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91-724: The strait connects the Greenland Sea , an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the Irminger Sea , a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is 480 kilometres (300 mi) long. The narrowest part of the strait is 290 kilometres (180 mi) wide and lies between Straumnes, on Iceland's Hornstrandir peninsula, and Cape Tupinier , on Greenland's Blosseville Coast . According to the International Hydrographic Organization ,

182-508: A demilitarized zone , as the treaty prohibits the establishment of military installations on the islands. However, since the treaty recognizes Norway as the sovereign power in the archipelago, the country claims exclusive rights in the maritime zone around the islands; rights which Norway argues permit the Norwegian Coast Guard to conduct fishery and other maritime surveillance and enforcement in these waters. Certain other parties to

273-519: A Russian coal mining company, owns 0.4%, while other private owners hold 0.4%. As Svalbard is north of the Arctic Circle , it experiences midnight sun in summer and polar night in winter. At 74° north, the midnight sun lasts 99 days and polar night 84 days, while the respective figures at 81° north are 141 and 128 days. In Longyearbyen, midnight sun lasts from 20 April until 23 August, and polar night lasts from 26 October to 15 February. In winter,

364-543: A Russian crew for an expedition in 1795. After the Anglo-Russian War in 1809, Russian activity on Svalbard diminished, and had ceased by the 1820s. Norwegian whaling was abandoned about the same time as the Russians left, but whaling continued around Spitsbergen until the 1830s, and around Bjørnøya until the 1860s. By the 1890s, Svalbard had become a destination for Arctic tourism , coal deposits had been found, and

455-624: A fifth hydrocarbon concession has been sold. ExxonMobil , the largest oil company in the world and with a lot of experience in the Arctic, was also applying for oil extraction rights in the Greenland Sea initially, but pulled out in December 2013 for unexplained reasons, concentrating efforts on shale gas and the American market instead. Drilling for oil in deep waters in an ice-filled Arctic environment

546-726: A full part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Svalbard Treaty established Svalbard as a free economic zone and restricts the military use of the archipelago. The Norwegian Store Norske and the Russian Arktikugol remain the only mining companies in place. Research and tourism have become important supplementary industries, with the University Centre in Svalbard and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault playing critical roles in

637-546: A garrison in the islands, which was done in May 1942 during Operation Fritham . Meanwhile, the Germans responded to the destruction of the weather station by establishing a reporting station of their own, codenamed "Banso" , in October 1941. They were chased away in October by a visit from what the Germans mistook to be four British warships, but later returned. A second station, "Knospe",

728-426: A maximum speed is 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) with more than 60 days endurance and the complement is up to 100 people. The first ship, KV Jan Mayen , was delivered in early 2023. These vessels will complement NoCGV  Svalbard which predominantly serves Svalbard and the surrounding waters. In 2023, Norway also announced the acquisition of six MH-60R helicopters which are to be initially deployed with

819-522: A separate policy called "Regulations relating to rejection and expulsion of persons from Svalbard". Among the requirements is that residents must have the means to be able to reside on Svalbard. These requirements apply to both foreigners and Norwegian citizens, and the Governor of Svalbard may reject persons who do not meet the requirements. Russia retains a consulate in Barentsburg . In September 2010,

910-404: A small area. These results may be interpreted as an early sign of a beginning recovery for this particular species, that once formed the largest bowhead population in the world, at an estimated 52,000 whales. The Inuit hunted whales on a non-industrial scale in the Greenland Sea since the 15th century, as evidenced by archaeology. The first complete man-powered crossing of the Greenland Sea

1001-501: A source of income can be rejected by the governor. No one is required to have a visa or residence permit on Svalbard. Regardless of citizenship, persons can live and work in Svalbard indefinitely. The Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. So far, non-treaty nationals have been admitted visa-free as well. While there is no visa requirement, everyone must meet certain requirements in order to stay in Svalbard. These requirements are governed by

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1092-496: A summer population of 180. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has outposts at Bjørnøya and Hopen, with ten and four inhabitants, respectively. Both can also house temporary research staff. Poland operates the Polish Polar Station at Hornsund , with ten permanent residents. The Soviet mining settlement of Pyramiden was abandoned in 1998, leaving Barentsburg as the only permanently inhabited Russian settlement. It

