Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Svalbard shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Svalbard offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Svalbard at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Svalbard? Wrong! If the Svalbard is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Svalbard then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Svalbard? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Svalbard and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Svalbard wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Svalbard then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Svalbard site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Svalbard, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Svalbard, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
This article is about the island in the Arctic. For the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel commissioned in 2002, see NoCGV Svalbard.
{{Infobox Country|native_name =
Svalbard|conventional_long_name = Svalbard|common_name = Svalbard|image_flag = Flag of Norway.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of Norway.svg|image_map = LocationSvalbard.png|official_languages =
Norwegian language|capital =
Longyearbyen|leader_title1 = [Governor of Svalbard|leader_name1 =
Per Sefland|currency_code = NOK|time_zone = [Central European Time (
Coordinated Universal Time+1) (
Central European Summer Time (Coordinated Universal Time+2))|cctld =
.no (.sj allocated but not used .bv and .sj domains are not in use,
Norid)] lying in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between
Norway and the North Pole. It consists of a island groups ranging from 76
degree (angle) to 81° North, and 10° to 35° East. The archipelago is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. Three islands are populated: Spitsbergen,
Bjørnøya and
Hopen. The largest settlement is
Longyearbyen. The Svalbard Treaty recognises Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. With the
1925 Svalbard Act, Norway chose to make Svalbard a part of the Kingdom, and it remains one of four
List of special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement in the world today.
History
Vikings and/or
Russians may have discovered Svalbard as early as the 12th century. Traditional Norse accounts exist of a land known as
Svalbarð - literally "cold edge". (But this land might also have been
Jan Mayen, or a part of eastern Greenland.) The
Netherlands Willem Barents made the first indisputable discovery of Svalbard in 1596. The islands served as an international
whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the
Bowhead Whale was extirpated from this region. From 1611 to 1720 whaling took place off the western coast of Spitsbergen, by Danish, Dutch, British, French and Norwegian ships. It is estimated that the Dutch alone took 60,000 whales from their base
Smeerenburg. They also provided the headquarters for many
Arctic exploration expeditions.
At the beginning of the 20th century, American, British, Swedish, Russian and Norwegian companies started
coal mining.
Norway's sovereignty was recognized by the
Svalbard Treaty of 1920 with an addition that there would be limited military use of Svalbard and that the other nations retained the rights to their settlements; five years later Norway officially took over the territory. Some historians claim that Norway was given sovereignty as compensation for its Merchant Fleet losses during
World War I, when the Norwegian Merchant fleet played an important role supplying the UK. Only Norwegian and Russian settlements survived
World War II.
From the late 1940s to the early 1980s the geology of the Svalbard archipelago was investigated by teams from
University of Cambridge and other universities (e.g.,
Oxford University), led by Cambridge geologist
W. Brian Harland. Many of the geographical features of the isles are named after the participants in these expeditions, or were given names by them linked to places in Cambridge (see Norwegian Polar Institute).
The largest island in the archipelago is called Spitsbergen (Dutch language for "Jagged mountains"); this name was formerly used to refer to the entire archipelago, while the main island was called West Spitsbergen.
Politics
Svalbard is completely controlled by the Kingdom of Norway and is part of it. The
Svalbard Treaty recognizes Norway
sovereignty over Svalbard. However Norway's power over Svalbard has some limitations in taxation, environmental conservation, non-discrimination and certain military activity.
Svalbard was made a part of Norway by a Norwegian act in 1925, thus Svalbard is not a Norwegian dependency. However, under the terms of the treaty, citizens of signatory states have rights to exploit mineral deposits and other natural resources "on a footing of absolute equality". As a result, a permanent
Russian settlement, more or less autonomous, grew up at
Barentsburg. Another Russian settlement at Pyramiden was abandoned in 2000.
According to Per Sefland, Norway's governor on the archipelago, the
Svalbard Treaty of February 9, 1920 implies that "If you're able to find a job, you have the right according to the treaty to come here." Svalbard Treaty of February 9, 1920 The treaty states: "The nationals of all the high contracting parties shall have equal liberty of access and entry for any reason or object whatever to the waters, fjords and ports of the territories." Therefore, some immigrants who have been denied residence in EU countries have relocated to Svalbard.
