Sverdrup station
 
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Location of the Sverdrup station on Spitsbergen |
The Sverdrup Station ( Norwegian Forskningsstasjon - Sverdrup ) is a Norwegian research station in Ny-Ålesund on the island of Spitsbergen . It is operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute .
location
The station is located in Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost permanently inhabited place in Svalbard , on the Kongsfjord . The hinterland is formed by Brøggerdalen with the glacier tongues of the Austre and Vestre Brøggerbreen that end there, and by the almost 800 m high mountains of the Brøggerhalvøya peninsula . Ny-Ålesund harbor is 500 meters away and the airport is around 1.3 kilometers away. Research stations from other nations are in the immediate vicinity, including a. the German Koldewey station .
history
Ny-Ålesund was founded as a mining settlement at the beginning of the 20th century. It also served several times as the starting point for important Arctic expeditions. When the mining of hard coal was stopped in the 1960s , the change to a science location began. Today more than ten nations operate their own research stations here. Norway started in 1968 with the establishment of the Sverdrup station. Today's main building was completed in 1999 and is occupied by four people all year round, and five in summer. Connected to it is the Zeppelin observatory, which went into operation in 1990 and reopened in May 2000, at a height of 475 m, which can be reached by cable car .
description
The main building of the research station has a covered area of 585 m². It includes offices with telephones , internet access and guest computers, two workshops for small electronic and mechanical repairs, a small laboratory for guests, a large roof terrace for scientific instruments, a library and a lecture room. The station offers comprehensive logistical support for excursions by providing boats, snowmobiles , sleds, tents, sleeping bags, primus cookers , polar suits, etc.
climate
The station is located in an area with permafrost and a high arctic climate. The mean annual temperature is -6.3 ° C, the mean temperature in February -14.6 ° C and in July 4.9 ° C. The mean annual rainfall between 1975 and 1989 was 370 mm. The ice in the Kongsfjord breaks in April to May. The wind blows mainly from the east.
research
The research work carried out at the Sverdrup Institute focuses on the following:
- Monitoring of arctic fauna and long-term studies of the effects of pollutants on birds and arctic mammals such as arctic foxes , polar bears and reindeer
- Monitoring of glaciers , especially glacial mass balance studies
- Monitoring of the fixed ice in the Kongsfjord, in-situ measurements of the ice properties and daily observation of its extent (since 2003)
- Long-term monitoring of meteorological data (since 1969)
- daily measurements of UV radiation and atmospheric ozone
Web links
- Sverdrup station on the homepage of the INTERACT project (English)
- Homepage of the Sverdrup Station (English)
Coordinates: 78 ° 55 ′ 24 ″ N , 11 ° 55 ′ 48 ″ E