1183-418: A terrestrial bird that never leaves Svalbard and many seabirds , that use Svalbard as a breeding ground. The most numerous are Little Auks, Brünnich's Guillemots (Thick-billed Murre) and Black-legged Kittiwakes who breed on the cliffs around Svalbard. The most unique ones are King Eider for their striking appearance, Ivory gulls who like to be around polar bears, Snow Buntings - the only songbird in Svalbard. It

1274-499: A treaty was signed between Russia and Norway fixing the boundary between the Svalbard archipelago and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago . Increased interest in petroleum exploration in the Arctic raised interest in a resolution of the dispute. The agreement takes into account the relative positions of the archipelagos, rather than being based simply on northward extension of the continental border of Norway and Russia. Svalbard constitutes

1365-651: A view to using them as a base of operations to send supplies to north Russia, but the idea was rejected as impractical. Instead, with the agreement of the Soviets and the Norwegian government in exile, in August 1941 the Norwegian and Soviet settlements on Svalbard were evacuated, and facilities there destroyed, in Operation Gauntlet . However, the Norwegian government in exile decided it would be important politically to establish

1456-499: Is Wijdefjorden (108 km or 67 mi), followed by Isfjorden (107 km or 66 mi), Van Mijenfjorden (83 km or 52 mi), Woodfjorden (64 km or 40 mi), and Wahlenbergfjorden (46 km or 29 mi). Svalbard is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province , and experienced Norway's strongest earthquake on 6 March 2009 at magnitude 6.5. The Dutchman Willem Barentsz made

1547-510: Is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean . North of mainland Europe , it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole . The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen , followed in size by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya . The largest settlement is Longyearbyen on

1638-487: Is a company town: all facilities are owned by Arktikugol, which operates a coal mine. In addition to the mining facilities, Arktikugol has opened a hotel and souvenir shop, catering to tourists taking day trips or hikes from Longyearbyen. The village features a school, library, sports center, community center, swimming pool, farm, and greenhouse. Pyramiden features similar facilities; both are built in typical post-World War II Soviet architectural and planning style and contain

1729-520: Is a major breeding ground for seals, including harp seal , hooded seal , and gray seal . It was discovered in the early 18th century by British whalers and since late 1750s was used for seal hunting. The hunting was especially intensive in the 19th century, but declined in the 20th century because of hunting restrictions and lower market demand. Around 5 April 1952, a major storm resulted in disappearance of ships with 79 Norwegian seal hunters on board. Seven other Norwegian seal hunting vessels shipwrecked

1820-416: Is a permanent research settlement in the northwest of Spitsbergen and the northernmost functional civilian settlement in the world. Formerly a mining town, it is still a company town operated by the Norwegian state-owned Kings Bay company. While some tourism to the outpost is permitted, Norwegian authorities limit access to minimize impact on scientific work. Ny-Ålesund has a winter population of 35 and

1911-712: Is a potential new undertaking for the oil industry, and poses many risks and dangers. Because of these difficulties, the Greenland Minister Council expects the first exploratory drills to take place no sooner than the mid 2020s. They estimate that a full preliminary program with seismic surveys, exploratory drills, and proper safety measures will take about 16 years and an investment of about US$ 500 million in each concession. Svalbard Svalbard ( / ˈ s v ɑː l b ɑːr ( d )/ SVAHL -bar(d) , Urban East Norwegian: [ˈsvɑ̂ːɫbɑr] ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen ,

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2002-407: Is about −1 °C (30 °F) or lower in the north and 1–2 °C (34–36 °F) in the south; the corresponding summer temperatures are about 0 and 6 °C (32 and 43 °F) respectively. The bottom water temperatures are below −1 °C (30 °F). The surface water salinity is 3.30–3.45% in the eastern and below 3.20% in the western parts, increasing to 3.49% toward the bottom. The water

2093-494: Is green. Tides are semidiurnal with the average height of 4.4 m (14.4 ft). Together with the water currents, they break up the floating ice sheets and mix various water layers both laterally and along the depth. The progressively colder waters of North Atlantic Current sink in the Arctic Ocean, returning south in the form of cold East Greenland Current , an important part of the Atlantic conveyor belt, which flows along