Seed bank
By the year 2007 the Norwegian government is planning on building a "doomsday" seed bank in which as many species' seeds as possible will be stored. The Norwegian government will be building this bank by hollowing out a 120-meter tunnel on
Spitsbergen cut into rock with a natural temperature of - 6 degreesCelsius, refrigerating it to - 18 degrees Celsius, and then storing seeds donated by the 1,400
crop repositories maintained by countries around the world. The proposed bank will have top security blast-proof doors and would have two airlocks. The number of seeds stored will depend on the number of countries participating in the project, with the first seeds arriving in 2008. The initiative of this project is to prevent needed plants (wild, agricultural, etc.) from going extinct due to a global catastrophe such as global warming (the tunnel is 130 meters above sea-level) or nuclear war."Norway Reveals Design of Doomsday' Seed Vault";
Nature; Volume 445; 15 February 2007 BBC News Work starts on Arctic seed vault, CNN
Geography and nature
Svalbard consists of a group of
islands in the Arctic Ocean ranging from 76° to 81° North and 10° to 35° East, and forms the northern-most part of Norway and the
Extreme points of Europe. The islands cover an area of 61,022
square kilometre, of which about 60% (36,502 km²) is covered by glacier. Web publication of Statistics Norway, the official body for such data in Norway. Units provided are metric only; no unit conversions provided here.] The percentage of Svalbard covered by glaciation varies by year; 59.8% is reported for 2005. Three large islands dominate:
Spitsbergen (37,673 km² or 14,550 square miles), Nordaustlandet, (Northeast Land), (14,443 km² or 5576 square miles) and
Edgeøya (Edge Island) (5074 km²or 1959 square miles)Areas used differ slightly from those published by Areas are provided in both Metric and English units. There is also the smaller
Barentsøya (1,288 km²),
Kvitøya (682 km²),
Prins Karls Forland (English: Prince Charles Foreland) (615 km²),
Kongsøya (191 km²), Bjørnøya (English:
Bear Island) (178 km²),
Svenskøya (137 km²), Wilhelmøya (120 km²) and other smaller islands or
skerries (621 km²).
Svalbard lies far north of the
Arctic Circle. In Longyearbyen, the midnight sun lasts from April 20 to
August 26, and polar night lasts from
October 26 to February 15. From
November 12 to the end of January there is
civil polar night, a continuous period without any
twilight bright enough to permit outdoor activities in the absence of artificial light. The only other non-
Inuit or research settlement that has this phenomenon is
Dikson (urban-type settlement) near the mouth of the
Yenisey River in
Russia.
In addition to humans, four predominantly terrestrial mammalian species inhabit the archipelago: the Svalbard field mouse
Microtus epiroticus, the Arctic fox, the Svalbard reindeer (a distinct sub-species), and polar bears. Since polar bears occur very commonly on Svalbard and are known to hunt humans on occasion, all people need to take precautions when outside the settlements: this includes carrying a
rifle. Nevertheless, the law protects polar bears, forbidding anyone to harm or disturb them unless it is necessary to remove a considerable danger of injury to a person. Norwegian law on wild animals, §11 A large number of aquatic mammalian species also inhabit the archipelago, including whales, dolphins,
pinniped and walruses.
Svalbard is also a breeding ground for large numbers of seabirds, including Brunnich's Guillemot and Black Guillemot,
Puffin,
Little Auk,
Fulmar and Black-legged Kittiwake. Other seabirds include
Arctic Tern, four species of skua, and the elusive
Ivory Gull. The Svalbard Ptarmigan, found on the larger islands, is the only land bird present for the entire year. Only two songbirds migrate to Svalbard to breed: the Snow Bunting and the
Northern Wheatear. For more information on the bird life to be found you can check this website. Bird Watching In Norway - Svalbard
There is an astonishing variety of flowering plants on Svalbard. Although they are very small, these plants use the short period of 24-hour daylight to produce colourful blossoms. See also: Flowers of Svalbard.
