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Ny-Ålesund
Location: Most stations are near 78.91 N, 11.88 E, 0 m asl (0 ft asl)
Multiple stations, managed by agencies in several countries,
comprise the observations at Ny-Ålesund, in Svalbard, Norway.
Names, governing institutions and station contacts, if available,
follow for each station.
Governing Institutions: Kings Bay AS - primary logistics provider
Ny-Alesund Science Managers Committee (NySMAC) - science coordinator
Facilities: Ny-Alesund contains 60 buildings and 9.8km of roads.
Ny-Alesund's Mission: "1. serve as an international station for scientific research and monitoring;
2. encourage international scientific cooperation;
3. give priority to scientific research and monitoring that is dependent on the near pristine environment or unique qualities of the Ny-Ålesund area, in particular research related to long range pollution, climate change and polar ecology;
4. preserve the near pristine environment of the Brøgger Peninsula and the Kongsfjorden area, as well as the cultural heritage of Ny-Ålesund;
5. keep local human environmental impacts at the lowest possible level so as not to jeopardize scientific research and monitoring;
6. give scientific research and monitoring priority over other local human activities, such as tourism and commercial fishing;
7. be a prime example of the sustainable operation and development of a research station in the polar regions.
The success of the station will be judged on its scientific merits and achievements." - from the NySMAC website (under Mission Statement)
Site News: Click here to download the latest NYSMAC Ny-Ålesund Newsletter (June 2010)
Topography and History: On the west coast of the island of Spitsbergen (map), Ny-Ålesund is the base for Norwegian Arctic research. The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) and the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) support two research bases, Sverdrup Research Station at the coast and Zeppelin Mountain Research Station. Over the years, Norway has been joined by at least eight other countries (chart) who have established Arctic research stations in Ny-Ålesund. The variety of accessible environmental types (marine, sea ice, glacier, coastal, interior, riparian, wetland, lake, tundra, taiga, forest, and desert) provide opportunities for environmental researchers of many types. The Kings Bay AS is the primary logistics provider for the researchers at Ny-Ålesund. Science coordination falls under the Ny-Ålesund Science Managers Committee (NySMAC), which was established in 1994 to enhance cooperation and coordination among research activities at Ny-Ålesund. The research base is inhabited year-round with as many as 35 people staying through winter and 180+ during the summer. It is located approximately 100km from Longyearbyen and is relatively easy to reach throughout the year. Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China, England, The Netherlands, South Korea, and India are the 11 countries to have established permanent research bases on Spitsbergen. Preserving the near-pristine environment of Ny-Ålesund is a top priority of the NySMAC.
Sverdrup Research Station - Norway
Governing Institution: Norwegian Polar Institute (NP)
Station Contact: stationmanager@npolar.no
Main Web Site: http://www.npolar.no/sverdrup/
Facilities: Sverdrup has marine and terrestrial biology laboratories, 10 offices, library, a computer room, a lounge, and small workshops for electronics and instruments.
Purpose and History: NP established a research station in Ny-Ålesund in 1968. There are four permanent residents at Sverdrup, a Station Manager, Optical Engineer, Operative Engineer, and Logistics Engineer. Both long and short term monitoring projects are carried out at this station with the longest term measurements of glacier mass balance from 1967. Basic meteorological datasets date back to 1969 and solar short-wave and long-wave measurements began in 1974. Monitoring of marine mammals is also an on-going initiative at the station.
Zeppelin Mountain Research Station - Norway
Location: 78.908 N, 11.881 E, 474 m asl (1555 ft asl)
Governing Institution: Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU)
Station Contact: paal.berg@nilu.no
Main Web Site: http://www.nilu.no/zeppelin/
Purpose and History: Zeppelin station first opened in 1990, after 10 years was closed for upgrades, and in 2000 was reopened. This mountain station is located at 474m meaning it's above the inversion layer and thus removed from contamination from the facilities below. Zeppelin station participates in similar monitoring projects as the other research institutions (atmospheric, marine, and terrestrial).
Koldewey Station - Germany and France
Governing Institutions: Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI) & French Polar Institute Paul Emil Victor (IPEV)
Station Contacts and Web Sites: AWIPEV Arctic Research Base - station@awi-koldewey.no, http://www.awipev.eu
AWI - koldewey@awi-potsdam.de, http://www.awi.de/en/go/koldewey
IPEV - fdelbart@ipev.fr, http://www.ifremer.fr/ifrtp
Facilities: The AWIPEV facilities are able to house up to 24 people at one time. There are multiple wet and dry labs, 20 freezers, computers, electrical/mechanical workshops, and scientific and logistics equipment available for visiting researchers. Locations for storage and recreation are also located at the station.
Purpose and History: Koldeway Station is a Joint French - German Polar Research base. The announcement of the Institutions' agreement was made on May 26, 2003, which corresponds with 40th anniversary of the Elysee-contract. The agreement combined the Charles Rabot, Jean Corbel, Blue House, and the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) - Observatory into one base.
Charles Rabot - This 250m^2 base is rented year round by IPEV. It has accommodations for 8-9 people, wet and dry labs, workshops, and storage units.
Jean Corbel - The Corbel Station is located 6km east of Ny-Ålesund. It can house up to 10 people and runs mostly on clean energy. Solar cells and a wind mill are installed in an effort to produce enough power to run the entire station. Research at this post focuses on glaciers, which are located less then 1000m away.