2184-533: Is home to polar bears , reindeer , the Arctic fox , and certain marine mammals. Seven national parks and 23 nature-reserves cover two-thirds of the archipelago, protecting the largely untouched fragile environment. Norway announced new regulations regarding tourism in February 2024, including a maximum of 200 people on a ship, to protect flora and fauna in Svalbard. While part of the Kingdom of Norway since 1925, Svalbard

2275-463: Is not governed by Norway's policies on migration and does not issue visas or residence permits itself. Foreigners do not need a visa or work and residence permits from the Norwegian authorities to travel to Svalbard. However, foreign citizens with a visa requirement for the Schengen Area must have a Schengen visa when travelling to and from Svalbard via mainland Norway. The Svalbard Act established

2366-705: Is not part of geographical Norway; administratively, the archipelago is not part of any Norwegian county , but forms an unincorporated area . This means that it is administered directly by the Norwegian government through an appointed governor , and is a special jurisdiction subject to the Svalbard Treaty that is outside of the Schengen Area , the Nordic Passport Union , and the European Economic Area . Svalbard and Jan Mayen are collectively assigned

2457-659: Is part of University Hospital of North Norway , while the airport is operated by state-owned Avinor . Ny-Ålesund and Barentsburg remain company towns with all infrastructure owned by Kings Bay and Arktikugol. Other public offices with presence on Svalbard are the Norwegian Directorate of Mining , the Norwegian Polar Institute , the Norwegian Tax Administration , and the Church of Norway . Svalbard

2548-623: Is possible to ski from Sørkapp in the south to the north of Spitsbergen, with only a short distance not being covered by snow or glacier. Kvitøya is 99.3% covered by glacier. The landforms of Svalbard were created through repeated ice ages , when glaciers cut the former plateau into fjords, valleys, and mountains. The tallest peak is Newtontoppen (1,717 m or 5,633 ft), followed by Perriertoppen (1,712 m or 5,617 ft), Ceresfjellet (1,675 m or 5,495 ft), Chadwickryggen (1,640 m or 5,380 ft), and Galileotoppen (1,637 m or 5,371 ft). The longest fjord

2639-585: Is subordinate to Nord-Troms District Court and Hålogaland Court of Appeal , both in Tromsø . Although Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen Agreement , Svalbard is not part of the Schengen Area or the EEA. Non-EU and non-Nordic Svalbard residents do not need Schengen visas for Svalbard itself, but those travelling via mainland Norway require visas to pass through Norway. People without

2730-627: The Denmark Strait cataract , flows down the western side of the Denmark Strait. During World War II, the Battle of the Denmark Strait took place on 24 May 1941. The German battleship  Bismarck sank the British battlecruiser HMS  Hood , which exploded with the loss of all but three of her 1,418 crew; the battleship HMS  Prince of Wales was seriously damaged in the engagement. Bismarck

2821-588: The European Space Research Organisation . Petroleum test drilling was started in 1963 and continued until 1984, but no commercially viable fields were found. From 1960, regular charter flights were made from the mainland to a field at Hotellneset ; in 1975, Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen opened, allowing year-round services. During the Cold War , the Soviet Union comprised about two-thirds of

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2912-532: The Heerodden helicopter accident , which killed three people. Longyearbyen remained purely a company town until 1989 when utilities, culture, and education was separated into Svalbard Samfunnsdrift. In 1993, it was sold to the national government and the University Centre was established. Through the 1990s, tourism increased and the town developed an economy independent of Store Norske and mining. Longyearbyen

3003-455: The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country-code "SJ". Both areas are administered by Norway, though they are separated by a distance of over 950 kilometres (510 nautical miles) and have very different administrative structures. The name Svalbard was officially adopted for the archipelago by Norway under the 1925 Svalbard Act which formally annexed it. The former name Spitsbergen was thenceforth restricted to

3094-475: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge ). To the west, the bottom rises first slowly, but then rapidly toward the wide Greenland coastal strip. Silts fill the submarine hollows and gorges; silty sands, gravel, boulders, and other products of erosion coat the shelves and ridges. Although the deepest point inside of the sea is 4,846 m (15,899 ft), depths down to 5,570 m (18,270 ft) have been measured in

3185-668: The Orthodox Church . Catholics on the archipelago are pastorally served by the Territorial Prelature of Tromsø . The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 established full Norwegian sovereignty over the archipelago. The islands are, unlike the Norwegian Antarctic territories , a part of the Kingdom of Norway and not a dependency . The treaty came into effect in 1925, following the Svalbard Act. All forty-eight signatory countries of

