The overall goal of AMORA is to increase the understanding of the surface energy balance of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean and mechanisms leading to observed changes.

The Norwegian Polar Institute is in charge of the project, working together with scientists from the Polar Research Institute of China (Shanghai, China), the Dalian University of Technology (Dalian, China), the Finnish Institute of Marine Research (Helsinki, Finland) and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (Hanover, USA).

At NPI, the sea ice scientists Sebastian Gerland, Mats Granskog and Marcel Nicolaus work on this project.

Photo: Sebastian Gerland / Norwegian Polar Institute

Sun Bo and his group at PRIC hosted the kick-off workshop at the end of November and beginning of December. The different project partners presented their project plans in AMORA, and the common activities in 2010 were discussed. The first AMORA fieldwork will be conducted in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in spring 2010. The AMORA project work will be closely linked to the activities in the new flagship project ICE-Fluxes of the Centre for Ice, Climate and Ecosystem in the Norwegian Polar Institute.