with Kristiansand near the south end of the country, and Tromso, the most northerly city.  Here is a map to give you some perspective:                        

It is approximately 500 km from Oslo to Trondheim and takes about 9 hours to get there because of winding roads through valleys and over mountain passes.  To get to the northern most part of the country would take 3 to 4 days of driving.  Yet, despite being so far north, Norway has a     

rather warm climate.  I was amazed how similar it was to Prince Edward Island.  The reason is the Gulf Stream, which brings relatively warm waters to the coastlines of Norway.   The country has a relatively small population of only 4 million people and much of that is concentrated in areas along the coast, particularly the cities shown on the map.                        

The reason for providing some of this brief information on the geography and location of the country is to provide you with a perspective for appreciating Norwegian developments in science and technology.  Much of the economy of the country depends on the sea, both in fishing and now in oil and gas production and development and, as you see, Norway has a long and indented coastline.                          

Science and Technology in Norway

1. The Oil and Gas Industry

This is presently the biggest economic driver for Norway and the majority of the industry is located in the North Sea to the west of Stavanger and Bergen.  Norwegian technology in the building of safe drilling and production platforms has led to a major exploitation of North Sea gas and oil for the European market.  A photograph of a typical oil and gas platform (from an Exxon publication) is shown below:     

The engineering and technological expertise in this area is so sophisticated, that many Norwegians were very upset about the events that surrounded the sinking of the Russian submarine, Kursk.  They felt that Norwegian divers could have been down to save the crew, had not the Russian government procrastinated and delayed rescue attempts.  Even now, Norwegian divers are working on removing the bodies from the wreck of the submarine.               

2. Aquaculture and Fisheries

Norwegians are leaders in fish farming, which is a major reason why I am carrying out a study leave in Norway.  The Atlantic Veterinary College has a mandate to provide leadership in animal health care to the Atlantic region of Canada.  We have been working closely with fish farmers in the region, especially with farmed Atlantic salmon.  One of the major health problems, both in Norway and in Canada, has been a parasite, called a sea louse, which normally grazes on the skin of wild salmon, eating mucous, skin, and also some blood.  Normally, there are only a few per fish.  However, in fish farming there are thousands of fish in a cage and there is a much better chance for fish to get infected.  Lots of lice on a fish can damage the skin so that fish have trouble osmoregulating because they lose water into the seawater in which they swim, and the lesions leave them susceptible to other diseases. Here is a picture of some sea lice on an Atlantic salmon and more information can be obtained on a website my students created to tell you about our research (http://www.crosswinds.net/~kniblett/):                        

So drugs have to be used to protect the fish from these parasites.  Since we wish to keep the drugs used to a minimum because of human, animal, and environmental health concerns, we are trying to find other ways to treat the fish, such as vaccination, better husbandry, and better use of the drugs.  We are collaborating with colleagues in Norway on these problems and I have had the opportunity to visit a number of fish farms in the fjords to gather samples and talk to the fish farmers and processors.  Some pictures of farms follow:                         

Fish farm at Brekke, on the Sognefjord, near Bergen.

Fish farm at Hidra, near Flekkefjord (southwest coast)                

Hydro Seafood Fish farm, near Hjelmeland             

Salmon farms are scattered all along the coast and hidden in the fjords, which are well protected from the storms of the North Sea.  They are also very deep and allow good environmental conditions for farming.  One farm I visited had just finished harvesting 35 tons of salmon that morning and they were on their way by truck to the European markets the same afternoon.                        

Processing plants also use state-of-the-art equipment.  Salmon are brought to the plant by well boats, ie, fish are pumped from the cages into the boat, and then they are brought live to the processing plant, where they are put into cages in the fjord by the plant.  They are then pumped into the plant, where they are prepared to the market, fresh from the sea.  Here are some pictures of the equipment used to pump the salmon from the cages into the processing plants:                          

5 to 7 kg salmon going from the water to the processing plant at Flekkefjord        

Salmon processing line                    

(from a Research Council of Norway publication)                        

The Fish Market, Bergen             

3. Ship building

Norway still builds beautiful traditional wooden boats, but naturally are leaders in the design of new technologies in boat building.  With a convoluted coastline, carved out by the glaciers into deep fjords, there is an intensive ferry system, using new technologies.  Catamarans used in high-speed traffic at several locations along the Norwegian coastline are all made of aluminium, and Norway is a leader in this technology.         

(photo from a Research Council of Norway publication)           

4. Hydroelectric Power

With all the deep valleys and plentiful rainfall, Norway has taken advantage of its geography to harness waterflow and produce hydroelectricity.  The Vermork Hydroelectric Power Plant in Rjukan was made famous during the World War II since it was the site where the Germans were producing heavy water, D₂O, by electroloysis, which would have put them well ahead of the USA in the development of the atomic bomb.  The bombing of the plant by Norwegian and British saboteurs was made famous in a 1965 movie, The Heroes of Telemark.       

Vermork Hydroelectric Plant, Rjukan             

5. Polar Research 

In its northerly location, it is not surprising that Norway does extensive research of the polar regions.  This also fits in with Norway's history of polar exploration.  You may remember that Roald Amundsen was the first explorer who made it through Canada's Northwest Passage (as well as being the first to the South Pole).                    

Polar research includes studies of the effects of pollutants on polar bears and effects of climate change on polar ice.  Researchers at the Norwegian Polar Institute (http://www.npolar.no/ in Tromso collaborate with scientists Canada, the USA, and Russia on these studies.                    

 

6.   Science and Technology Awareness Programs in Norway                   

The Research Council of Norway actively supports Science and Technology Programs.  During my stay in Oslo, I noticed a number of booths set up in one of the main squares in Oslo to tell the public about research activities in Norway.  I found that this was a part of a Research Week held right across the country.       

Displays included everything from medical research to new engineering achievements in the field of energy.  A special website to describe the goals and activities of Norwegian Research Week can be visited at http://www.forskningsdagene.com/om/english.html (in English).  The Research Council of Norway also supports the Norwegian Association of Young Scientists.  More about the activities of the Research Council of Norway can be found at http://www.forskningsradet.no/english (in English) and in some of their published material, such as the magazine Tell’Us.                

Tell'Us can all be accessed on the internet at http://www.forskningsradet.no/engpub/tellus/tellus_eng/            

Another interesting place to visit in Oslo was the Norwegian Technical Museum, with lots of information for older and younger people.  Lots of hands-on activities for the kids.   The displays on the oil, hydroelectric, and lumber industries were particularly informative.           

The display on the Northern Lights was particularly intriguing, putting together science and old myths.  There is a research institute in the northern city of Tromso which is completely dedicated to studies of the Northern Lights and solar activity.  Fascinating!   A good website on the Northern Lights has been established by the University of Tromso:  http://www.uit.no/npt/nordlyset/waynorth/00-innhold.en.html           

 

This brings us to the end of our tour of science and technology in Norway.  Certainly a wonderful place to visit.