Svalbard is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province.
Fjords
There are numerous fjords among the Svalbard islands; the five longest of which (measured from the head to open sea) are listed here:
Coastlines
Coastlines of the Svalbard islands (listed from largest island to smallest) show the extensive variability characteristic of glacial formation:
- Spitsbergen, 3,919 km
- Nordaustlandet, 1,688 km
- Edgeøya, 502 km
- Barentsøya, 205 km
- Kvitøya, 119 km
- Prins Karls Forland (Eng. Prince Charles Foreland), 320 km
- Kongsøya, 132 km
- Bjørnøya, 88 km
- Svenskøya, 62 km
- Wilhelmøya, 58 km
- Other smaller islands and skerries, 1,736 km
Mountains
Although small when compared with the mountains of Norway, the elevation of the Svalbard island mountains accounts for much of the glacial erosion:
Settlements
- Barentsburg (Баренцбург) (Russian settlement — population of 850)
- Bjørnøya (Norwegian weather station, population of 9)
- Grumantbyen (Грумант) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 1961, revival of mining operations announced in 2003)
- Hopen (Norwegian weather station, population of 4)
- Polish Polar Station, Hornsund (Polish research station, population of 8)
- Isfjord radio
- Longyearbyen (population of 1,800)
- Ny-Ålesund (population of 40)
- Pyramiden (Пирамида) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 2000)
- Smeerenburg (Dutch settlement on northwestern Amsterdam Island, abandoned around 1660)
- Sveagruva, Svalbard (population of 210)
No roads link the settlements on the island; transportation includes
boat, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter, and snowmobile. The gateway to Svalbard is through Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen.
Climate
The North Atlantic Current moderates Svalbard's Arctic climate, Geography of Norway#Climate keeping the surrounding waters open and navigable most of the year. Norwegian meteorological updates of ice maps. The average Summer temperature is around 5 degrees Celsius (°C), or 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and in winter, −12 °C (10 F). The Western coast is considerably warmer than the east, due to the North Atlantic Drift.
Due to its history of human occupation, Svalbard has one of the longest high-latitude
meteorological records on earth. Global climate model have long predicted enhanced greenhouse effect warming at such latitudes, so the Svalbard record is of particular interest. RealClimate It shows an approximate 6 °C increase in 100 years; with 4 °C increase in the last 30 years.
== Economy ==
Economic activity centres on coal mining, supplemented by
fishing and Trapping (Animal). In the final decades of the 20th century, tourism,
research, higher education, and some high-tech enterprises like satellite relay-stations grew significantly. A 200 nautical mile (370 km) Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard was established in 1977 pursuant to the Act of 17 December 1976 relating to the Exclusive Economic Zone of Norway. Despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone.
The Svalbard Undersea Cable System which started operation in January 2004 provides dual 1440 km fiber optic lines from Svalbard to Harstad via Andøy, needed for communicating with polar orbiting
satellite stations on Svalbard, some owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), both United States government agencies.
The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. Coal production has increased significantly over the past 10 years, rising from less than 500,000 tons in 1994 to over 2,500,000 tons in 2004.
Exploration for oil and natural gas is underway.
Coal mining in Svalbard
The Ny Ålesund mine was closed down in 1963 after an explosion in 1962 when 21 lives were lost, and has since been converted to a scientific post.
As of 2006, there are three operational coal mines in Svalbard. There are large mines in Sveagruva (production 2 million tonnes per year, Store Norske - coal company information site and Barentsburg, while the small mine in Longyearbyen is used mainly to supply the town's own power plant.
== Demographics ==
Svalbard has a population of approximately 2,400 people as of 2005. Approximately 70% of the people are
Norwegians; the remaining 30% are Russian people,
Ukrainians and
Poles. The official language of Svalbard is Norwegian language. Russian language is used in the Russian settlements, but formerly,
Russenorsk language was the
lingua franca of the entire
Barents Sea region.The annual population growth is -0.02%
{| class="wikitable"|+ Population of Svalbard
Education
The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), established in 1993, is the world’s northernmost higher education institution. Located in Longyear at 78º N, The university offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses to approximately 350 students each year in Arctic sciences.
