Service and Consultancy - other than oil and gas
Our strategy has been to offer services based on our R&D competence. This provides a closer interaction and better communication with our clients. The boundaries between R&D and consultancy services are not always clear, and elements of research are also found in activities listed below.
IRIS Biomiljø has for many years conducted environmental studies of lakes, rivers and streams, as well as marine areas (offshore and coastal).
Investigations range from basic monitoring to studies aiming to map specific environmental conditions. The methods used include traditional well established methods, as well as new methods based on effects monitoring. Freshwater studies include assessment of environmental impacts, of chemical and ecological status, analysis of the effects pollutants have on water quality and the aquatic ecosystem, and quantifying runoff and critical loads as the basis for suggesting management actions. Monitoring activities focus on assessing the effects of management actions and measures taken, as well as on identifying changing environmental conditions.
A long range of studies have been dealing with the eutrophication problems of freshwaters in the Jæren region. This is the main area of animal husbandry in Norway, and many lakes and streams suffer from excess nutrient loads and eutrophication. The County Council of Rogaland started the initiative “Aksjon Jærvassdrag” in 1993 with the aim to reduce over-fertilisation and to improve the environmental conditions of the water systems, and IRIS has been an important partner for this project.
Examples of activities and projects:
EU Water framework directive and Jærvassdrag
An assessment and recommendation of measures for improving water quality in the Jæren region, and meeting the goals of the EU Water framework directive, was conducted in 2008 (in cooperation with Bioforsk and Norconsult). The assessment had special focus on agricultural practices, and will form a basis for a plan of action for future work of Aksjon Jærvassdrag.
Aksjon Jærvassdrag
A monitoring programme is being run for Aksjon Jærvassdrag, with the aim to document the water quality of the main lakes and rivers in the Jæren region, and the effects of the measures that have been taken. Some locations have been monitored regularly for more than 20 years.
Lake Hålandsvatnet
More detailed investigations in Lake Hålandsvatnet have been conducted the last four years, focusing on nutrient inputs and the effect on plankton communities. Here, domestic sewage is of relatively greater importance, and lately the lake has experienced blooms of specific cyanobacterial strains producing extreme levels of toxins.
An investigation of the sediments of the eutrophic Lake Frøylandsvatn was conducted in 2005, to document the chemical (nutrient) composition of the sediment, and evaluating its significance for internal loading and the ecological status of the lake (in cooperation with the University of Oslo and NIVA).
A paleoecological investigation on a sediment core from Lake Frøylandsvatn was also conducted in 2005, using sedimentary pigments, stable isotopes, and diatom s preserved in the sediments as indicators (in cooperation with the University of Regina, Canada, and the University College London, UK). This investigation revealed that Lake Frøylandsvatn was oligotrophic with low algal biomass and phosphorus concentration early in the 20th century, but experienced significant eutrophication with increasing algal abundance following ~1940. The results are highly significant for defining reference conditions for this region, relevant to the work with EUs Water Framework Directive.
Skas-Heigre, a tributary to the Figgjo River
An automatic monitoring station in Skas-Heigre, a tributary to the Figgjo River, and heavily influenced by agricultural activities, has been run more or less continuously since 1988. Now as a part of the Norwegian Agricultural Environmental Programme, JOVA (in cooperation with Bioforsk), objectives are to document the loss of particles, nutrients and pesticides from farmland to watercourses, and to relate agricultural measures to long-term changes in water quality.
Monitoring of dredging of the harbour basin at Bjørvika
Environmental monitoring of the dredging work connected to the building of the new opera house in Oslo was carried out.
Polluted harbour sediments
Laboratory testing and optimization of selected approaches (processes) for in situ treatment of target organic contaminants in representative marine sediments was carried out in 2005-2006.
Monitoring the local marine sewage recipients (The Håsteinfjord and adjacent recipients)
Environmental monitoring surveys which aim at measuring the effects of the effluents coming from the municipal sewage treatment plant.
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