annual report 2000 · of day and serve mankind. henrik ibsen: john gabriel borkman the exploration...

Annual Report 2000

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NORWAY / ANNUAL REPORT 20002

Contents

Geology for society...........................3

Report on activities in 2000............4

Organisation and objectives...........9

Norway on the move......................10

«Green» heating of new hospital in Lørenskog ...................12

Old stone quarries in a new light ...................................14

NGU in brief

NGU is situated at Østmarknesset in Trondheim.

NGU is the national institution for knowledge on bedrock, mineral resources, surficial

deposits and groundwater. NGU is a government agency under the Ministry of Trade

and Industry (NHD).

NGU shall actively contribute to ensuring that geoscientific knowledge is utilised for the

effective and sustainable management of the nation’s natural resources and environ-

ment. NGU’s expertise can also be used in development aid projects. As a research-

based agency, NGU is also the advisor to other ministries in geoscientific matters.

NGU’s main tasks are to collect, process and distribute knowledge of the physical,

chemical and mineralogical properties of the country’s bedrock, surficial deposits and

groundwater. In its work, NGU shall emphasise users’ needs for:

• The construction, operation and maintenance of national databases and map series

for geological properties and processes.

• Geological mapping of Norway’s onshore and offshore areas.

• Applied research and method development.

• Consultancy and information.

In 2000, NGU had a turnover of approximately NOK 130 million. Approximately 75% of

this turnover is financed through the state budget via NHD, whilst 25 % is financed

through assignments and collaborative projects.

NGU has 220 employees, of which approximately half are scientific personnel.

The strategy plan for 2001 – 2005 states that NGU’s main objectives are to contribute to:

• Better knowledge of nature and the environment

• Economic growth in the mineral and stone industry

• Better planning and land management

• Cost-effective development aid

ISSN 0333-4122

ISBN 82-7385-196-6

Layout and production: Grytting AS

Mars 2001

THE EXTRACTION OF MINERAL raw materials,oil and gas can only be done once and

each extraction will harm the environment insome way. Sustainable production therefore meansthat production is carried out with the minimumenvironmental impact and, for example, that asmuch of the oil from a reservoir is extracted as pos-sible. Some years ago, just 20 to 30 percent of the oilin a reservoir was extracted. This recovery rate hasnow increased, with the result that the oil compani-es and the state have earned billions of Norwegiankroner. Some of the profit from this productionmust be used to map and develop new resourcesthat someday must replace what we have taken out.The state is receiving large sums of money from therecovery of non-renewable resources in Norway.This income comes from both state ownership andfrom taxes and duties. It is therefore reasonable toconsider whether the state’s commitment meets theexpectations that one could reasonably have withregard to sustainable development.

There is an obvious need for more mappingand technological development in the raw materi-al-based industries. Such investment has givengood returns in the past in the form of increasedrecovery of oil and gas resources or more high-value mineral products. The Research Council ofNorway has recently proposed a considerable in-crease in the state’s contribution to petroleum

research. The reactions have been disappointing. Itis therefore hard to believe that society is commit-ted to the sustainable development of oil and gasresources.

Export income from the production of indus-trial minerals has trebled over the last ten years.This is one of the country’s most profitable indus-tries and is developing as rapidly as the IT industry.Nevertheless, investments in the mapping of newresources are well down. The state’s involvement asowner in this industry has not contributed signifi-cantly to the development of new deposits. Thecommitment of society to minerals also fails tosatisfy the requirements for sustainable develop-ment.

The seafloor on the Norwegian continentalshelf is one of the most poorly mapped in Europe.Without a good understanding of the sedimentati-on conditions on the shelf, effective environmentalmonitoring is impossible. The mapping of seafloortopography, sediment distribution and marineorganisms is also vital to the sustainable develop-ment of fish resources. In the future, an increasingproportion of our need for sand and gravel will betaken from the shelf. Together with the NorwegianInstitute of Marine Research, the NorwegianMapping Authority and a number of other mana-gement bodies, NGU has proposed a mappingprogramme for the Norwegian continental shelf, sothat Norway can be second to none in Europe.

Norway is a large country with few people andhas always been dependent on natural resourcessuch as fish, waterpower, oil, gas, minerals, forestand soil. There is reason to believe that Norway willcontinue to be most successful within industrieswhere it has a natural competitive advantage. It istherefore hard to understand why Germany investsconsiderably more in research relating to marinebiology and the geology of the Norwegian conti-nental shelf than we do ourselves.

There is no shame in being a European suppli-er of energy, minerals and food. Production anddevelopment within these areas requires a highlevel of technology and there are many challenges.New minerals and new qualities will be soughtafter, and new energy sources such as gas hydratesmay become important at some point in the future.We must therefore invest where we have the oppor-tunity to be amongst the best and where we, inHenrik Ibsen’s view, can best serve mankind...

Arne Bjørlykkeadm.director

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NORWAY / ANNUAL REPORT 2000 3

Geology for Society

Borkman: Can you guess where I first heard

music like this?

Frida: No, Mr. Borkman?

Borkman: It was down in the mines.

Frida: Oh? Down in the mines?

Borkman: I’m a miner’s son, you know.

Or perhaps you didn’t know that?

Frida: No, Mr. Borkman.

Borkman: A miner’s son. And my father took

me down the mines with him

sometimes. Down there the ore

sings.

Frida: Does it? Sings?

Borkman: When it’s loosened. The blows of

the hammer that loosen it – they’re

the midnight bell striking to set it

free. And so the ore sings – for

joy – in its own way.

Frida: Why does it do that, Mr. Borkman?

Borkman: It wants to come up into the light

of day and serve mankind.

Henrik Ibsen: John Gabriel Borkman

The exploration for and production of non-renewable resources such as minerals, oil and

gas is making great demands on knowledge and management. It can often take a long

time before a find is made and it can then take a further 5 to 10 years before production

starts. In many ways, the development of new resources – from mapping to recovery – is

equivalent to what other industries are doing, for example, with the development of new

models or products. Exploration for new resources must therefore be an integrated part

of the work of companies that take their profits from non-renewable raw materials.

Adm.director Arne Bjørlykke.

Stat

oil

NGU´S ACTIVITIES ARE DIRECTED towards achieving these four main goals. This isreflected in the organisation’s structure,

which is divided into four main project areas.These main projects are in turn formed frommany subprojects both large and small. Many ofthese subprojects have varying degrees ofexternal financing, from municipal authorities,county councils, state departments or industry.Overall, this organisation helps to realise our aimof taking geological knowledge out to society.

