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Speaking of Aurora, most people will think of the Northern Lights, the spectacular celestial displays frequently seen in the Arctic. Scientists in the HACON-project travelled to the northernmost part of the world, searching for Aurora. But not the one in the sky: They were gazing into the vast depths of the Arctic Ocean to figure out what exotic creatures live in the cold waters close to the North Pole.

New research shows that silver and titanium nanoparticles in present in treated wastewater may have toxic effects on algae, crustaceans and fish gill cells, and the effects seem to be species dependent.

Unlike land plants, photosynthesis in many aquatic plants relies on bicarbonate in addition to CO2 to compensate for the low availability of CO2 in water. A study in SCIENCE by Iversen and co-authors from among others NIVA shows that the abundance of plant species with the ability to use bicarbonate increases in hard water lakes with greater bicarbonate concentrations. In streams, where the CO2 concentration is higher than in air, bicarbonate users are few.

NIVA is contributing in a new EU-project that will provide new insight into making ocean observation more efficient.

The shared vision for Europe’s seas is a healthy marine environment where human-induced eutrophication is minimised. However, the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) assessment, published December 11th shows that eutrophication still remains a large scale problem in Europe’s regional seas. The assessment shows some positive effects from better nutrient management but the overall target of healthy seas will not be met by 2020.

NIVA has made a strong presence at The UN Climate Change Conference COP 25 (2 – 13 December 2019). Senior Research Scientist Richard Bellerby has taken part in and hosted events on ocean acidification (Arctic Council and The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme) as well as contributed to the ICCI-report "Cryosphere 1,5 degrees", launched during the conference.

In the January issue of Cell Press journal OneEarth, NIVA scientist Luca Nizzetto and co-writer Satish Sinha of Toxic Links argue that further empowering marginalized waste pickers in developing countries (already involved in the efficient recovery of value and materials from recyclable plastic waste) is key to curbing plastic inputs to the ocean and tackling several sustainable development goals. Financial mechanisms aimed at valuing also the non-recyclable plastic waste can trigger these workers' spontaneous engagement to curb plastic releases, with an expenditure lower than that of pollution impacts.

NIVA will lead a new Joint Project Initiative Climate and Oceans project that will provide a greater understanding of global change effects on ocean and coastal ecosystems and services at regional to local levels.

NIVA is a leading research partner in the newly funded H2020 project, FUTUREmares, that will provide socially and economically viable nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation to safeguard these ecosystems’ natural capital, biodiversity and services.

In today’s world, where pollution and contamination frequently have a negative impact on our natural resources, it is vital to maintain regular and regulated testing of chemicals, toxins, or other forms of contamination. However, in order to do this properly, we need the correct tools and methods so that we can recognize when conditions aren’t ideal.

In an application to the Research Council of Norway’s emergency call for proposals in the fight against the Coronavirus, scientists from NMBU, NIVA, Karolinska Institutet and The Veterinary Institute wants to analyze samples from the sewer in the hunt for COVID-19.

NIVA Chile has had a very good development the last years, with five full time employees and a result of 0,9 mill. NOK in 2019. They outgrew their current offices, and after a thorough search, ended up purchasing a field 10-15 minutes outside of Puerto Varas last year. After six months of construction, the new offices are now finished.

A bilateral initiative on exchange of experience and knowledge of remote sensing techniques for the mapping of coastal biological communities through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has recently been funded through the EEA-grants. The partners are The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto.

The Sino Norwegian Cooperation Project to Reduce Plastic and Microplastic Pollution (SINOPLAST) was officially kicked off May 20th in the form of an online conference.

A new study shows that ocean acidification is a global problem with profoundly negative environmental, social and economic consequences. Researchers call for a coordinated effort to address the problem – and points to Norway as a good example on how to combat ocean acidification.

A new research project has looked at microplastics in marine bivalves from 100 sites spread throughout much of the Nordic waters. Microplastics were found in 4 of the 5 bivalve species investigated, and there was a huge variation in the occurrence and type of microplastics.

A variety of ballast water compliance monitoring devices have been developed and several novel approaches are currently being explored. However, rigorous, transparent and standardized verification testing is needed for these devices to be adopted and implemented globally, by multiple administrations to enforce compliance monitoring. To address this need, a new protocol has been developed to serve as a standardized framework for the verification testing of CMDs. The protocol has been peer-reviewed by NIVA.

Researchers at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) have developed a new dosing system for continual treatment of salmon lice directly in cages. The overall impact to the environment is expected to be minimal and the fish are relieved of the stress associated with handling during treatments.

While ocean acidification was initially perceived as a threat only to the marine realm, the authors of a new publication argue that it is also an emerging human health issue.