3276-453: The Svalbard Act regulated the archipelago and the first governor , Johannes Gerckens Bassøe , took office. The archipelago has traditionally been known as Spitsbergen, and the main island as West Spitsbergen. During the 1920s, Norway renamed the archipelago Svalbard, and the main island became Spitsbergen. Kvitøya , Kong Karls Land , Hopen , and Bjørnøya were not regarded as part of

3367-544: The 1820s, when the Dutch, British, and Danish whalers moved elsewhere in the Arctic. By the late 17th century, Russian hunters arrived; they overwintered to a greater extent and hunted land mammals such as the polar bear and fox. Norwegian hunting—mostly for walrus—started in the 1790s. The first Norwegian citizens to reach Spitsbergen proper were a number of Coast Sámi people from the Hammerfest region, who were hired as part of

3458-465: The 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty (now the Svalbard Treaty ). The name Spitsbergen originated with Dutch navigator and explorer Willem Barentsz , who in 1596 described the "pointed mountains" or, in Dutch, spitse bergen that he saw on the west coast of the main island. Barentsz did not recognize that he had discovered an archipelago, and consequently the name Spitsbergen long remained in use both for

3549-486: The 1990s, the Odden ice tongue rarely develops. The Greenland Sea is densely inhabited by the organisms that form the base of the oceanic food chain . Large invertebrates , fish (such as cod , herring , redfish , halibut , and plaice ), birds, and mammals (including various species of seals , whales , and dolphins ) all feed on the smaller invertebrates and small organisms . Mosses, lichens, and scanty bushes around

3640-513: The Atlantic. The sea has Arctic climate with regular northern winds and temperatures rarely rising above 0 °C (32 °F). It previously contained the Odden ice tongue (or Odden ) area, which extended eastward from the main East Greenland ice edge in the vicinity of 72 – 74°N during the winter and acted as a key winter ice formation area in the Arctic. The West Ice forms in winter in

3731-516: The Greenland Sea is considered part of the Nordic Seas , along with the Norwegian Sea . The Nordic Seas are the main connection between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and, as such, could be of great significance in a possible shutdown of thermohaline circulation . In oceanography the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas are often referred to collectively as the "Arctic Mediterranean Sea", a marginal sea of

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3822-425: The Greenland Sea to the south, the Greenland Sea has a narrow window for commercial navigation: The ice season starts in October and ends in August. Three types of floating ice are distinguished: Arctic pack ice (several meters thick), sea ice (about a meter thick), and freshwater icebergs. In winter, a large area north of Iceland between Greenland and Jan Mayen , called West Ice , is covered by continuous ice. It

3913-524: The Greenland Sea, north of Iceland, between Greenland and Jan Mayen island. It is a major breeding ground of harp seal and hooded seal that has been used for seal hunting for more than 200 years. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Greenland Sea as follows: On the North. A line joining the Northernmost point of Spitzbergen [ sic ] [ Svalbard ] to

4004-643: The Molloy Deep of the Fram Strait which connects the sea to the Arctic Ocean on the north. The Greenland ice sheet reaches down to the sea at Jokel Bay . Major islands of the Greenland Sea include the Svalbard archipelago, Jan Mayen as well as coastal islands off the NE Greenland shores, such as Hovgaard , Ella , Godfred Hansen , Île-de-France , Lynn , Norske , Gamma and Schnauder islands. Of those, only

4095-902: The Northernmost point of Greenland . On the East. The West coast of West Spitzbergen [ sic ] [island of Spitsbergen ]. On the Southeast. A line joining the Southernmost point of West Spitzbergen [ sic ] to the Northern point of Jan Mayen Island, down the West coast of that island to its Southern extreme, thence a Line to the Eastern extreme of Gerpir (67°05′N, 13°30′W) [ sic , actually at 65°05′N 13°30′W  /  65.083°N 13.500°W  / 65.083; -13.500 ] in Iceland . On

4186-531: The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition. Since then, many countries, mostly Norway, Iceland and Russia have sent scientific expeditions to the area. The complex water current system in the Greenland Sea was described in 1909 by Fridtjof Nansen . The Greenland Sea was a popular hunting ground for the whaling industry for 300 years, until 1911, primarily based in Spitsbergen . At that point,