Svalbard in popular culture
- Svalbard is featured as the setting for much action in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. A gateway was created there from which one could gain access to parallel universes. The Svalbard in the books is inhabited by a race of intelligent armored polar bears (Panserbjørne), ruled by Iorek Byrnison (as of the second book).
- 'The Captain of the Polestar' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is set off Amsterdam Island at the North West of Svalbard.
- 'Svalbard is a the title of an instrumental song on the album 'Quiet Latitudes' by Anthony Boast.
- 'In the Guardians of Ga'hoole Series, Svallbard is the name of an associate of Lyze of Kiel from the northern kingdoms.
- Svalbard is a Black metal band from Québec City, Québec, Canada.
References
External links
- Governor of Svalbard – Official site
- A Geographical-Historical Outline of Svalbard
- Outline of the Physical Geography and Geology of Svalbard by Ólafur Ingólfsson
-
- Svalbard on the CIA World Factbook
- Norwegian Polar Institute Place Names of Svalbard Database (searchable database with name origins and map)
- Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police: Report to the Storting (1999–2000) on Svalbard - extensive report on political, administrative, economical and scientific matters relating to Svalbard
- Svalbard Design Group – Website of Design group named in tribute to Svalbard
This article is about the island in the Arctic. For the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel commissioned in 2002, see NoCGV Svalbard.
{{Infobox Country|native_name =
Svalbard|conventional_long_name = Svalbard|common_name = Svalbard|image_flag = Flag of Norway.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of Norway.svg|image_map = LocationSvalbard.png|official_languages = Norwegian language|capital =
Longyearbyen|leader_title1 = [Governor of Svalbard|leader_name1 =
Per Sefland|currency_code = NOK|time_zone = [Central European Time (
Coordinated Universal Time+1) (
Central European Summer Time (
Coordinated Universal Time+2))|cctld =
.no (
.sj allocated but not used .bv and .sj domains are not in use,
Norid)] lying in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland
Europe, about midway between
Norway and the
North Pole. It consists of a island groups ranging from 76degree (angle) to 81° North, and 10° to 35° East. The archipelago is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. Three islands are populated: Spitsbergen,
Bjørnøya and
Hopen. The largest settlement is
Longyearbyen. The
Svalbard Treaty recognises Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. With the
1925 Svalbard Act, Norway chose to make Svalbard a part of the Kingdom, and it remains one of four List of special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement in the world today.
History
Vikings and/or
Russians may have discovered Svalbard as early as the 12th century. Traditional Norse accounts exist of a land known as
Svalbarð - literally "cold edge". (But this land might also have been Jan Mayen, or a part of eastern
Greenland.) The
Netherlands Willem Barents made the first indisputable discovery of Svalbard in 1596. The islands served as an international
whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Bowhead Whale was extirpated from this region. From 1611 to 1720 whaling took place off the western coast of Spitsbergen, by Danish, Dutch, British, French and Norwegian ships. It is estimated that the Dutch alone took 60,000 whales from their base Smeerenburg. They also provided the headquarters for many Arctic
exploration expeditions.
At the beginning of the 20th century, American, British, Swedish, Russian and Norwegian companies started coal mining. Norway's sovereignty was recognized by the
Svalbard Treaty of 1920 with an addition that there would be limited military use of Svalbard and that the other nations retained the rights to their settlements; five years later Norway officially took over the territory. Some historians claim that Norway was given sovereignty as compensation for its Merchant Fleet losses during
World War I, when the Norwegian Merchant fleet played an important role supplying the UK. Only Norwegian and Russian settlements survived World War II.
From the late 1940s to the early 1980s the geology of the Svalbard archipelago was investigated by teams from University of Cambridge and other universities (e.g., Oxford University), led by Cambridge geologist
W. Brian Harland. Many of the geographical features of the isles are named after the participants in these expeditions, or were given names by them linked to places in Cambridge (see Norwegian Polar Institute).
