NORSAR was established in 1968 based on a government-to-government agreement between Norway and the United States about seismological research and development. The main purpose was to improve existing methods for surveillance of nuclear test explosions, aimed at developing acceptable control measures for a future comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT). Nearly 30 years later, in 1996, such an agreement was in place, under the auspices of the United Nations, and even though some countries still need to ratify the agreement for it to formally come into force, an organization has been established in Vienna aimed at developing and improving means and methods for the control system, and to serve the member countries.
NORSAR scientists and NORSAR data have during all of these 40 years been focused on seismological verification research and development, with significant contributions both to the work leading up to the agreement (for which purpose a Group of Scientific Experts met in Geneva for 20 years, with NORSAR’s Frode Ringdal as Scientific Secretary) and to the work after the agreement was signed. Some of these efforts are described elsewhere on these web pages.
If these subjects, in spite of their importance, had been the only ones to be worked on at NORSAR, it may not have survived these 40 years; at best it would have been much smaller and weaker. It was realized very soon after NORSAR was established, however, that it would be both necessary and desirable to develop NORSAR into a seismological research organization with wider scopes, aims and ambitions, and this was done by engaging in a wider range of research subjects, and by opening the institution for visitors from many countries, including the Soviet Union.
The picture below demonstrates that NORSAR is still an institution which maintains and appreciates an international profile. Besides their high competence these people also help to build international networks more efficiently than otherwise would have been possible.
NORSAR personnel with an origin from other countries (April 2008).
The justification for the strong emphasis on research, including basic research, was not only strategic but also scientific. The point here is that seismological verification research calls for improved understanding of many basic subjects, including the internal constitution of the Earth, wave propagation at teleseismic, regional and local distances, lateral inhomogeneities at all scales, Earth dynamics as expressed through plate tectonics related subjects, and seismic sources. The fact that NORSAR had access to high-quality digital data at a time when seismological data elsewhere were largely analog gave NORSAR a very good starting point here.
The emphasis on research has been maintained throughout these 40 years, as illustrated in the figure below which shows publication rates in international peer reviewed journals for the years 2000 to 2006, compared to the average of similar research institutes in Norway.
Publication rates in international peer reviewed journals
(number of publications per researcher per year).
Over the years, the NORSAR research subjects emerged within three fields, which in addition to the basic subject of seismological verification included seismotectonics and seismic hazard and risk, and seismic modelling, mostly aimed at the petroleum sector. These subjects are all described elsewhere on these web pages, and they also reflect the fact that it would not have been possible for NORSAR to survive as a pure research institute, it was necessary also to diverge into applied research and consulting, built on the research platform.
The long term development of the NORSAR staff is shown in the figure below. The great reduction in 1976-77 reflects a time of crises when reduced US funding lead to a significant reduction in the NORSAR field installations and a similar reduction in staff, in particular for technical personnel. Since then there has been a slow but steady increase to more that 50 people at present, with diverse activities within many fields.
NORSAR personell categories 1972-2008.
Organizationally, the building of the NORSAR array started as a project under the Norwegian Defence Research Institute, then in 1970 it was taken over by the Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (NTNF), still as a project. Finally, in 1999, after 31 years and many efforts, NORSAR gained its independence as a private foundation with support from the Research Council of Norway (RCN). The basis for this independence was the Norwegian ratification of the test ban treaty in 1999, when the Norwegian Parliament also appointed NORSAR as a national data centre for verification of the compliance of the treaty.
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