The demand of society for geological data isincreasing. This means that NGU must contin-ually update its geological data and develop newmethods for collating and presenting this data. Inthis work, it is necessary to utilise the opportuni-ties made possible through digital technologyand distribution. This is an important challengefor NGU over the next few years.

Economic growth in the mineralsindustry

NGU aims to encourage new industrial develop-ments based on mineral resources and securereserves for existing mineral companies. We willalso help to raise the level of quality ofNorwegian mineral products and expand theirareas of use.

A long coastline and a short distance to thesea give many Norwegian mineral deposits acompetitive advantage, and the importance ofthe mineral industry for the regions is increasing.The mineral industry does not require a lot ofland. Only 1-2 percent of the land area is used formineral production. The gross production valuefor the lifetime of many deposits can total severalhundred million kroner, and for some severalbillion kroner. It is therefore in the interests ofsociety that the country’s mineral resources aremapped and shown on municipal plans andother land use plans so that the resources can bemanaged with a long-term perspective.

Mapping and development of industrialmineral depositsInvestment 2000: NOK 11.4 million, of whichNOK 2.2 million is externally financed

The mapping of carbonates in the countiesof Troms and Nordland was continued with co-financing from the county council. In a colla-

boration with Statskog, work has continued on alarge talc, soapstone and magnesite deposit inSnåsa, within an area that was originally propo-sed for protection as a national park. It is impor-tant that the deposit, which may have consider-able value, is adequately mapped. The work onsuperpure quartz continued in collaborationwith the industry.

The NGU bulletin "Industrial Minerals andRocks in Norway" was published with 20 articles.This bulletin presents the results of NGU’sresearch and development projects within indus-trial minerals in recent years and coversNorwegian deposits of a number of industrialminerals. Work has continued on the develop-ment and documentation of methods for mine-ral characterisation.

The database of Norwegian deposits withindustrial minerals contains information on1950 deposits. The information on 540 of thesehad been updated by the end of 2000. A discussi-on on the country’s industrial mineral depositswill be placed on the Internet in 2001.

Mapping and development of naturalstone, gravel and aggregate depositsInvestment 2000: NOK 11.4 million, of whichNOK 2.1 million is externally financed

The planned updating of the gravel andaggregate register was completed in municipali-ties in the counties of Nordland, Troms, Opplandand Sør-Trøndelag. The register contains infor-mation on approximately 9000 gravel depositsand approximately 1000 aggregate deposits.During the year, the register had 4700 externalusers via the Internet, an increase from 2100 in1999.

The collection of data for the resource bal-ance for gravel and aggregate in Telemark,Vestfold and Buskerud was completed. As regardsaggregate, new areas were mapped in the munici-palities of Egersund, Tysvær and Nærøy and anumber of locations in Hordaland and Sogn ogFjordane for the industry and county councils.

The investigations of the soapstone andserpentinite deposits in Nord-Gudbrandsdalenwere continued, and new resources were mappedand reported to the industry, which is contri-buting to the financing of the investigations.Natural stone investigations were carried out forthe county councils of Telemark, Vestfold and


Report on activities in 2000In 2000, NGU had four main objectives for its activity:

• Economic growth within the minerals industry

• Balanced management of natural resources

• Cost-effective public development projects

• Cost-effective development aid

Buskerud. Deposits of norite in Bamble, larvikitein Skien, slate in Numedalen and rhombusporphyry in Vestfold are of interest for follow-up.

Work continued on the updating and quali-ty assurance of the natural stone register. Thisregister contains almost 1000 Norwegian depo-sits, of which information on over 300 had beenupdated by the end of 2000. A discussion of theeconomically most important natural stonedeposits will be placed on the Internet during2001.

Mapping and development of ore provinces and depositsInvestment 2000: NOK 8.0 million, of whichNOK 1.2 million is externally financed

Norway is an important producer of titan-ium minerals, and our resources are important inan international perspective. NGU thereforeagain prioritised the mapping of the titaniumminerals ilmenite and rutile in 2000. Part of thismapping was carried out in collaboration withthe industry.

In collaboration with the company Crew,geophysical ground measurements were takenfor a more detailed mapping of possible zinc andcopper deposits in the Røros area. A project inthe mining area of Mofjellet in Rana has alsobeen agreed and the final report on theBleikvassli project in Nordland will be completedduring 2001. The gold investigations were con-centrated on Ringvassøy in Troms. Active marke-ting of ore projects during the year led to thestart-up of new prospecting activity.

Work on the updating and quality assuranceof the ore register continued. This register con-tains almost 4400 Norwegian mineralisationsand deposits. NGU had updated the informationon 1830 of these by the end of 2000. Interestingnew gold anomalies have been found in SouthernNorway as a result of the work to update the oreregister. A discussion of the economically moreimportant ore deposits will be placed on theInternet during 2001.

The general reduction in the industry’s oreexploration in Norway has resulted in NGUdiverting more of its resources over to industrialminerals.

Regional geophysical investigations Investment 2000: NOK 15.9 million, of whichNOK 6.5 million is externally financed

The BAT project (Basin analysis and appliedthermochronology on the Mid-Norwegian shelf)is a joint venture project with the oil industry(Amoco, British Petroleum, Mobil Exploration,Norske Chevron, Norske Conoco, Norske Shell,Norsk Hydro, Phillips Petroleum and Statoil), theNorwegian Petroleum Directorate and the uni-versities of Bergen and Oslo. The project includesthe construction of Scandinavia’s first argonlaboratory for age dating, which became operati-onal in 2000. The project is aimed at a ‘holistic’understanding of the geological development ofthe central Norwegian shelf.

The construction of the 6 national geophysi-cal databases has been given a high priority, andalso includes a separate database project withStatoil. The user interface for the database withgravimetric and aeromagnetic data on the conti-nental shelf is Internet-based. The databases havealready been offered to other oil companies, so


Norway has unique potential to development

of existing and new industries based on ma-

rine resources. At the same time, we have a

responsibility to manage the environment and

resources in a sustainable way. This requires us

to have a minimum level of knowledge of the

natural physical and biological environment

off our long coastline. We do not have that

level of knowledge today.

The fisheries industry, aquaculture interests

and the public sector are forced to manage

with maps that are not suitable as a basis for

informed decisions. The topographic maps in

the Norwegian Hydrographic Services' fisheri-

es database are of little help in preventing, for

example, the destruction of coral reefs. Figure 1

shows the "details" of a 9 km2 area of the Sula

reef, the world’s largest deepwater coral struc-

ture.