The largest island in the archipelago is called
Spitsbergen (
Dutch language for "Jagged mountains"); this name was formerly used to refer to the entire archipelago, while the main island was called West Spitsbergen.
Politics
Svalbard is completely controlled by the Kingdom of Norway and is part of it. The Svalbard Treaty recognizes
Norway sovereignty over Svalbard. However Norway's power over Svalbard has some limitations in taxation, environmental conservation, non-discrimination and certain military activity.
Svalbard was made a part of Norway by a Norwegian act in 1925, thus Svalbard is not a Norwegian dependency. However, under the terms of the treaty, citizens of signatory states have rights to exploit mineral deposits and other natural resources "on a footing of absolute equality". As a result, a permanent Russian settlement, more or less autonomous, grew up at Barentsburg. Another Russian settlement at
Pyramiden was abandoned in 2000.
According to Per Sefland, Norway's governor on the archipelago, the Svalbard Treaty of February 9, 1920 implies that "If you're able to find a job, you have the right according to the treaty to come here." Svalbard Treaty of February 9, 1920 The treaty states: "The nationals of all the high contracting parties shall have equal liberty of access and entry for any reason or object whatever to the waters, fjords and ports of the territories." Therefore, some immigrants who have been denied residence in EU countries have relocated to Svalbard.
Seed bank
By the year 2007 the Norwegian government is planning on building a "doomsday" seed bank in which as many species' seeds as possible will be stored. The Norwegian government will be building this bank by hollowing out a 120-meter tunnel on Spitsbergen cut into rock with a natural temperature of - 6 degreesCelsius, refrigerating it to - 18 degrees Celsius, and then storing seeds donated by the 1,400
crop repositories maintained by countries around the world. The proposed bank will have top security blast-proof doors and would have two airlocks. The number of seeds stored will depend on the number of countries participating in the project, with the first seeds arriving in 2008. The initiative of this project is to prevent needed plants (wild, agricultural, etc.) from going extinct due to a global catastrophe such as
global warming (the tunnel is 130 meters above sea-level) or
nuclear war."Norway Reveals Design of Doomsday' Seed Vault";
Nature; Volume 445; 15 February 2007 BBC News Work starts on Arctic seed vault, CNN
Geography and nature
Svalbard consists of a group of islands in the
Arctic Ocean ranging from 76° to 81° North and 10° to 35° East, and forms the northern-most part of
Norway and the Extreme points of Europe. The islands cover an area of 61,022
square kilometre, of which about 60% (36,502 km²) is covered by glacier. Web publication of
Statistics Norway, the official body for such data in Norway. Units provided are metric only; no unit conversions provided here.] The percentage of Svalbard covered by glaciation varies by year; 59.8% is reported for 2005. Three large islands dominate:
Spitsbergen (37,673 km² or 14,550 square miles), Nordaustlandet, (Northeast Land), (14,443 km² or 5576 square miles) and
Edgeøya (Edge Island) (5074 km²or 1959 square miles)Areas used differ slightly from those published by Areas are provided in both Metric and English units. There is also the smaller Barentsøya (1,288 km²), Kvitøya (682 km²),
Prins Karls Forland (English:
Prince Charles Foreland) (615 km²), Kongsøya (191 km²), Bjørnøya (English:
Bear Island) (178 km²), Svenskøya (137 km²),
Wilhelmøya (120 km²) and other smaller islands or
skerries (621 km²).
Svalbard lies far north of the
Arctic Circle. In Longyearbyen, the midnight sun lasts from April 20 to August 26, and
polar night lasts from October 26 to February 15. From
November 12 to the end of January there is
civil polar night, a continuous period without any
twilight bright enough to permit outdoor activities in the absence of artificial light. The only other non-Inuit or research settlement that has this phenomenon is
Dikson (urban-type settlement) near the mouth of the
Yenisey River in Russia.
