INSTITUTE OF MARINE RESEARCH, BERGEN

KEY METRICS : Oceanography Group Total

No. of Researchers 20

No. of Doctoral students: current 2 No. of PhD students graduated 2007-2009 0 No. of MSc Students graduated 2007-2009 4 No. of Postdoctoral Research Fellows 1 No. of Non-tenured Researchers

No. of Technical/Admin. Staff members 4

Research Groups GRADE

1. Oceanography 3-4

The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) is a national governmental research institute, dating back to 1900, directly owned since 1989 by the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. In addition to its headquarters in Bergen there are also departments located in Tromsø and Flødevigen and aquaculture research stations in Matre and Austevoll. IMR employs some 200 scientists and has almost 700 employees; it is the second largest marine research institute in Europe after IFREMER in France. Its objectives are to provide research-based advice to the governing authorities for rich and clean seas and coastal areas, and to ensure long-term sustainable fisheries and aquaculture with minimum negative impact on the ecosystem. The Norwegian Marine Data Centre is located at IMR; this is responsible for providing marine observational data on-line, in nearly real-time.

Oceanography, one of 19 discipline-based research groups within IMR, is the focus of this evaluation. The Oceanography group also includes 4 biologists (3 researchers and 1 post-doctoral fellow) whose work is not considered here. Research within the Oceanography group is cross-disciplinary, ranging from physical oceanography to marine ecology. Activities include: operational oceanography with a focus on monitoring and hydrographic observations underpinning time-series of data going back to the 1930s; regional physical modelling, mostly hindcasting using community modelling tools; biophysical and ecosystem modelling;

the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems; and the transport of pollutants from petroleum operations. A new initiative, which commenced in 2010, focuses on ocean acidification. The group is also involved in research and teaching in developing countries, including the recent establishment of the Nansen-Tutu centre in South Africa.

Research projects are undertaken within 10 different research programmes and manpower is allocated according to a matrix-management type of approach. Each programme is headed by a senior scientist who acts as programme leader. Resources are allocated directly to the programmes. Each researcher may work on several projects in different programmes. They have a strategic planning process for their research activities; the next planning period runs from 2012-2017.

OVERVIEWASSESSMENT

IMR has a strong and modern infrastructure for its research. They own three major research vessels and operate another three; in addition they also have a number of small boats for near-shore and fjord work. Working conditions are good and most researchers have permanent positions. The funding environment appears to be fairly stable at present. There are no recruitment issues; most of the researchers are of Norwegian origin. Female researchers appear to be under-represented, although a recently-established sub-group at IMR Tromsø is predominantly female. Some 25% of their senior staff will approach retirement age in the next few years which may create some skills shortages, but also provides an opportunity to invest in new staff with different research expertise. Researchers are encouraged to spend time at other research institutions but this is not often done.

There is a strong focus on operational activities in response to the needs of the Norwegian fisheries and aquaculture industries. This limits the amount of time researchers have for independent ”blue skies” research and for writing publications. Their work is of high societal value and importance for Norway, particularly studies on the acidification of the ocean, modelling of the dispersion of oil spills and the dispersion of eggs and larvae of pelagic biota.

IMR staff in oceanography have established good international networks of research collaborators and have a high visibility internationally. Their most important collaborations are with theInternational Council for the Exploration of the Seas(ICES) and their sister institutes in other European countries, Russia, Canada and the USA. IMR contribute state-of-the-art data to the ICES programme, which are particularly important for climate change research; they provide some important time-series data for volume and heat transport, hydrographic measurements in the Nordic Seas and in the Norwegian coastal regions. IMR participate in the international ARGO float project.

The group is a partner in the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Change Research (BCCR) at the University of Bergen (UiB); this has strengthened climate research within the group and enabled connections with the wider climate research community. IMR also has good links with the oceanography group at the Geophysical Institute (UiB) and in operational

oceanography collaborates with met.no, the Nansen Centre and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. It is a partner in the Bergen Marine Research Cluster and in theFRAM Centre for Climate and Environmentin Tromsø. IMR also has good industrial collaborations with manufacturers of oceanographic instrumentation and the Norwegian petroleum industry.

Publication rates are average, with average citation levels.

The research undertaken at IMR is largely driven by its major stakeholder, the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. This is reflected in a recent switch in research capacity away from open-ocean to coastal oceanography, including high-resolution operational modelling of fjords, in response to the needs of the Norwegian aquaculture industry. As a consequence, the oceanography group has a strong service role, providing valuable data and their interpretation for fisheries and aquaculture management; this limits the time available to do innovative, internationally-leading research. Nevertheless, they play an important role in maintaining long-term time series of data on the marine environment and ecosystems in the Norwegian Sea, North Sea and Barents Sea which is essential for the international oceanographic and climate change community.

OVERALLGRADE:3-4

RECOMMENDATIONS

The number and impact of their publications needs to be improved, e.g., supported by a weekly seminar programme and by including time for writing publications in their research proposals. Strengthening the research collaboration with the Geophysical Institute, UiB (both the small scale oceanography and coastal research as well as the large-scale oceanography group) could encourage more joint supervision of PhD students.

5.9 Nansen Environmental and Remote