Blue House - The Blue House is the center of communications for Koldewey and contains the office of the base leader. It also has offices for visiting scientists and accommodations.
NDACC - Observatory - This Observatory is managed by the AWI and was implemented to run experiments belonging to the NDACC initiative. It contains a lidar, FTIR, microwave radiometer, starphotometer, and DOAS. There are 7 lab rooms, a telescope hall, two workshops, and office space for researchers.
Dirigibile Italia (CNR Arctic Station) - Italy
Governing Institution: National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
Station Contact: international@polarnet.cnr.it
Main Web Site: http://www.polarnet.cnr.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=162&Itemid=58
Facilities: CNR has a 330m^2 building that contains 170m^2 of offices and labs. The rest of the building is used as living quarters.
Purpose and History: The Dirgibile Italia was opened in 1997. The station can contain 7 people and is not necessarily inhabited year round. Research taking place at the station includes atmospheric chemistry and physics, marine and bacterial biology, upper atmospheric physics, oceanography/limnology, environmental studies, and human biology and medicine. CNR is a participant in the usage of the Ny-Ålesund Marine Laboratory opened in 2005 and run by Kings Bay.
Arctic Environmental Research Center - Japan
Governing Institution: Japanese National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)
Station Contact: arctic@nipr.ac.jp
Main Web Site: http://www.nipr.ac.jp/english/r_centers/t01_aerc.html
Facilities: This Japanese Arctic research center has facilities to house scientists along with a meteorological radar and chemistry labs.
Purpose and History: The Arctic Environmental Research Center was established in 1990. The station was to serve as a coordinating center for international Arctic research while also conducting its own research projects. The main project that the center is currently working on focuses on variations in the structure of the Arctic atmosphere, marine environments, and terrestrial environments.
Arctic Yellow River Station - China
Governing Institution: Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC)
Station Contact: wang_yong@263.net.cn
Main Web Site: http://www.pric.gov.cn/enindex.asp?sortid=17
Purpose and History: The Chinese Arctic Yellow River Station was established in Oct. 2003. Its main focus is on the observation and study of the aurora borealis. The station houses a multiple wavelength monochromatic all-sky CCD imager to monitor charged atmospheric phenomena. The facilities are capable of housing scientists year round allowing for winter observations of the aurora.
NERC Station (Harland House) - Britain
Governing Institution: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Station Contact: nc@bas.ac.uk
Main Web Site: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/areas/polar/arcticbase.asp
Facilities: The Harland House run by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council contains a 440m^2 laboratory, workshop, storage space, and single bedrooms.
Purpose and History: This research station hosts science teams from UK universities and institutions who are conducting research in the Arctic. As many as 40 scientists travel to NERC station each year. As all stations located in Ny-Ålesund, close proximity to various Arctic biomes, geological features, and marine environment grant visiting researchers prime access to field sites. The main research conducted concerns ecology, glacial/periglacial geomorphology, hydrology, and atmospheric chemistry.
Netherlands Arctic Field Station - The Netherlands
Governing Institution: Arctic Centre, University of Groningen
Station Contact: m.j.j.e.loonen@biol.rug.nl
Main Web Site: http://www.arcticstation.nl/index.php
Purpose and History: The Netherlands Arctic Field Station, which began in 1990, operates during the summer. Dutch scientists are welcome to use the facilities for free as long as they pay for meals and follow the guidelines set up by Ny-Ålesund at the station. Residents of the station include researchers, professors, students, and technical personnel.
Dasan - Korean Arctic Station - South Korea
Governing Institution: Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI)
Station Contacts: hchung@kopri.re.kr, shkang@kordi.re.kr, polar@kopri.re.kr, ydkim@kopri.re.kr
Main Web Site: http://www.kopri.re.kr/english/eng_infra/eng_arctic/eng_arctic_intro/eng_arctic_intro.cms
Facilities: There are seven bedrooms, labs with equipment, glacier and boating instruments, and computers at the station.
Purpose and History: Research at Dasan Station began April, 2002. The station is named after Jeong Yag-Yong who wrote under the pen name, Dasan. Research focuses on environmental topics.
Himadri Arctic Research Station - India
Governing Institution: National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)
Station Contact: rasik@ncaor.org
Purpose and History: Himadri is the newest station in Ny-Ålesund. India, who has had a research base on Antarctica since 1982, opened the Himadri Arctic Research Station July 10, 2008.
Informational and data web links are below the Table of Measurements
Table of Measurements
Station Identifier: 01004
Station Abbreviations: ENAS, STN89, and NYA; ZEP (Zeppelin Station)
Ny-Ålesund (Zeppelin Station) Global Atmospheric Watch - Station Information System (GAWSIS)
Other relevant web sites:
Data archives:
Data requests from the German-French stations
Derived cloud parameters from micropulse lidar data at Ny-Aalesund (2002 - present)
Micropulse Lidar Data
Informational links:
Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) - Zeppelin Mountain station page
Research in Svalbard (Database of research on Svalbard)
Corbel Station ENVINET
Dirigibile Italia ENVINET
Koldewey ENVINET
Koldewey Research Activities
NDSC Primary Station at Ny-Ålesund
Rabot Station ENVINET
Sverdrup Station ENVINET
Stockholm University Research Station at Zeppelin
Zeppelin Station ENVINET
All information on this page was gathered from the web sites listed above. We welcome your comments - if you have any additions or corrections that apply to this page, please forward them to lisa.darby@noaa.gov.
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