It is a paradox that anyone can download

digital maps of the surface of Mars from

American databases free of charge and with a

resolution that enables people to select a plot

of land if they are so inclined (Fig. 2).

NGU, the Institute of Marine Research (IMR)

and the Norwegian Hydrographic Services has

proposed the development of a new national

infrastructure for fundamental knowledge of

the marine environment in our coastal and

marine areas. The first phase of the MAREANO

project covers the marine areas between Stadt

and Lofoten, an investment of approximately

NOK 190 million.

NGU and IMR has discovered new and

previously unknown coral reefs at Hesteskoen

off the coast of Nordland, using high-resoluti-

on test data from the Norwegian Hydrographic

Service (Fig 3). Ireland has already progressed

far in a "wall-to-wall" mapping of its marine

areas with the same data resolution.

Modern mapping techniques can provide us with detailed maps and landscape models of terrain

on the seafloor. This is a model of the landscape at Hesteskoen off the coast of Nordland, where

NGU and IMR discovered previously unknown coral reefs.

Inadequate knowledge of the marine areas

"Details" from a 9 km2 area of the Sula reef

produced from the Norwegian Hydrographic

Service’s fisheries database, consisting of one

single depth measurement per 500 meters.

From NASA, we can download digital pictures

from Mars free of charge. This picture shows

details from a 9 km2 area with sand dunes in the

Proctor crater. The data have a resolution 118

times better than those of the seafloor off Norway.

Source: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

that NGU can act as a national data centre forarchiving, processing and interpretation ofpotential field data. The two databases for gravi-metric land data and petrophysics are currentlynot available on the Internet. A gravimetric mapfor Norway and its marine areas has been publis-hed at a scale of 1:3 000,000.

Balanced management of natural resources

NGU shall contribute to better land manage-ment, document the importance of naturalconditions to anthropogenic pollution and incre-ase society’s knowledge of natural geologicalresources.

Environmental geological investigations Investment 2000: NOK 13.1 million, of whichNOK 3.1 million is externally financed

There are many forecasts for the way inwhich the climate will change in the future.However, it is often forgotten that climate alsogoes through natural changes. Forecasts mustinclude natural climatic change if they are to beaccurate. NGU is the secretariat for the networkproject "Past Climates of the Norwegian Region",(NORPAST, 1999-2002) with co-financing fromthe Research Council of Norway. The collabora-tion involves the universities of Bergen andTromsø, UNIS and the Norwegian Meteoro-logical Institute. The project focuses on climaticvariations over the last 20,000 years and the endof the last ice age in Norway. NORPAST coverssubprojects which focus on: lakes as a climaticarchive, the reconstruction of average summertemperatures, quantitative pollen studies, clima-tic changes and landslide risk, ice cover on Sval-bard and in the Barents Sea, a reconstruction ofglacier variations during the last ice age, marineclimatic archives, heat flux in the Norwegian Sea,glacier modelling and the NORPAST database.

Together with Bergen municipality, NGUand the National Institute for Public Health havemapped soil pollution in the city. The resultsfrom this project have placed a focus on a num-ber of environmental challenges, including theuse of pressure-impregnated timber for play-grounds, PCB concentrations in soil after therehabilitation and demolition of buildings andthe spreading of such pollution. The results showthat action is essential. NGU’s finds were a majorfactor in the preparation by the NationalInstitute for Public Health of draft regulations tolimit the use of impregnated timber.

The project "Polluted ground and sedi-ments", which is be carried out for Trondheimmunicipality in collaboration with consultancycompanies is being completed. A Scandinavianurban network for environmental geologicalinvestigations with Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim,Stavanger, Copenhagen and Gothenburg hasbeen established following an initiative by NGU.

A geochemical atlas for Norway with anoverview of the chemical composition of floodsediments has been published. The results of thechemical investigations of agricultural soil inScandinavia, the Baltic, Poland and northernGermany have been published. NGU is alsoinvolved in a geochemical mapping of Europealong with the geological surveys of the othercountries concerned.

Marine geological investigations Investment 2000: NOK 7.5 million, of whichNOK 1.7 million is externally financed

NGU has placed an emphasis on the work toestablish a Marine database for Norwegian coas-tal and marine areas (MAREANO) in collabora-tion with the Institute of Marine Research, theNorwegian Mapping Authority, the NorwegianHydrographic Service, the Directorate for NatureManagement, the Norwegian Pollution ControlAuthority and the Norwegian Petroleum Dir-ectorate. This project will establish new know-ledge on the natural marine conditions betweenStadt and Lofoten within the following fields:

• Basic depth mapping.• Bottom types, mineral resources and geo-

technics.• Basic pollution mapping.• Nature types, biological diversity and

marine resources.The aim is to develop the database as a Web-based GIS system. The database will provide aknowledge base for users within the fisheries andaquaculture industry, petroleum activity andpublic sector management, in addition to rese-arch organisations, environmental organisationsand the public. MAREANO will cost NOK 190million, which is expected to be financed as aninvestment outside the normal state funding.

NGU took part in two EU-financed projectswithin the framework of the EuroGeoSurveyscollaboration and one EU-financed project incollaboration with the University of Bergen:

• "GESTCO – Geological Storage of CO2"looking at the storage of CO2 in geologicalformations.

• The metadatabase project "EUMARSIN -European Marine Sediment InformationNetwork" which was completed in 2000.

• The research project "COSTA – Continentalslope stability" involving studies ofprocesses and frequencies for underwaterlandslides in fjords.

NGU has published an atlas with digital thememaps for Norskerenna between Lindesnes andStavanger and parts of the North Sea plateau.

Regional geological investigations Investment 2000: NOK 10.9 million, of whichNOK 0.4 million is externally financed

The most important activity within regionalgeology is the collation of regional overviews. In1999, the last map was printed in the nationalseries of bedrock maps at a scale of 1:250,000,


FINANCIAL STATEMENTMill NOK % of costs/income

Costs 1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000Salary/social costs 68,8 71,0 72,2 53 % 55 % 55 %

Other costs 36,8 36,4 36,2 28 % 28 % 28 %

Travel/subsistance 13,5 12,4 12,7 10 % 10 % 10 %

Investments 10,5 9,7 9,3 8 % 7 % 7 %

Total costs 129,6 129,6 130,3 100 % 100 % 100 %

IncomeMinistry of Industry and Trade 99,0 96,9 97,5 76 % 77 % 74 %

Other income 31,8 29,0 35,0 24 % 23 % 26 %

Total income 130,8 125,9 132,6 100 % 100 % 100 %

and by the end of 2000, 90% of this national mapseries was available as a digital data set, so thatthe information can be used for example in digi-tal land use information systems. For the driftdeposit maps at a scale of 1:250,000, there aredigital data sets for 80% of the land area, and theplan is to have a national data set by the end of2005.