4277-557: The Norwegians returned and re-established their presence. In September 1944, the Germans set up their last weather station, Operation Haudegen in Nordaustlandet ; it functioned until after the German surrender. On 4 September 1945, the soldiers were picked up by a Norwegian seal hunting vessel and surrendered to its captain. This group of men were the last German troops to surrender after

4368-488: The Second World War. After the war, the Soviet Union proposed common Norwegian and Soviet administration and military defence of Svalbard. This was rejected in 1947 by Norway, which two years later joined NATO . The Soviet Union retained high civilian activity on Svalbard, in part to ensure that the archipelago was not used by NATO. After the war, Norway re-established operations at Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund, while

4459-534: The Southwest. A line joining Straumnes (NW extreme of Iceland) to Cape Nansen ( 68°15′N 29°30′W  /  68.250°N 29.500°W  / 68.250; -29.500 ) in Greenland. On the West. The East and Northeast coast of Greenland between Cape Nansen and the northernmost point. While the sea has been known for millennia, the first scientific investigations were carried out in 1876–1878 as part of

4550-408: The Soviet Union established mining in Barentsburg, Pyramiden , and Grumant . The mine at Ny-Ålesund had several fatal accidents, killing 71 people while it was in operation from 1945 to 1954 and from 1960 to 1963. The Kings Bay Affair , caused by the 1962 accident killing 21 workers, forced Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet to resign. From 1964, Ny-Ålesund became a research outpost, and a facility for

4641-506: The Spitsbergen archipelago. Russians have traditionally called the archipelago Grumant ( Грумант ). The Soviet Union retained the name Spitsbergen ( Шпицберген ) to support undocumented claims that Russians were the first to discover the island. In 1928, Italian explorer Umberto Nobile and the crew of the airship Italia crashed on the icepack off the coast of Foyn Island . The subsequent rescue attempts were covered extensively in

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4732-489: The Svalbard islands are inhabited, and Jan Mayen has only temporal military staff. After the League of Nations gave Norway jurisdiction over the island, in 1921 Norway opened the first meteorological station there, which was a subject of contention between Germany and United Kingdom during World War II. Several radio and meteorological stations operate on the island nowadays. The climate is Arctic and varies significantly across

4823-579: The archipelago, the Norwegian Coast Guard embarked on a significant modernization program. As of 2023, the Coast Guard is replacing its older Nordkapp -class offshore patrol vessels with significantly larger ice-capable ships, each displacing just under 10,000 tonnes. The three new Jan Mayen -class offshore patrol vessels are armed with a 57 mm (2.2 in) main gun and are capable of operating up to two medium-sized helicopters. The ships have

4914-519: The archipelago, the seat of the governor and the only incorporated town. The town features an airport , hospital, primary and secondary school , university , sports center with a swimming pool, library, culture center, cinema, bus transport, hotels, a bank, and several museums. The newspaper Svalbardposten is published weekly. Very little mining activity remains at Longyearbyen; coal mines at Sveagruva and Lunckefjellet suspended operations in 2017 and were closed permanently in 2020. Ny-Ålesund

5005-452: The coasts serve as food to the deer and musk oxen , which in turn are hunted by the polar bear . The Greenland Sea was formerly home to a large population of various whale species, especially bowhead whales , but the whaling industry decimated them greatly from the beginning of the 1600s till 1911. In the last few decades there have been a few signs indicating a beginning recovery. US Geological Survey has estimated that at least 13% of

5096-452: The combination of full moon and reflective snow can give additional light. Due to the Earth's tilt and the high latitude, Svalbard has extensive twilights. Longyearbyen sees the first and last day of polar night having seven and a half hours of twilight, whereas the perpetual light lasts for two weeks longer than the midnight sun. On the summer solstice, the sun bottoms out at 12° sun angle in

5187-675: The concessions are located in seas west of Greenland (primarily the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay ), but with 19 concessions in the Greenland Sea. In late 2013, a total of three consortia obtained hydrocarbon extraction rights to four large areas of the Greenland Sea from the Greenland Bureau of Mineral and Petroleum . The consortia are led by the oil companies of Statoil , Chevron , and Eni , but includes several other smaller companies such as Shell , BP , DONG Energy and Nunaoil . Since then,

