13/05/2026
*Pioneering Observations and Predictions: 40 Years of Shaping Ocean and Climate Research – Day 2*
After a first day of history and reflection, Day 2 of our Anniversary Symposium offered a deeper dive into our core research areas, highlighting how we work today.
“When the Nansen Center was established, satellite-based Earth observation was a young and rapidly developing field. Today, such observations are essential for understanding climate change, the marine environment, and developments in the Arctic. The anniversary is therefore not only about our history, but about how research can be used more effectively by society in the future,” says our director Tore Furevik.
The symposium focus shifted to the tools and approaches shaping today’s ocean and climate research: modern observing systems, advanced modelling and forecasting, and the growing role of artificial intelligence. Discussions ranged from ocean and sea-ice dynamics to climate extremes, prediction and decision support, with a clear emphasis on why this science matters beyond the research community. Several talks also explored how knowledge is translated into services, planning and policy, and what future collaboration with society needs to look like.
A great way to wrap up two days of science, stories, discussion and forward thinking and a room full of people who both set the foundation and make the center what it is today.
Thank you to all speakers, panel members and participants for the engagement, openness and shared sense of purpose!
Stein Sandven, Artem Moiseev, Anton Korosov, Agnieszka Beszczynska-Moeller (Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences), Vår Iren Dundas, Espen Storheim, Shuang Gao, Einar Ólason, Tsuyoshi Wakamatsu, Laure Raynaud (Meteo France), Laurent Bertino, Julien Brajard, Pierre-Yves Le Traon (Mercator Ocean International), Richard Davy, Stephen Outten, François Counillon for Quentin Dalaiden, PhD, Helene R. Langehaug, Johannes Magnus, Victoria Miles, Björn Backeberg (Deltares), Léa Svendsen (University of Bergen), Øyvind Paasche (NORCE Research), Frode Bendiksen Vikebo (Institute of Marine Research), Gro Anita Fonnes Flaten (DNV).
Photo credit: The Nansen Center