In 1999, NGU started a project aimed atmapping the chemical and physical properties ofthe bedrock in Norway using short referencesdrill cores (the Litho project). Approximately10% of the land area has so far been sampled.

A bedrock map at a scale of 1:4 million ofNorthwest Europe with marine areas has beencollated in collaboration with the geologicalsurveys of the other countries involved. A map ata scale of 1:2 million in which an emphasis hasbeen placed on the Precambrian rocks has beencollated in collaboration with the geologicalsurveys of Sweden, Finland and Russia. Bothmaps will be printed in 2001.

Cost-effective public development projects

NGU shall contribute to cheaper and betterwater supply, communications and developmentprojects.

Engineering geologyInvestment 2000: NOK 8.2 million, of whichNOK 1.4 million is externally financed

Work has started on the development of adatabase for engineering geology, with anemphasis on collating, classifying and interpre-ting fracture systems. During 2001, this databasewill contain a national lineament and fracturezone map based on the interpretation of satellitedata. The interpretation for the national data sethas been adapted to the scale of 1:1 million. Apopular science summary of fracture zones inbedrock was published in the popular scienceNGU publication Gråsteinen No. 7.

The geophysical mapping by helicopter ofthe bedrock in the Oslo region was continued.Detailed mapping of a new railway alignmentfrom Larvik to Porsgrunn was carried out for theNorwegian National Rail Administration.

In Troms, a joint venture project with thePublic Road Administration and the countycouncil concerning the mapping of landslidehazards in urban areas and along important roadalignments was continued. Landslide investigati-ons were also carried out in the fjords of WesternNorway and in Rjukan for Tinn municipality.The development of a national register for lands-lides was started, and in connection with this,joint venture agreements have been signed withthe Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and theNorwegian Water Resources and Energy Dir-ectorate.

Groundwater and earth heat investigationsInvestment 2000: NOK 12.2 million, of whichNOK 2.1 million is externally financed

Within the framework of the Government’sprogramme for water supply (PROVA), ground-water investigations were carried out at 24 supplysites, co-financed by municipal authorities andprivate waterworks. During the period 1990-99,

NGU carried out groundwater investigations at310 supply sites in 130 municipalities at a totalcost of over NOK 40 million. The potential forgroundwater supply has been demonstrated at163 supply sites (for approximately 95,000 peo-ple), and 75 groundwater pumping stations haveso far been constructed or approved to supplyover 35,000 people. The developments that havealready been approved are expected to be in theorder of NOK 150 million cheaper than equi-valent surface water plants.

NGU has also carried out groundwater inve-stigations in Tynset, Rena and Årdal (ground-water for mineral water production), Tydal andVerran (impact assessment for a hydroelectricdevelopment) and Surnadal and Hattfjelldal(groundwater for aquaculture).

The hydrogeological database has tempo-rarily been removed from the Internet in antici-pation of a review of the quality of some of thedata. The quality of data from four counties willbe reviewed. The work on the national ground-water network continued in collaboration withthe Norwegian Water Resources and EnergyDirectorate. The 25-year long time series in thisgroundwater network provides a good basis forassessing natural variations in groundwater leveland groundwater chemistry.

Earth heart is an investment area for NGU,because this energy source is competitive inmany areas and is extremely environmentally fri-endly. In collaboration with Brønnteknologi-utvikling AS, SINTEF and NTNU, and with co-financing from the Research Council ofNorway and Asker og Bærum energiverk, a re-search project has been initiated with the aim ofdeveloping methods and equipment for the moreefficient extraction of earth heat from bedrockboreholes using hydraulic fracturing. A test plantis now being built at Bryn School in Bærum.

NGU assessed energy storage in bedrock forthe new central hospital in Akershus. The plant,which is planned for heat/cold storage in over250 bedrock boreholes, will be the largest of itskind in Scandinavia. The mapping of the earthheat potential in Asker and Bærum was contin-ued. Earth heat mapping was also continuedaround the centres of Alvdal and Voss, and equi-valent mapping is under way in Sel municipality.

Development aid projects

Investment 2000: NOK 12.5 million, of whichNOK 6.1 million is externally financed

NGU is the authorities’ scientific body fordevelopment aid issues in areas such as mineralresources, the environment and groundwater. Inthis way, NGU contributes to the sustainablemanagement of resources in the countries wherewe are involved.

The war between Ethiopia and Eritrea re-sulted in a halt in the institutional collaborationwith the geological surveys in the two countries.The projects will be resumed and completed in2001. Work is underway to continue the collabo-ration with the two countries’ geological surveysthrough new projects.

A three-year groundwater project in SouthAfrica was started in 2000 in collaboration withthe Council for Geoscience, Department ofWater Affairs and Forestry, and with co-financingfrom NORAD and the authorities in SouthAfrica.


Progress in the geochemical mapping of thearea from Kola and eastwards towards the Uralshas been considerably reduced since the Ministryof the Environment decided to reduce its invol-vement in the project. It is not clear whether theproject can be continued as planned in 2001. Aproject looking at the effects of pollution fromthe Russian nickel works on ecosystems inPechenga and the Sør-Varanger area is beingcarried out in collaboration with the NorwegianNature Research Institute and Russian researchinstitutes.

NGU has completed an environmental che-mical assignment for Dames & Moore in Bolivia,assessed natural stone deposits in Egypt for thearchitect firm Snøhetta and carried out oreinvestigations for Midroc Gold in Ethiopia. As asubcontractor to Norconsult, NGU is partici-pating in a water project in Laos. The brochure"Geology for Society", which was sent to relevantcountries and UN organisations, has resulted in anumber of enquiries and joint venture invita-tions.

Common issues

Arne Bjørlykke has been appointed as managingdirector of NGU for a new term of 6 years.