5278-478: The dividing line between the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans runs from Straumnes to Cape Nansen , 132 km (82 miles) southwest of Cape Tunipier. The narrow depth, where the Greenland–Iceland Rise runs along the bottom of the sea, is 191 metres (625 ft). The cold East Greenland Current passes through the strait and carries icebergs south into the North Atlantic. It hosts important fisheries . The world's largest known underwater waterfall, known as

5369-415: The east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean , sometimes as part of the Atlantic Ocean . However, definitions of the Arctic Ocean and its seas tend to be imprecise or arbitrary. In general usage the term "Arctic Ocean" would exclude the Greenland Sea. In oceanographic studies

5460-429: The first discovery of the archipelago in 1596, when he sighted the coast of the island of Spitsbergen while searching for the Northern Sea Route . The first recorded landing on the islands of Svalbard dates to 1604, when an English ship landed at Bjørnøya , or Bear Island, and started hunting walrus . Annual expeditions soon followed, and Spitsbergen became a base for hunting the bowhead whale from 1611. Because of

5551-422: The formerly rich whale population here, was so depleted that the industry was no longer profitable. The remaining whales of the Greenland Sea has been protected ever since, but the populations have not shown any proof of significant regeneration. Since the late 1990s, polar biologists reports an increase in the local bowhead whale population and in 2015, arctic scientists discovered a surprising abundance of them in

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5642-509: The institution of the Governor of Svalbard ( Norwegian : Sysselmester , formerly Sysselmannen ), who holds the responsibility as both county governor and chief of police , as well as holding other authority granted from the executive branch. Duties include environmental policy , family law , law enforcement , search and rescue , tourism management, information services, contact with foreign settlements, and judge in some areas of maritime inquiries and judicial examinations—albeit never in

5733-431: The island of Spitsbergen, which constitutes more than half the archipelago, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. All settlements are on Spitsbergen, except the meteorological outposts on Bjørnøya and Hopen . The Norwegian state took possession of all unclaimed land, or 95.2% of the archipelago, at the time the Svalbard Treaty entered into force; Store Norske , a Norwegian coal mining company, owns 4%, Arktikugol ,

5824-474: The islands were being used as a base for Arctic exploration . The first mining was along Isfjorden by Norwegians in 1899; by 1904, British interests had established themselves in Adventfjorden and started the first year-round operations. Production in Longyearbyen, by US interests, started in 1908; and Store Norske established itself in 1916, as did other Norwegian interests during the First World War , in part by buying US interests. Discussions to establish

5915-462: The lawless nature of the area, English , Danish , Dutch , and French companies and authorities tried to use force to keep out other countries' fleets. Smeerenburg was one of the first settlements, established by the Dutch in 1619. Smaller bases were also built by the English, Danish, and French. At first the outposts were merely summer camps, but from the early 1630s, a few individuals started to overwinter . Whaling at Spitsbergen lasted until

6006-481: The local economy. Apart from Longyearbyen, other settlements include the Russian mining-community of Barentsburg , the Norwegian research-station of Ny-Ålesund , and the Swedish-Norwegian mining outpost of Sveagruva (which closed in 2020). Other settlements lie farther north, but are populated only by rotating groups of researchers. No roads connect the settlements; instead snowmobiles , aircraft and boats provide inter-settlement transport. Svalbard Airport serves as

6097-427: The main East Greenland ice edge in the vicinity of 72–74°N during the winter because of the presence of very cold polar surface water in the Jan Mayen Current , which diverts some water eastward from the East Greenland Current at that latitude. Most of the already formed ice continued floating south, driven by the wind, so a cold open water surface was exposed on which new ice formed as frazil ice and pancake ice in

6188-419: The main gateway. Approximately 60% of the archipelago is covered with glaciers , and the islands feature many mountains and fjords . The archipelago has an Arctic climate , although with significantly higher temperatures than other areas at the same latitude. The flora has adapted to take advantage of the long period of midnight sun to compensate for the polar night . Svalbard is home to Rock Ptarmigan,

6279-432: The main island and for the archipelago as a whole. Later the main island was sometimes distinguished as West Spitsbergen . The spelling Spitzbergen , with z instead of s, derives from German. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 defines Svalbard as all islands, islets, and skerries from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The land area is 61,022 km (23,561 sq mi), and dominated by

