Ocean Futures: Ocean Maps Programme

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Ocean Maps Programme

Award Winning Maps
Ocean Futures has developed two map series - an award winning series of eight maps on the Barents Sea and a series of two maps on Northern Norway. A third series of five circumpolar maps is under development.

Maritime Jurisdictions in the North

© 2010 Ocean Futures, Oslo: Segment of Map on Maritime Jurisdiction in the North

Client/Users
The development of the circumpolar maps is financed jointly by the Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL), the Norwegian Atlantic Committee and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Clients and users of the Barents Sea and Northern Norway maps include Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), Executive Committee for Northern Norway (Landsdelsutvalget), FAFO Research Foundation (Forskningsstiftelsen FAFO), Norwegian Atlantic Committee (Atlanterhavskomiteen), Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), and the Storting Library (Stortingsbiblioteket).

The British Cartographic Society Award
Ocean Futures has received the BCS Award for its maps on the Barents Sea. The award - bestowed by the British Cartographic Society - is regarded one of the foremost awards of its kind in the world, and it is the first time that a Norwegian organisation
has won it

Why Maps?
A quote from the World Bank answers the question. "Maps are powerful tools for presenting complex information in a visual form that is easy to understand. They can summarize multiple dimensions in a simple display, something difficult to do otherwise".

Holistic Approach
Today's maps on the northern areas are very often one dimensional - and the focus is on a single theme at a time. Such maps are needed. When Ocean Futures is developing its maps, the aim, however, is to create maps that are more holistic, that is maps that include a number of different yet linked ocean activities and themes.

The map on maritime activities in the Barents Sea shows for instance maritime jurisdiction, fishing activities, oil and gas activities, and shipping lanes. The map is layered and each layer can be viewed singly or on top of each other thus producing a holistic picture of how various ocean activities can influence or interfere with each other.

The maps developed by Ocean Futures are GIS-based, multi layered electronic maps. Some of the most experienced research fellows on the northern areas are members of Ocean Futures staff and Ocean Futures Affiliated Faculty. This multidisciplinary competence combined with Ocean Futures map making competence form the basis for the map series.

The Map Series
The map series on the Barents Sea consists of one base map and eight different theme maps showing maritime jurisdiction, oil and gas activities, fishing and aquaculture, environment and ocean activities, infrastructure and transport, mineral extraction, energy production, and forestry.

The map series on Northern Norway consists of a base map and two theme maps on infrastructure and population structure.

The new circumpolar maps will focus on jurisdiction, resources, infrastructure, climate and environment.

Cooperation is the Key to Good Results
All maps are products of close collaboration between Ocean Futures (which had the idea, is responsible for data collection and analyses, has project leadership, and is copyright owner) and several subcontractors. These are UnParalleled of the US (graphic design), ERA of the UK (GIS data processing), Statens kartverk (GIS data Northern Norway) and Rayon of Norway (flash formats).

Global Maps
Ocean Futures has so far concentrated on maps on northern areas. We plan to make maps on jurisdiction, resources, infrastructure, the environment, the deep seabed and the climate also on other parts of the world's oceans.

For further information, please contact:
Jan Magne Markussen
Managing Director and Senior Research Fellow, Ocean Futures
E-mail: jan-magne.markussen@ocean-futures.com
Ph.: +47-22 08 87 52

This information is also available in a printer-friendly format (PDF).

Updated: May 2010

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