FinancesDuring the past decade, the NGU’s allocationsfrom the state budget have been reduced slightly.We are now entering a demanding period ofchange where maps and data from more than140 years of work must be converted from ananalogue to a digital platform and made directlyavailable for users via interactive Web solutions.The investment in NGU Digital will take upapproximately a quarter of the available resour-ces over the next four-year period. This will resultin a reduction of the scope of data collection,something that in the long term may adverselyaffect the quality of NGU’s services.

Networks and collaboration NGU places an emphasis on a committed colla-boration with businesses, organisations and

public sector bodies at all levels in society ForNGU, network development is an importantsource of new and supplementary expertise.

Central initiatives for NGU in connection withthis include:

• The joint venture agreement with the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, theNorwegian Water Resources and EnergyDirectorate, the Norwegian Institute ofLand Inventory, the Norwegian PetroleumDirectorate, the Directorate of Mining andthe Norwegian Mapping Authority.

• The use of resources for network projectswith the universities and the developmentof formal consultancy agreements betweenNGU and professors at the universities wit-hin central initiative areas, and the laying ofthe foundations to enable NGU employeesto hold professor II posts at the universities.

• Collaboration with the national associationsof aggregate and gravel suppliers, the stoneindustry, the mining industry and theprocess industry.

• Further develop the international network,particularly by playing an active role inEuroGeoSurvey, which is the collaborativebody for the geological surveys in the EU.Here, NGU has participated in a number of international projects within climateresearch, marine mapping and databasedevelopment.

• Collaboration within the framework of thePolar Environmental Centre in Tromsø.

The co-ordinated programme for the geologicalinvestigation of the county of Nordland (1992-99) was concluded with a final report, whilst anequivalent programme for Troms (1997-2002)was continued.

NGU’s strategy plan for 2001-2005

Based on the slogan "Geology for society", NGUhas revised its strategy in step with the changingneeds of society. The process has had good inputfrom both external users and from NGU’s ownemployees. The strategy plan for the period2001-2005 reflects the need for a comprehensiveconversion of the platform for NGU’s data andknowledge, from analogue to digital. At the sametime, we are in the process of developing Internetservices to ensure that interested parties withinsociety have 24-hour access to user-friendlygeoscientific information and data.

The new strategy plan emphasises NGU’srole as a manager and supplier of fundamentalgeoscientific data for areas such as mineralresources, environmental chemistry, ground-water, earth heat and engineering geology. NGUdata is a collective resource, which gives conside-rable social benefits in relation to the investmentsthat have been made in developing NGU’s know-ledge base.

During the next strategy period, NGU willcontribute to the renewal of the public sectorthrough a stronger collaboration with other statemanagement bodies and institutes. The aim is toexploit scientific and administrative synergyeffects, and thereby to contribute to the effectiveutilisation of society’s resources in the producti-on of public benefits and services.


ADMINISTRATIONFinancial man. Ola Vikhammer

Finance and AccountingOla Vikhammer

PersonnelRandi Bostad

FacilitiesOla Hanø

GEOLOGICALINFORMATION CENTER

Div. dir. Bjørn Follestad

ITJostein Holthe

GISPer Ryghaug

Information services and marketingGrete Henriksen

Managing DirectorArne Bjørlykke

StaffDiv.dir. Helge Hugdahl

Special adviser Jan HøstSenior adviser Amund Rein

Consultant Åse Minde

GEOSCIENTIFIC DIVISIONDiv. dir. Morten Smelror

Bedrock geologyØystein Nordgulen

Surficial geologyAstrid Lyså

GeophysicsMark Smethurst

Geochemistry and hydro geologyJan Cramer

Mineral resourcesNigel Cook

LaboratoriesBørre Davidsen


Scientific Council

Managing director Olav Markussen,

Franzefoss Bruk AS, manager

Development director Lars Aksnes,

Public Road Directorate

Director Ingrid Bjotveit,

Norwegian Pollution Control Authority

Managing director Suzanne Lacasse,

Norwegian Geotechnical Institute

Direktør Kirsten Larm, Norwegian Industrial

and Regional Development Fund

Project director Kurt Sandman,

Skifer & Naturstein

Resource director Rolf Wiborg,

Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

Chief engineer Einar Dalsegg, NGU

Research scientist Rolf Tore Ottesen, NGU

The Scientific Council’s primary tasks are to give

NGU and the Ministry of Trade and Industry

advice on the following issues that concern

NGU:

• Strategic plans and issues of a strategic

nature.

• Activity plan with action plan.

• Framework agreements with other

institutes.

• Important consultative statements.

• Organisational changes that may be of

significance to the strategy and activity

plan.

• Appointment of the administrative

director.

The Council had three meetings in 2000,

including an excursion to Buskerud, Vestfold

and Telemark.

Organisation

T HE PREVAILING VIEW amongst research scientists has long been that the conti-nental plate beneath Norway, Sweden and

Finland is slowly rising as a result of the meltingof the large continental ice sheet 8 000-10 000years ago. It was also believed that this deforma-tion results in relatively little earthquake activity.The NEONOR project has shown that both ofthese assumptions are wrong. Norway was hit bymajor earthquakes several thousand years ago.

It is also apparent that some of the landuplift in the mountainous areas of Norway mustalso be ascribed to effects other than the ice mel-ting. The current annual land uplift is up to 6 mm in Norway and 9 mm in the Gulfof Bothnia. The research scientists in the NEONOR project have found out that the for-mation of the Scandinavian mountain chain isprobably due to light rock types at a great depthin the mantel, which represents a branch of thehot mantel rock types beneath Iceland. Thisprocess is still active. It is causing earthquakesand gives the Norwegian mountains an extra 1 mm in height each year.

Thousands of Hiroshima bombsNorway’s youngest faults can be found in thecounties of Finnmark and Troms and appear asdistinct escarpments up to seven metres high inthe landscape. Trenches dug across the faultescarpments show that they were formed as aresult of strong earthquakes after the melting ofthe continental ice sheet 9 000-10 000 years ago.The faults form part of a large system that cont-inues into Northern Sweden and NorthernFinland. This system consists of 11 faults with amaximum vertical movement of in excess of20 metres. The longest is 150 km long, and is the largest fault in the world formed by the compression of the earth’s crust in a singlemovement.

Both the height and the length of the faultescarpments show that these earthquakes had astrength of between 7 and 8 on the Richter scale!This is the same order of magnitude as therecent destructive earthquakes in Turkey, Japanand El Salvador. The earthquakes are equivalentto the energy released by several thousandHiroshima bombs.

