“This is kind of like building Lego, only more fun.”
By: Lena Seuthe // UiT Learning Lab for Science and Technology
Loud humming from exhaust fans fills the air as blue-clad students from Sortland High School solder simple wave meters. They are participating in a unique school day in Myre, initiated by the Nansen Legacy research project (nansenlegacy.org), which has studied environmental changes in the northern Barents Sea for the past six years.
Marit Reigstad, leader of the Nansen Legacy at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, explains that rising sea temperatures will push fish stocks and Atlantic cod spawning areas further north and east. She emphasises the importance of dialogue with those interested in the Barents Sea.
“The young people now training to become fishermen will experience in reality the changes our computer models predict,” says Reigstad.
She also highlights how research directly and indirectly affects fishermen, from fish stock management and quota setting to crucial weather forecasts for safety at sea. She believes in giving students hands-on experience in the research process by having them build and use measuring instruments, collecting and analysing data.
“A constructive dialogue between fishermen and researchers requires understanding and trust in each other’s work methods,” she adds.
Therefore, the Nansen Legacy, together with the Meteorological Institute and the UiT Learning Lab for Science and Technology, has developed an educational programme for high school students, which involves construction and deployment of small wave-measuring buoys.
This type of wave-measuring buoy was not originally developed for school students, but to study breaking waves near the coast. The developer of the wave meter, Gaute Hope at the Meteorological Institute, explains “Drifting buoys that also measure waves are very useful for validating and improving models used in search and rescue, which is important for everyone who travels by sea.”
The students have finished constructing their buoys. Tomorrow, they will use a boat from an aquaculture company in Myre to deploy them in the sea. Then, Hope and the other researchers will receive wave height measurements from Vesterålen via mobile networks and share them with the students.
“This was fun,” says a student in a blue graduation suit, ready to head home. “Now I can solder!”
The Nansen Legacy School Project:
Target group: Students in Fisheries and Aquaculture at secondary schools in Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark.
Objective: To communicate overarching findings from the Nansen Legacy relevant to the lives of people along the North Norwegian coast. Build understanding of and trust in how researchers work.
Wave-measuring buoy: Developed by Gaute Hope at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. To learn more, see Further reading.
School Visits: Responsibility for the educational programme and execution of school visits rests with the UiT Learning Lab for Science and Technology.
Further reading
Hope G, Seldal TI, Rabault J, Bryhni HT, Bohlinger P, Bjorkqvist J-V, Nordam T, Kleven A, Mostaani A, Furevik BR, Hole LR, Storvik R, Breivik O (2024) SFY—A lightweight, high-frequency and phase-resolving wave-buoy for coastal waters.