In addition to humans, four predominantly terrestrial mammalian species inhabit the archipelago: the Svalbard field mouse
Microtus epiroticus, the Arctic fox, the Svalbard reindeer (a distinct sub-species), and
polar bears. Since polar bears occur very commonly on Svalbard and are known to hunt humans on occasion, all people need to take precautions when outside the settlements: this includes carrying a
rifle. Nevertheless, the law protects polar bears, forbidding anyone to harm or disturb them unless it is necessary to remove a considerable danger of injury to a person. Norwegian law on wild animals, §11 A large number of aquatic mammalian species also inhabit the archipelago, including
whales,
dolphins, pinniped and walruses.
Svalbard is also a breeding ground for large numbers of seabirds, including Brunnich's Guillemot and Black Guillemot, Puffin, Little Auk,
Fulmar and Black-legged Kittiwake. Other seabirds include Arctic Tern, four species of skua, and the elusive Ivory Gull. The Svalbard Ptarmigan, found on the larger islands, is the only land bird present for the entire year. Only two songbirds migrate to Svalbard to breed: the
Snow Bunting and the Northern Wheatear. For more information on the bird life to be found you can check this website. Bird Watching In Norway - Svalbard
There is an astonishing variety of flowering plants on Svalbard. Although they are very small, these plants use the short period of 24-hour daylight to produce colourful blossoms. See also: Flowers of Svalbard.
Svalbard is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province.
Fjords
There are numerous fjords among the Svalbard islands; the five longest of which (measured from the head to open sea) are listed here:
Coastlines
Coastlines of the Svalbard islands (listed from largest island to smallest) show the extensive variability characteristic of glacial formation:
- Spitsbergen, 3,919 km
- Nordaustlandet, 1,688 km
- Edgeøya, 502 km
- Barentsøya, 205 km
- Kvitøya, 119 km
- Prins Karls Forland (Eng. Prince Charles Foreland), 320 km
- Kongsøya, 132 km
- Bjørnøya, 88 km
- Svenskøya, 62 km
- Wilhelmøya, 58 km
- Other smaller islands and skerries, 1,736 km
Mountains
Although small when compared with the mountains of Norway, the elevation of the Svalbard island mountains accounts for much of the glacial erosion:
Settlements
- Barentsburg (Баренцбург) (Russian settlement — population of 850)
- Bjørnøya (Norwegian weather station, population of 9)
- Grumantbyen (Грумант) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 1961, revival of mining operations announced in 2003)
- Hopen (Norwegian weather station, population of 4)
- Polish Polar Station, Hornsund (Polish research station, population of 8)
- Isfjord radio
- Longyearbyen (population of 1,800)
- Ny-Ålesund (population of 40)
- Pyramiden (Пирамида) (Russian settlement, abandoned in 2000)
- Smeerenburg (Dutch settlement on northwestern Amsterdam Island, abandoned around 1660)
- Sveagruva, Svalbard (population of 210)
No roads link the settlements on the island; transportation includes boat,
fixed-wing aircraft,
helicopter, and
snowmobile. The gateway to Svalbard is through Svalbard Airport,
Longyearbyen.
Climate
The
North Atlantic Current moderates Svalbard's Arctic climate, Geography of Norway#Climate keeping the surrounding waters open and navigable most of the year. Norwegian meteorological updates of ice maps. The average Summer temperature is around 5 degrees Celsius (°C), or 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and in winter, −12 °C (10 F). The Western coast is considerably warmer than the east, due to the North Atlantic Drift.
Due to its history of human occupation, Svalbard has one of the longest high-latitude
meteorological records on earth. Global climate model have long predicted enhanced
greenhouse effect warming at such latitudes, so the Svalbard record is of particular interest. RealClimate It shows an approximate 6 °C increase in 100 years; with 4 °C increase in the last 30 years.
== Economy ==
Economic activity centres on
coal mining, supplemented by
fishing and
Trapping (Animal). In the final decades of the 20th century,
tourism, research, higher education, and some high-tech enterprises like satellite relay-stations grew significantly. A 200 nautical mile (370 km) Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard was established in 1977 pursuant to the Act of 17 December 1976 relating to the
Exclusive Economic Zone of Norway. Despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone.