In Troms, we can see traces of a series oflarge landslides, both above and below water.Whole mountainsides have collapsed. Studies ofthese landslides show that they occurred justafter the ice melting 9 000-10 000 years ago.They were probably activated by large earth-quakes. The earthquakes from the formation ofthe young faults may have activated these lands-lides. At this time, the first Norwegians werealready living on the coast and were probably hitby tidal waves from the activated landslides.


Norway on the moveBy Odleiv Olesen, Lars Harald Blikra, John Dehls and Lars Olsen

Norwegian bedrock is constantly on the move. The country is rising by 6 millimetres a

year. The uplifting of the land and earthquakes have left clear marks on the landscape:

mountainsides have collapsed and ‘fresh’ faults stretch for mile after mile across the

Scandinavian landscape north of the Artic Circle. 182 years ago, Rana was the site of the

biggest earthquake in Northern Europe. The NEONOR project has revealed new informa-

tion on recent movements in the Norwegian bedrock. This knowledge has consequences

for large development projects on land and on the continental shelf and for the under-

standing of how oil and groundwater behave in bedrock.

There have been many earthquakes north of

the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia over the last

250 years.

A 5-km long fracture stretches across

Kvasshaugen in Beiarn that was formed after

the last ice age, probably after an earthquake.

Earthquakes affect groundwater and petroleumMore recent studies of the drift deposits inNorway show that Scandinavia has experienced10-20 cycles of glacial and interglacial periodsover the last 600 000 years. The continental icesheet extended right out to the continental shelfduring several of these glacial periods. It is the-refore probable that Scandinavia was hit bymany large earthquakes after each ice melting.When we consider the last 600 000 years as asingle period, we are able to state that the earth-quake activity in Scandinavia is similar to thelevel of activity we see around an active plateboundary, as in California.

Studies of major earthquakes on the westcoast of the USA and around the Mediterraneanshow that enormous quantities of water werepumped out of the bedrock during and aftersuch earthquakes – up to half a cubic kilometre.In these earthquake areas, it has also been docu-mented that gas and fluids flow out of the

seafloor. On the Norwegian shelf, there are manyso-called ‘pockmarks’, which are the large cratersleft behind after such discharges.

Through NEONOR project, we have shownthat the formation of these craters in the NorthSea in a number of areas is linked to N-Strending faults that dissect the seafloor. On land,we find evidence of the discharge of water linkedto earthquake activity in Masi, Kåfjord andRana. Seismic ‘pulses’ linked to the periods afterthe glacial periods are of significance to thebehaviour of fluids and gas in the bedrock. Wenow believe that this mechanism helps to ‘pump’hydrocarbons from source rocks up to overlyingreservoir rocks. At the end of the last glacialperiod, there was rapid global warming, which

can partly be attributed to the large quantities ofmethane flowing out from sediments on the sea-floor and up into the atmosphere. The world’slargest sub-sea landslide, the Egga slide off Møre7 200 years ago, could have been activated by anearthquake at this time.

Hydrogeologists have previously demon-strated that bedrock boreholes in areas with ahigh rate of uplift give considerably moregroundwater than boreholes in areas with littleuplift. For example, the boreholes in EasternNorway give 3-4 times more water than bedrockboreholes on the coast of Western Norway. Thisrelationship can be explained by the greaterearthquake activity in areas with a high rate ofuplift. Repeated earthquakes can lead to frac-tures in the bedrock being kept open. Thismechanism can also explain why tunnels inEastern Norway, such as Romeriksporten,normally have higher water leakage rates thantunnels in Western Norway.

Important knowledgeA better knowledge of today’s bedrock move-ments is important in the planning of largedevelopment projects, such as oil and gas pipe-lines, terminals, power stations and otherengineering projects in bedrock. The NEONORproject shows that very large earthquakes(strength 7-8) will probably not occur until afterthe next glacial period (i.e. in 15 000-30 000years). Earthquakes with strengths in excess of6 can however occur at any time within the mostseismically active areas in Western Norway andin Nordland. However, we know from otherareas that the return period for such earthquakescan be several thousand years.

As the oil and gas fields on the continentalslope are developed, our knowledge of the stabi-lity of the seafloor will become important. It is acommon view that major earthquakes have acti-vated a series of landslides of enormous dimen-sions along the continental slope. To predict therisk of new landslides, a knowledge of earth-quake activity since the last glacial period will beimportant.


The Stuoragurra fault stretches for 80 km across

Finnmarksvidda. An earthquake in 1996 squeezed

enormous quantities of water out of the fault.

The drift deposits lying over the Stuoragurra fault

were folded and deformed approximately 9 000

years ago. In an earthquake of 7-8 on the Richter

scale, the terrain on the left was displaced

10 metres in a single movement!

The NEONOR projectThe project has placed a focus on recent

movements in the earth’s crust. Behind the

project, which was led by NGU, were NORSAR,

the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the

Norwegian Mapping Authority and

Rogalandsforskning, The Research Council of

Norway and the major energy companies

BP-Amoco, Norsk Hydro, Phillips Petroleum and

Statkraft have contributed considerable

financial support. Research scientists from

SINTEF, NTNU and the University of Oslo also

carried out important tasks in the project.

The participants in the project have worked

together to register and interpret information

on earthquakes, land uplift, bedrock stresses

and young faults.

The terrain model from Manndalen in Troms clearly

shows how much of the mountainside has collapsed.

BUILDING A MODERN HOSPITAL is a majorundertaking. In the years to come,Lørenskog will become the site of one

of Norway's largest land development projectsever. For such a project, it is important to giveattention to a sustainable energy supply. Thedeveloper, Sykehusprosjektene i Akershus(SPA), has done this. NGU has provided assis-tance by demonstrating the potential for thegeothermal-based heating and cooling of thehospital.

Heating and coolingGeothermal energy can be produced in anumber of ways, but for the SiA NGU hasassessed three alternative methods:

• pumped groundwater from surficialdeposits

• the circulation of an antifreeze solutionin collector hoses which are lowered intoseveral, relatively shallow boreholes inthe bedrock

• the circulation of water in a few deep,interconnected boreholes in bedrock –

drilling technology which has yet to befully developed

The method that is most cost-effective willdepend on the geological conditions at thesite, the size of the plant to be built and thedistribution between heating and coolingrequirements.

Geothermal systems can be used for bothheating and cooling. With heating, the energyis extracted from water or collector fluid usinga heat pump. The heat is then supplied to thebuilding mass through water-based floor hea-ting, radiators or heated ventilation air.

