The stamp presented today is one of the final two in Norway’s Research, Innovation, and Technology series, released on October 5, 2024. Celebrating Norway’s accomplishments in Arctic and climate research, this stamp highlights the Nansen Legacy project, an ambitious six-year endeavor involving over 230 researchers from ten Norwegian institutions, concluding in 2024. The stamp design combines icy landscapes with an image of Fridtjof Nansen’s profile made of ice floes, symbolizing Norway’s historical and ongoing dedication to polar research.
The Nansen Legacy project seeks to expand our knowledge of the Arctic’s swiftly changing ecosystems, with particular focus on the northern Barents Sea, where temperatures are increasing almost four times faster than the global average. Researchers are investigating the effects of diminishing sea ice on marine life and the environment, paying special attention to the interactions between the atmosphere, ice, ocean currents, and biodiversity. A crucial tool in this research is the icebreaker Kronprins Haakon, also featured on the stamp. This advanced vessel, equipped with 15 specialized labs, sonar, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and a “moon pool” for deploying instruments through sea ice, allows unprecedented access to remote Arctic regions. It even has a helicopter deck and hangar, enabling scientists to take aerial measurements.
The booklet containing this stamp also includes another commemorative stamp for the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research. This stamp illustrates how the Gulf Stream’s extension—the Norwegian Current—carries warm water northward along Norway’s coast. The design is based on a 1909 map created by oceanographers Bjørn Helland-Hansen and Fridtjof Nansen, whose portrait appears on the first stamp described above.
- Issued on: 2024-10-05
- Colors: Multicolor
- Designers: Enzo Finger
- Printers: Joh. Enschedé
- Format: Commemorative
- Perforation: Die Cut
- Printing: Offset lithography
- Gum: Self-Adhesive
- Face value: Innland 20g º – No Face Value
- Print run: 185,000
- Description: Issued in booklets containing five of each stamp in this series. Face value NOK 23.00 on day of issue.