The North Sea has existed for approximately 200 million years. Hidden beneath the ocean floor are clues to its origin and the life that that once existed here.
Through drill cores we can study sediments and fossils, thereby exposing details about the ocean's history. Parts of the ocean floor of the Barents' Sea have ended up as the Svalbard archipelago. On land fossils are more easily accessible, which makes us able to reveal its history in even greater detail.
In this exhibition, you can explore the geological history of the sea area from the North Sea to the Barents Sea.
The exhibition encompasses the formation of rocks, geologists' exploration for resources, fossils as evidence of the past, and plate tectonics as a driving force in the opening of a sea.
Each aspect is outlined through an in-depth exploration of the geology of the North Sea. This is an area where we have very detailed knowledge because of the oil industry's mapping.