Geological Survey of Norway ( no, Norges geologiske undersøkelse), abbreviation: ''NGU'', is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

responsible for

geologic Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

mapping and research. The agency is located in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

with an office in

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

, with about 200 employees. It is subordinate to the

Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (Norwegian: Nærings- og handelsdepartementet) was a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. On 1 January 2014 it was merged into Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. ...

.Government.no: Subordinate agencies and institutions

2012-07-11.

Mission

Coat of arms of the Norwegian Geological Survey

NGU's main work is related to collecting, processing and impart knowledge related to the physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the countries

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

, mineral resources,

deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, Transaction account#Current accounts, current accounts or any of several othe ...

and

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

.Geological Survey of Norway
About NGU
2008-01-27. Important areas include the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

and the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

. With the motto "Geology for the Society", NGU provides maps and geological information in national databases. The activity is organized after five key principles:NGU - Annual report 2008

2008-01-27. # Long-term value creation from geological resources # Increase use of geoscience knowledge in spatial planning and development # Enhanced knowledge of the country's construction and geological processes # Good communication, management and customization of geological knowledge # Increased quality and efficiency through good interaction internally and externally

History

The Geological Survey of Norway was established on 6 February 1858 by

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...

. A few years earlier, the geology student

Theodor Kjerulf Theodor Kjerulf (30 March 182525 October 1888) was a Norwegian geologist and professor at the University of Oslo. He also served as director of the Norwegian Geological Survey. Biography He was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the ...

had submitted the idea of a Norwegian geological survey to the Norwegian

interior ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

.Document from the establishment of NGU, letter from Th. Kjerulf to the Interior ministry of Norway, 8 August 1856. The survey would serve to map the country's agricultural areas and mineral deposits, as well as systematically study how the Norwegian landscape had been formed. In the mid-19th century

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

was modernizing quickly by developing industry and knowledge, along with evolving cultural life. An institution such as a Norwegian geological survey would be "convenient, scientifically necessary and honorable for the nation". The first years of its existence, mapping the bedrock, superficial deposits and mineral resources was its principal task, but it contributed to a Norwegian sense of ownership to the land, something that was especially important around 1905, after the Union with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

was dissolved. The manager Theodor Kjerulf, and his assistant,

Tellef Dahll Tellef Dahll (10 April 1825, in Kragerø – 17 June 1893, in Morgedal) was a Norwegian mineralogist and geologist. Life After graduating in minearology from the University of Christiania in 1846, Dahll worked for private mining companies. He fou ...

, shared the mapping of Norway. They purchased equipment, planned the work and trained their field assistants to carry out the surveys.

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Kjerulf along with Dahll and several assistants had, after about twenty years of work, completed three impressive sets of maps. ''Det sødenfjeldske'' in 1:400 000, ''Trondheim stift'' in 1:800 000 and ''Det nordlige Norge'' in 1:1 million. The maps and their descriptions gave new and valuable knowledge about the Norwegian landscape, and showed that it was possible to combine the scientific, economical and cultural ambitions Kjerulf had fronted when he set out to create the survey.

Organization

There are five support divisions within the agency: *Geological Mapping **Solid Earth Geology **Quaternary Geology **Marine Geology **Geochemistry and Hydrogeology **Geohazard and Earth Observation *Geological Resources and Environment **Geophysics **Natural Construction Materials **Mineral resources **NGU Laboratory ** *Information and Communication Technology **Geomatics and IT *HR & Resource Management **HR **Accounting and Administration *Communications and Public Relations **Communication

Directors

References

External links