Most large buildings will also have a coo-ling need, particularly during the summer.Here, the energy transport is reversed, so thatthe energy from the building’s heat pumps issent down into the ground, where it is storedfor later use. It is ‘easier’ for the coolingmachine to get rid of heat in a borehole thanin warm outdoor air. The best aspect of thissolution is that the heat is retained and can beused the following winter. This combinedform of operation helps to make geothermalheating a good, environmentally friendly andprofitable source of energy for a hospital withcooling needs.

A park of wellsNGU’s investigations have shown that theground conditions at the hospital site werenot very suitable for extracting the energyfrom groundwater in drift deposits, as the clayis too impermeable. More thorough investiga-tions of the properties of the bedrock weretherefore necessary.

The detailed geological mapping showedthat SiA will be built on a dark, deep bedrocktype, diorite, which is surrounded by a lightermica gneiss towards the north and east.Analyses of diorite samples have shown thatthis rock type has low quartz content and thusa relatively poor heat conductance. In additi-on, this rock type contains little of the naturalradioactive elements uranium, thorium andpotassium. These radioactive elements contri-bute to an increase in temperature in deepboreholes. The surrounding mica gneiss had a


"Green" heating of newhospital in Lørenskogby Jan Høst, Kirsti Midttømme and Helge Skarphagen

If everything goes according to plan, the new Central Hospital in Akerhus (SiA) will be

ready in 2007. In the meantime, a new building of 160 000 m2 is erected in Lørenskog,

with an annual heating requirement of 30 GWh.This is equivalent to the heating of 1500-

2000 detached homes. SiA will extract approximately 60% of this energy from renewable

sources underground – guaranteed free from the discharge of greenhouse gases and

with good profitability!

The new central hospital in Akershus can meet

most of its heating requirements using heat

pumps that extract energy from deep boreholes

in the bedrock.

significantly higher heat conductance, but thedistance to the development area (500 metres)meant that extracting the heat from thisgneiss would not be very profitable.

NGU had a test well drilled down to adepth of 250 metres in the diorite beneath thehospital. Using a TV camera that can be lowe-red down a borehole to record a 360-degreepicture of the borehole wall – it was discove-red that the bedrock has relatively few fractu-res, which helps the seasonal storages of ther-mal energy.

The hospital’s extensive need for bothheating and cooling made the provision of anextremely profitable energy supply possible.NGU has therefore recommended that thedevelopers construct a ‘wellpark’ with approx.200-300 boreholes of 160-200 metres depth. Aclosed hose coil filled with a mixture of alco-hol and water will be lowered into the bore-holes. This environmentally friendly ‘antifree-ze’ will extract sufficient energy to meet therequirement for heating and will also providegood cooling by extracting surplus heat fromthe ventilation air from the buildings and sto-ring this energy at depth in the same wellpark.

Energy for freeIn Sweden, positive experience has alreadybeen gained with the method that NGU hasrecommended for SiA. Outside Stockholm isthe office and industrial complex ‘Infra-City’with a floor area of 100 000 square metres. In1989, an equivalent borehole store was con-structed here based on heat pumps. Throughthis project, the developers wanted to reducethe total energy consumption, whilst alsomaking the building complex less vulnerableto increases in the price of energy from thedistrict heating plant nearby. ‘Infra City’ cannow document a reduction in energy con-sumption of 40 percent. The operation alsoshows that 90 percent of the energy that isextracted from the building mass can be reu-sed and temporarily stored in the well park.The entire plant repaid its investment costs in3 years!

So far, it seems that the owners of the newcentral hospital will give the go-ahead forgeothermal-based heating. Investment inboreholes, heat pumps, etc. will total approxi-mately NOK 30 million. The energy plant willthen be able to cover approximately 80 per-cent of the hospital’s total heating require-ments, whilst enabling the costs associatedwith cooling to be reduced. This will give anexpected annual energy saving of slightly overNOK 7 million.

In principle, the entire heating require-ment could have been covered, but experiencehas shown that the highest profitability isachieved by building the plant so that oil-firedboilers or direct electric heating provides thefinal 10 – 20 percent of the annual heatingrequirement.

The savings compared to electric or oil-based heating will enable the plant at SiA torepay its investment costs over a five-yearperiod. This means that the hospital will havea much cheaper energy supply within theforeseeable future compared with electricityor oil heating.

By investing in renewable and ‘everlasting’geothermal heating, SiA will become animportant showcase for an environmentallyfriendly and sustainable energy supply in thecentral area of Eastern Norway. We need theseshowcases, as Norway is trailing behind in aEuropean perspective in terms of the utilisati-on of future-orientated earth heat-based heatpump technology.


Using an optical televiewer, geologists can study

the rock types and fracturing in a borehole. Here,

we are at a depth of 170 metres below the site of

the SiA.

Norway lagging behind

Geothermal heat provides the most environ-

mentally friendly source of energy for heating

and cooling buildings. There is enough ener-

gy stored in the ground to meet the world’s

energy consumption needs for 300,000 years!

In the USA and the rest of Europe, geo-

thermal heat is used to a far greater extent

than in Norway.

Our neighbour Sweden has more than ten

times as many heat pumps in operation than

we have in this country and the heat produc-

tion of our neighbours is over 17 TWh/year.

This is equivalent to two small nuclear power

stations. In Norway, heat pumps account for

4 TWh of energy production, but only 15 % of

these pumps extract energy from bedrock

and surficial deposits.

(Source: IEA Heat Pump Centre newsletter

18/2000)

SINCE MAN SETTLED in our country, the ability to hew rock has been a central requirement for settlement and economic

and cultural development. There is in fact a line– admittedly rather a tortuous one – from thetools of the Stone Age to the huge undergroundOlympic hall in Gjøvik. We find a link betweenrock as a material for tools and as a source forbeautiful art. Even in our post-industrial age, anage in which some people believe that we havefinished with old quarries and mines once andfor all, the fact is that we have never been sodependent on raw materials from rock as we aretoday. Mother Earth is drawing upon her richesof minerals, stone, aggregate and gravel at anever-increasing rate!

A quick dip into NGU’s databases ‘reveals’around 800 old stone quarries across the coun-try. There are undoubtedly many more that havenot been registered or discovered or which havebeen filled in as a result of agricultural or urbandevelopment. These old quarries represent avaried collection: the axe quarries of the StoneAge, the soapstone pot quarries of the VikingPeriod, church stone quarries from the MiddleAges, millstone quarries and the innumerablequarries for building stone from theReformation through to today.

