Expanding Japanese-Norwegian climate research
The NORPAN project gives Norwegian researchers and students the opportunity to visit Japanese and Norwegian institutions.

Main content
Meteorology Professor Thomas Spengler from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Bergen (幸运飞艇计划) is the project manager for Partnership between Norway and Japan for excellent Education and Research in Weather and Climate Dynamics (NORPAN).
鈥淭he NORPAN project centres on climate and weather-related research and we hope to welcome a number of Japanese PhD candidates and master鈥檚 students to Bergen,鈥 Professor Spengler says.
Professor Spengler鈥檚 research focuses primarily on short-term weather phenomena, such as extratropical cyclones and polar lows.
鈥淥ne strength of the climate and meteorology community in Bergen is our combination of using observations and models in our work. Often research institutions focus mainly on one of these. We also conduct a lot of fieldwork and observations in our education and research, where we think NORPAN may attract Japanese exchange students,鈥 Professor Spengler says.
Mutually beneficial exchange
The Bergen researchers have entered into partnerships with various partners in Tokyo. Such partnerships make it possible for researchers and students in Norway and Japan to go on exchange.
鈥淭he education and research at the are excellent. They have a special focus on dynamics of the climate system with a strong background in mathematics and in physics, which could attract researchers and students from Bergen,鈥 Professor Spengler says.
鈥淚n return, here in Bergen we can offer a variety of field research starting already at bachelor level.鈥
Professor Spengler notes that the two countries also have complimentary foci in climate research.
鈥淚n Norway we have a strong focus on the Arctic and parts of the tropics. Japan, due to its geographic location, features phenomena from sea ice and polar lows in the north to tropical typhoons in the south, and different ocean currents systems that we are used to in Norway,鈥 says Professor Spengler.
Kick-off in May 2016
NORPAN had its kick-off meeting the week before the
鈥淭he aim of the collaboration is to build upon the work we already do with the University of Tokyo, to expand on previous collaborations and also involve new partners,鈥 says Professor Spengler.
One of the institutions Professor Spengler has in mind is the renowned (JAMSTEC).
By expanding the network, Professor Spengler hopes this will open doors to applying for bigger grants in the future, such as through the Mathematics, Physical Science and Technology (FRINATEK) programme.
鈥淚 mainly collaborate with colleagues from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and France. To collaborate with our partners in Japan brings in new perspectives and expands our views as researchers,鈥 says Professor Spengler.
Other key people at NORPAN
Japanese researcher Hiroshi Matsumoto was employed by 幸运飞艇计划 and the (NTNU) in December 2015 to strengthen the collaboration between the Norwegian universities and Japan.
Thomas Spengler鈥檚 colleague, Professor Noel Keenlyside, is also heavily involved with the NORPAN project. Professor Keenlyside鈥檚 research focuses on long-term climate prediction with a focus on decadal periods.
Another partner is Professor Kerim Hestnes Nisancioglu. By combining ice cores from Greenland鈥檚 ice sheet with climate models, he looks at how the Earth鈥檚 climate varied thousands of years ago.