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The System for Assessment of Ecological Condition, coordinated by the Norwegian Environment Agency, is intended to form the foundation for evidence-based assessments of the ecological condition of Norwegian terrestrial and marine ecosystems not covered by the EU Water Framework Directive. The reference condition is defined as “intact ecosystems”, i.e., a condition that is largely unimpacted by modern industrial anthropogenic activities. An ecosystem in good ecological condition is defined as a system that does not deviate substantially from this reference condition in structure, functions or productivity. This means that, in practice, what is assessed here is the extent to which an ecosystem is impacted by anthropogenic drivers. This report describes the first operational assessment of the ecological condition of Norwegian Arctic and Sub-Arctic marine shelf ecosystems in the Barents Sea. The assessment method employed is the Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition (PAEC1), and the current assessment has considered to what extent the Barents Sea shelf ecosystems deviate from the reference condition2 by evaluating change trajectories. Panel-based Assessment of Ecosystem Condition of Norwegian Barents Sea Shelf Ecosystems

Time-series of sea temperature from the North Atlantic are statistically analysed and compared. We focus on the Norwegian coast and the Barents Sea, with supporting data from the waters off eastern Canada and the Faeroes. The longest time-series are sea surface temperature (SST) observations from Norwegian lighthouses, starting in the mid-1860s. Correlations all along the Norwegian coast are unlagged, suggesting that large-scale atmospheric forcing is important. Antisynchrony between Northeast and Northwest Atlantic sea temperature fluctuations is indicated. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is generally positively correlated to winter temperatures in Norwegian waters and negatively correlated to the temperature off Newfoundland. Correlations between the NAO and coastal SST on the west and south coasts of Norway are strong and persistent right back to the beginning of the observational record. However, Barents and Labrador Sea temperature seem to have been closely linked to the NAO only during the past 3-4 decades. Spectral analysis reveals that the four subsurface sea temperature series have oscillations from about 8 to about 14 years, the NAO has most variance at high frequencies ( < 1 year), while the SST series lie between. Article from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 219 - "Hydrobiological variability in the ICES Area, 1990-1999", symposium held in Edinburgh, 8-10 August 2001. To access the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Vol. 219".

I denne rapporten gir Overvåkingsgruppen, for første gang, en felles vurdering av miljøtilstanden i Barentshavet og havområdene utenfor Lofoten, Norskehavet og Nordsjøen med Skagerrak. Det er også første rapport som bruker resultater fra det nylig utviklede fagsystemet for vurdering av økologisk tilstand. I denne rapporten dekkes to hovedtemaer: (1) Dominerende trekk i status og utvikling i økosystemet i alle tre havområdene, basert på vurderingene av økologisk tilstand, Overvåkingsgruppens rapport om forurensning fra 2022, indikatorer fra Overvåkingsgruppen som ikke er dekket under vurdering av økologisk tilstand, samt rapporter og annen relevant informasjon fra forskning, og (2) en vurdering av karbonbinding i marint plankton, marine vegetasjonstyper og marine sedimenter. I tillegg er det gitt en oppsummering for endringer i ytre påvirkning, vurdering av kunnskapsbehov samt en vurdering av indikatorverdier i forhold til referanseverdier og tiltaksgrenser. Vurderingen av dominerende trekk i utvikling og tilstand av miljøet som er gitt i kapittel 2, utgjør Overvåkingsgruppens bidrag til Faglig forums samlerapport om det faglige grunnlaget for revisjon og oppdatering av de helhetlige forvaltningsplanene for norske havområder. Status for miljøet i norske havområder - Rapport fra Overvåkingsgruppen 2023

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The Svalbard branch of the Atlantic Water (AW) flows eastward north of Svalbard carrying warm and salty waters along the slope of the Arctic Eurasian Basin. Recent studies have shown that this current is baroclinically unstable and sheds eddies into the basin. Here we use data from a mooring array deployed near 30°E between September 2012 and September 2013 to explore the eddies shed from the boundary current. The instrument coverage extended down to 1200‐m depth and meridionally to approximately 50 km offshore of the shelfbreak, which laterally bracketed the flow. The moorings contained conductivity-temperature-depth profilers that sampled the water column every 12 hours and acoustic Doppler current profilers that sampled the water column every hour. Eddies were present throughout the year and reached down to 600m depth, some of them embedded within the pycnocline. The study is carried out using two different methodologies to describe the eddies: an empirical orthogonal function analysis of the vertical sections of velocity, and case studies of eddy events in different seasons., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

Time-series of temperature in three sections representative of Atlantic Water in the Barents Sea reveal that the climate in the region has both long-term and short-term quasi-regular periods. Compared with other decades during the 20th century, the 1990s were colder than both the 1930s and 1950s. The 1990s started out warm, with a short, relatively cold, period in 1996-1998. During the final years of the decade there was a gradual build-up towards higher temperatures, with very high anomalies during late autumn and early winter. Through regional and local effects, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has a significant influence on the Barents Sea on decadal time scales and during extreme NAO events. Still, local atmospheric forcing not captured by the NAO index seems to dominate the distribution of the water masses within the area. The local pressure field appears to change the relative strength of the two branches going respectively northeast and east, thereby having a significant effect on the local climate. The local pressure distribution not captured by the NAO index also has some influence on the total inflow to the Barents SeaArticle from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 219 - "Hydrobiological variability in the ICES Area, 1990-1999", symposium held in Edinburgh, 8-10 August 2001. To access the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Vol. 219".

I rapporten dekkes tre hovedtemaer: (1) Dominerende trekk i status og utvikling i økosystemet i Barentshavet siden 2016 med vekt på å beskrive hvordan sentrale prosesser påvirker tilstanden; (2) en mer detaljert beskrivelse av status og utvikling for de ulike komponentene i økosystemet; og (3) en beskrivelse av fiskeriforvaltningen i Barentshavet.