NVE Hydrological Data / SeNorge Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate

Overview

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE; Norwegian: Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat) operates a suite of hydrological data services and portals, most notably senorge.no, which provides public access to nationally significant datasets on snow, water, weather, and climate across Norway. NVE is the national centre of expertise for hydrology in Norway and serves as the country's competent authority in this field.

History and Founding

NVE was established in 1921 as a Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. Its mandate has evolved to encompass the administration of Norway's water and energy resources, contingency planning for floods, landslides, and avalanches, and research and development in hydrology. The agency is a member of the Council of European Energy Regulators.

Collections and Data Holdings

NVE's Hydrology Department, with more than 120 employees, is responsible for the national hydrological observation networks and databases. The department maintains data covering river discharge, groundwater, glaciology, sediment transport, and snow conditions. The seNorge platform provides access to high-resolution gridded datasets for daily mean temperature, precipitation, snow depth, and water balance across Norway and Svalbard, derived from the seNorge2 model developed in collaboration with the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET).

NVE also operates the national warning services for floods, landslides, avalanches, and ice events, published through Varsom.no. A database of Norwegian lakes and water catchment areas is publicly accessible via the agency's website.

Access and Usage

Data and maps are publicly accessible through senorge.no and NVE's main website. The directorate has regional offices in Hamar, Førde, Tønsberg, Trondheim, and Narvik, in addition to its headquarters in Oslo.