6370-581: The main island. In 1827 Baltazar Keilhau first proposed that the Old Norse toponym Svalbarði , found in medieval Icelandic sources, referred to Spitsbergen. Keilhau's theory was revived by Gustav Storm in 1890 and Gunnar Isachsen in 1907, at a time when ancient Norse connection to the land would help modern Norway's contested claim to sovereignty. Svalbard is a modern Norwegian analogue of Svalbarði , which in turn derives from svalr ('cold') and barð ('edge', 'ridge', 'turf', 'beard'). The Icelandic Annals record that Svalbarði

6461-450: The middle of the night, being much higher during night than in mainland Norway's polar light areas. However, the daytime strength of the sun remains as low as 35°. Glacial ice covers 36,502 km (14,094 sq mi) or 60% of Svalbard; 30% is barren rock while 10% is vegetated. The largest glacier is Austfonna (8,412 km or 3,248 sq mi) on Nordaustlandet, followed by Olav V Land and Vestfonna . During summer, it

6552-430: The north. The summer is very short: The number of days per year when the temperature rises above 0 °C (32 °F) varies between 225 in the north to 334 in the south. The annual precipitation is 250 mm (10 in) in the north, but 500 mm (20 in) in the south. Northern winds continue through the whole year, cooling the surface water and bringing ice to the south. The average surface water temperature

6643-522: The population on the islands (Norwegians making up the remaining third) with the population of the archipelago slightly under 4,000. Russian activity has diminished considerably since then, falling from 2,500 to 450 people from 1990 to 2010. Grumant was closed after it was depleted in 1962. Pyramiden was closed in 1998. Coal exports from Barentsburg ceased in 2006 because of a fire, but resumed in 2010. The Russians experienced two air accidents: Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 , which killed 141 people, and

6734-548: The press and Svalbard received short-lived fame as a result. Svalbard, known to both British and Germans as Spitsbergen, was little affected by the German invasion of Norway in April 1940. The settlements continued to operate as before, mining coal and monitoring the weather. In July 1941, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Royal Navy reconnoitered the islands with

6825-435: The rough seas, producing a giant tongue shape. The salt rejected back into the ocean from this ice formation caused the surface water to become denser and sink, sometimes to great depths (2,500 m (8,200 ft) or more), making this one of the few regions of the ocean where winter convection occurred, which helped drive the entire worldwide system of surface and deep currents known as the thermohaline circulation . Since

6916-709: The same cases as acting as police. Since 2021, Lars Fause has been governor. The institution is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and the Police , but reports to other ministries in matters within their portfolio. Since 2002, Longyearbyen Community Council has had many of the same responsibilities of a municipality , including utilities, education, cultural facilities, fire department, roads, and ports. No care or nursing services are available, nor are welfare payments available. Norwegian residents retain pension and medical rights through their mainland municipalities. The hospital

7007-470: The same month. The Odden ice tongue or simply the Odden (Odden is Norwegian word for headland ) was a key winter ice formation area in the Arctic. It was known for a long time and was encountered by Fridtjof Nansen but was only fully understood with the advent of satellite imagery. The Odden had a length of about 1,300 km (810 mi) and covered an area of up to 330,000 km (130,000 sq mi) in most years. It extended eastward from

7098-547: The sea is delimited by the Svalbard archipelago (Norway). The southern part of the Greenland Sea, roughly the area south of the Jan Mayen Francture Zone or the line Cape Brewster – Jan Mayen is sometimes referred to as Iceland Sea . The bottom of the Greenland Sea is a depression bounded to the south by the underwater Greenland-Iceland ridge and to the east by the Mohns Ridge and Knipovich Ridge (parts of

7189-473: The sovereignty of the archipelago commenced in the 1910s, but were interrupted by World War I . On 9 February 1920, following the Paris Peace Conference , the Svalbard Treaty was signed, granting full sovereignty to Norway. However, all signatory countries were granted non-discriminatory rights to fishing, hunting, and mineral resources. The treaty took effect on 14 August 1925, at the same time as