The Svalbard Undersea Cable System which started operation in January 2004 provides dual 1440 km
fiber optic lines from Svalbard to Harstad via
Andøy, needed for communicating with polar orbiting satellite stations on Svalbard, some owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), both United States government agencies.
The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. Coal production has increased significantly over the past 10 years, rising from less than 500,000 tons in 1994 to over 2,500,000 tons in 2004.
Exploration for oil and natural gas is underway.
Coal mining in Svalbard
The Ny Ålesund mine was closed down in 1963 after an explosion in 1962 when 21 lives were lost, and has since been converted to a scientific post.
As of 2006, there are three operational coal mines in Svalbard. There are large mines in Sveagruva (production 2 million
tonnes per year, Store Norske - coal company information site and Barentsburg, while the small mine in Longyearbyen is used mainly to supply the town's own power plant.
== Demographics ==
Svalbard has a population of approximately 2,400 people as of 2005. Approximately 70% of the people are
Norwegians; the remaining 30% are Russian people, Ukrainians and Poles. The official language of Svalbard is
Norwegian language.
Russian language is used in the Russian settlements, but formerly,
Russenorsk language was the
lingua franca of the entire Barents Sea region.The annual population growth is -0.02%
{| class="wikitable"|+ Population of Svalbard
Education
The
University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), established in 1993, is the world’s northernmost higher education institution. Located in Longyear at 78º N, The university offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses to approximately 350 students each year in Arctic sciences.
Svalbard in popular culture
- Svalbard is featured as the setting for much action in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. A gateway was created there from which one could gain access to parallel universes. The Svalbard in the books is inhabited by a race of intelligent armored polar bears (Panserbjørne), ruled by Iorek Byrnison (as of the second book).
- 'The Captain of the Polestar' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is set off Amsterdam Island at the North West of Svalbard.
- 'Svalbard is a the title of an instrumental song on the album 'Quiet Latitudes' by Anthony Boast.
- Svalbard is a Black metal band from Québec City, Québec, Canada.
References
External links
- Governor of Svalbard – Official site
- A Geographical-Historical Outline of Svalbard
- Outline of the Physical Geography and Geology of Svalbard by Ólafur Ingólfsson
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- Svalbard on the CIA World Factbook
- Norwegian Polar Institute Place Names of Svalbard Database (searchable database with name origins and map)
- Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police: Report to the Storting (1999–2000) on Svalbard - extensive report on political, administrative, economical and scientific matters relating to Svalbard
- Svalbard Design Group – Website of Design group named in tribute to Svalbard
Svalbard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between Norway and the North Pole. It consists of a group of islands ranging from 74 ° to 81 ...
General Info about Svalbard
These pages contains useful information and links related to Svalbard
Svalbard Reiseliv AS
Welcome to Svalbard Tourism Welcome to the official tourist board web site for visiting Longyearbyen and Svalbard. This web site presents general informaton about Svalbard, and ...
Live webcam pictures from Svalbard
From the old harbour in Longyearbyen. Camera provider: SNSK (latest picture) From Zeppelin Station, Ny-Aalesund. Camera provider: NILU (latest picture)
Svalbard - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about Svalbard
Svalbard. Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean; population (1995) 2,900 (41% being Norwegian). The main island is Spitsbergen, which includes the largest town, Longyearbyen ...
Svalbard Details
Images in the image galleries kindly provided by Steve Johnston from Dundee who also kindly provided the captions for the images. Where is Svalbard
The Svalbard Pages Links
The Svalbard Pages links are a collection of links to resources in the Arctic, mainly the Arctic Archipelago Svalbard, Spitsbergen
Svalbard travel guide - Wikitravel
Open source travel guide to Svalbard, featuring up-to-date information on attractions, hotels, restaurants, nightlife, travel tips and more. Free and reliable advice written by ...
Svalbard book.html
This book is an introduction to the natural history, ecology and geography of the Svalbard archipelago in the High Arctic. Over 90 full colour photographs are fully captioned.
Svalbard Ground Station Aerospace Technology
News and project information on the Svalbard Ground Station ... Eumetsat has selected a site on Spitsbergen, a Svalbard island within the arctic circle as the site for a Command ...