The Norwegian Meteorological Institute ( no, Meteorologisk institutt), also known internationally as MET Norway, is
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...
's national
meteorological
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
institute. It provides
weather forecast
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...
s for civilian and military uses and conducts research in meteorology,
oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynami ...
and
climatology
Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of stu ...
. It is headquartered in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
and has offices and stations in other cities and places. It has around 500 full-time staff and was founded in 1866.
History
The institute was founded on 1 December 1866 with the help of Norwegian astronomer and meteorologist
Henrik Mohn
Henrik Mohn (15 May 1835 – 12 September 1916) was a Norwegian astronomer and meteorologist. Although he enrolled in theology studies after finishing school, he is credited with founding meteorological research in Norway, being a professor at t ...
who served as its director until 1913. He is credited with founding
meteorological
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
research in Norway. The abbreviation ''MET Oslo'' or ''MET OSLO'' has been used internationally for a long time; the
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.
The WMO originated from the Inter ...
for example recommended in 1956 that its members standardized references to this institute as ''MET OSLO''.
[Abridged Final Report of the Session, Commission for Marine Meteorology, Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization, p. 47, 1956]
Activities
The institute has around 500 employees and some 650 part-time observers around the country. It also operated the last remaining weather ship in the world,
MS ''Polarfront'', stationed in the North Atlantic, until it was discontinued due to budgetary issues on 1 January 2010 and replaced with satellite and
buoy
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
Types
Navigational buoys
* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of y ...
data.
The institute represents Norway in international organizations like the
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.
The WMO originated from the Inter ...
(WMO), the
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by most of the nations of Europe. It is based at three sites: Shinfield Park, Reading, United Kingdom; Bologna, Italy; an ...
(ECMWF), and
EUMETSAT. The institute is also partner to a number of international research and monitoring projects including EMEP,
MyOcean, MyWave and the
North West Shelf Operational Oceanographic System
The North West Shelf Operational Oceanographic System (NOOS) monitors physical, sedimentological and ecological variables for the North Sea area. NOOS is operated by partners from the nine countries bordering the extended North Sea and European N ...
(NOOS).
Services
The institute with its three branches in Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø provides weather forecasts for Norway and Norwegian waters as well as more specialized services such as ice monitoring,
oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into t ...
and
search and rescue forecast services. Marine forecasts of
sea state parameters are issued both commercially to oil companies and more generally for the public. The institute also provides data for the free online service
yr.no, launched in 2007, which provides weather forecasts for some 7 million places in the world.
Observational network
The institute is responsible for maintaining, quality checking, archiving and updating the observational network consisting of automated
weather stations,
radiosonde
A radiosonde is a battery-powered telemetry instrument carried into the atmosphere usually by a weather balloon that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them by radio to a ground receiver. Modern radiosondes measure or calcula ...
s and
weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly pulse- ...
s. The marine observations of
wave height
In fluid dynamics, the wave height of a surface wave is the difference between the elevations of a crest and a neighboring trough. ''Wave height'' is a term used by mariners, as well as in coastal, ocean and naval engineering.
At sea, the te ...
and other oceanographic parameters gathered by
petroleum platforms in Norwegian waters are also archived by the institute.
Forecast models
The institute produces operational weather forecasts using different
numerical weather prediction models including the
Unified Model and
HIRLAM. The forecasts are subject to modifications introduced by human forecasters before being issued. The institute also runs a suite of operational ocean models ranging in resolution from 20 km to less than 1 km. The model suite currently comprises both the
Princeton Ocean Model (POM) as well as the more recent
Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The
wave model WAM has been in operational use since 1998 on a number of grid resolutions ranging from 50 km down to 4 km while the SWAN model has been implemented for coastal high-resolution (less than 1 km grid resolution) applications.
Directors of MET Norway
*
Henrik Mohn
Henrik Mohn (15 May 1835 – 12 September 1916) was a Norwegian astronomer and meteorologist. Although he enrolled in theology studies after finishing school, he is credited with founding meteorological research in Norway, being a professor at t ...
(1866–1913)
* (1914–15)
* (1915–55)
*
Ragnar Fjørtoft (1955–78)
*
Kaare Langlo Kaare Langlo (7 October 1913 in Bergen, Norway – 7 October 1985 in Oslo) was a Norwegian meteorologist. He contributed to establishing meteorology as an important scientific field both in Norway and internationally. Langlo was assistant gener ...
(1978–83)
* Arne Grammeltvedt (1984–98)
*
Anton Eliassen (1998–2016)
* Roar Skålin (2017– )
See also
*
yr.no
References
External links
*
Information about yr.no (in English)
{{Authority control
Governmental meteorological agencies in Europe
1866 establishments in Norway