But what could we use these quarries fortoday? Old stone quarries are a forgotten butimportant source of knowledge about the past –quarries can teach us about craftwork techni-ques, trading conditions and the way in whichstone behaves when it is broken. However, quar-ries can also be interesting as a source of rawmaterials for the future.

Studies of the past

Studies of old quarries can provide us with valu-able information on the operation of quarriesand the scope of industrial quarrying in timesgone by. Studies of old stone quarries around theMediterranean have for example given us infor-mation on the development of tools and techno-logy and advanced analytical methods can ‘reve-al’ whether a Roman sculpture was created frommarble from Northern Italy or from Turkey. Inthis way, archaeologists can add new pieces totheir jigsaw puzzle to form a picture of, forexample, trade routes in ancient Europe.

In Norway, the studies of soapstone quarriesused for making pots are fairly well known.Based on the form and design of the pots, thepots can to some extent be dated – thereby alsodating the quarries. However, there are stillmajor challenges in obtaining geochemical andmineralogical signatures that can tell us moreabout which quarry the pots come from.

There has so far been little research intostone quarries for extracting building stone –with one exception. In collaboration with NGUand the Science Museum, the RestorationWorkshop of Nidaros Cathedral has carried outcomprehensive studies into the green slate andsoapstone quarries that were used during theconstruction of the Nidaros Cathedral in theMiddle Ages. Many of these quarries are locatednear Øysanden, about 20 kilometres southwestof Trondheim. Here, we find a large number ofsmall quarries within an area of several squarekilometres. As several of the quarries had alrea-dy been abandoned by 1200, we can study theevidence left behind of quarrying during theMiddle Ages. This enables us to form a picture ofhow the actual extraction took place. The waste


Old stone quarries in a new lightby Tom Heldal

In Norway, there are many old stone quarries, which were abandoned after a Middle Age

church had been completed or the market for local bridge stone came to an end. Some of

these stone quarries are deep holes in the ground, very visible from long distances away.

Others are now a moss-covered maze of steps and terraces in the hillside, only accessible

to those who are looking for them. Common to all of these old quarries is that they testi-

fy to hard work and craftsmanship, tradition and culture, and represent an important part

of our industrial history. They may also represent a resource for the future.

An overview of old

soapstone quarries

from NGU’s databases.

In a number of areas,

we still have a lot of

work to do to complete

the overview.

The soapstone quarries at Gullbotn near

Bergen have been turned into green, hanging

gardens. Will we see renewed extraction here in

the future?

tips tell us where the blocks were worked. Thereis a lot of evidence to suggest that this area was avery large ‘industrial workplace’ 800 years ago!

The Restoration Workshop of NidarosCathedral has also studied how the rocks weat-her in the quarries. This knowledge is useful forcomparison with what is happening to the cat-hedral today and for future conservation.

Restoration and operation

Some of our most important buildings from theMiddle Ages are under continuous restoration –and this leads to a need for stone. Special quali-ties or ‘original products’ of the same type asthose used in the construction of the buildingare often needed. Such a ‘restoration market’ forstone often requires old quarries to be preparedfor operation again – and managed with this inmind.

For some time, the Restoration Workshop ofNidaros Cathedral used suitable soapstone atBubakk near Kvikne. This operation had to bestopped due to a conflict with protected areas ofthe quarry, where there were traces of pot pro-duction dating right back to the pre-Roman IronAge. However, does it have to be that way? In thiscase, the conservation of cultural relics cameinto conflict with the restoration of other cultu-ral relics. An important challenge in such cases isto find a balance in terms of management thatsatisfies both needs – wherever possible.

It is not only older buildings that need to berestored and maintained. In Norway, there isoften a need for new buildings and extensionsthat ‘match’ the original materials. This is onearea where old stone quarries can be very useful.An excellent example of this is Jondal inHardanger. The black Hardanger slate has beenquarried more or less continually since the 15thCentury and the stone is widely used for walls,flagstones and roof tiles in Hordaland. The quar-ries are again in operation today. One of the rea-sons for this is simply because of the long tradi-

tion of using the slate as a suitable cultural stone.We may now be seeing the first signs of the

way in which the stone that much of Trondheimis built from (since the 19th Century), i.e. theHovin sandstone, will be worked in the future.This is dark, clay-rich sandstone (greywacke),which occurs extensively south of the city. Afterthe quarries had been abandoned for manyyears, a consignment of this stone was extractedsome time ago for the new Vestfrontplassen infront of the Nidaros Cathedral – with goodresults. We can also see a need in the future forthis sandstone for special architectural purposes– and we must therefore ensure that the depositsare not abandoned.

Another example of the ‘revitalisation’ of olddeposits can be found near Egersund inRogaland. A stone quarry dating back to beforethe First World War was the source of polishedplates of anorthosite, which inspired theNorwegian stone industry to become involved inmapping the resources of the area in the early20th Century. Today, the stone from this area isused as a facade material for fashionable hotelsthe world over.

Sensible management

Old quarries can provide us with a lot of infor-mation for many disciplines and sectors in soci-ety. They can tell us about our forefathers’exploitation of the raw materials that many ofour most important cultural relics are madefrom. Many of the quarries themselves should beaccessible cultural relics for the public. Somehave been revived and are run profitably today,whilst many others may represent a resource forthe future.

We have seen examples of deposits beingboth cultural relics and part of a modern opera-tion. Common to all old quarries is their needfor sensible management inspired by inter-disci-plinary collaboration. Many of them representimportant values – some as cultural relics, someas ‘supplementary quarries’ for our older buil-dings and some as economic resources.

We are perhaps seeing a trend towards closercollaboration between institutes and disciplinesthat have traditionally had little to do with eachother, such as that between NGU, cultural heri-tage bodies, universities and land-use manage-ment bodies. A slogan for this? Cultural geologyfor society!


A green slate and soapstone quarry dating from

the Middle Ages near Øysanden, southwest of

Trondheim – in a geological frame. Much of the

raw materials used for the Nidaros Cathedral in

Trondheim were taken from here.

A well-preserved pot quarry dating from the Viking

Period, Lesja.

A trip to the green slate quarries near

Øysanden is recommended. Here, you can see

clear signs of quarrying dating from the

Middle Ages.

«Gelogical map» of detail from the Nidaros

cathredal.

annual report 2000 · of day and serve mankind. henrik ibsen: john gabriel borkman the exploration...

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