7280-603: The treaty (including Spain, Iceland and particularly Russia) argue that the Treaty provides them with extensive rights beyond Svalbard's territorial sea. Norway claims an exclusive economic zone of more than three-quarters of a million square kilometers around Svalbard, though "Russia does not recognize Norwegian functional rights with respect to the Svalbard Fisheries Protection Area". In the 2020s, in order to strengthen Norway's ability to enforce its claims around

7371-431: The treaty have the right to conduct commercial activities on the archipelago without discrimination, although all activity is subject to Norwegian legislation. The treaty limits Norway's right to collect taxes to that of financing services on Svalbard. Therefore, Svalbard has a lower income tax than mainland Norway, and there is no value added tax . There is a separate budget for Svalbard to ensure compliance. Svalbard

7462-422: The vast sea area. Air temperatures fluctuate between −49 °C (−56 °F) near Spitsbergen in winter and 25 °C (77 °F) off Greenland in summer. Averages are −10 °C (14 °F) in the south and −26 °C (−15 °F) in the north in February, which is the coldest month. The corresponding values for the warmest month, August, are 5 °C (41 °F) in the south and 0 °C (32 °F) in

7553-503: The west coast of Spitsbergen. Whalers who sailed far north in the 17th and 18th centuries used the islands as a base; subsequently the archipelago was abandoned. Coal mining started at the beginning of the 20th century, and several permanent communities such as Pyramiden or Barentsburg were established. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 recognizes Norwegian sovereignty, and the Norwegian Svalbard Act of 1925 made Svalbard

7644-483: The western part of the sea. Along the eastern part flows the warm Spitsbergen Current , a part of Gulf Stream . Mixtures of cold, freshwater ice melt and the warm, salty Spitsbergen Current may experience cabbeling , which might contribute to thermohaline circulation. The combination of those currents creates a counter-clockwise water flow in the central part of the sea. Because of frequent fogs, winds, and currents, which continuously transport ice and icebergs through

7735-406: The world's two most northerly Lenin statues and other socialist realist art. As of 2013 , a handful of workers are stationed in the largely abandoned Pyramiden to maintain local infrastructure and run its hotel, which has been re-opened to tourism. Most of the population is Christian. Most of the Norwegians are affiliated with the Church of Norway . Russian and Ukrainian population belongs to

7826-479: The world's undiscovered oil deposits and 30% of the world's undiscovered gas pockets are located in the Arctic, with the Greenland Sea potentially holding large amounts of natural gas and lesser amounts of natural gas liquids and crude oil . This has led the Greenland's minister and provincial council to offer a large number of off-shore concessions to potential hydrocarbon (oil and gas) extraction. The majority of

7917-450: Was able to enter the Atlantic through the Strait, but damage sustained in the battle—combined with British aircraft search-and-destroy missions—led to her own sinking three days later. 67°N 24°W  /  67°N 24°W  / 67; -24 Greenland Sea The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to

8008-458: Was achieved in 2017 by rowing expedition, Polar Row led by Fiann Paul . The Greenland Sea is bounded to the west by the island of Greenland , and to the south by the Denmark Strait and Iceland . To the southeast, behind the Jan Mayen island (Norway) lies the vast expanse of the Norwegian Sea , of which Greenland Sea may be considered an extension. Across the Fram Strait to the northeast,

8099-477: Was discovered in 1194, while the Landnámabók places it four days' sailing north of Langanes . The word dægr "day" might mean either 12 or 24 hours; Isachsen took the latter interpretation, thus discounting Jan Mayen as Svalbarði . Cultural studies academic Roald Berg says Svalbarði more likely referred to part of Greenland , but the 1925 renaming cemented Norwegian sovereignty as recognised by

8190-546: Was established at Ny-Ålesund in 1941, remaining until 1942. In May 1942, after the arrival of the Fritham force, the German unit at Banso was evacuated. In September 1943 in Operation Zitronella a German task force, which included the battleship Tirpitz , was sent to attack the garrison and destroy the settlements at Longyearbyen and Barentsburg. This was achieved, but had little long-term effect: after their departure

8281-462: Was incorporated on 1 January 2002, adopting a community council. In 2016, Svalbard had a population of 2,667, of which 423 were Russian and Ukrainian, 10 Polish, and 322 other non-Norwegians living in Norwegian settlements. The largest non-Norwegian groups in Longyearbyen in 2005 were from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Thailand. Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on

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