Photo by Linda Bakken
The Norwegian Parliament has designated Ny-Ålesund a centre for natural sciences on Svalbard. All other activities must pay due consideration to the needs and demands of the research activities. The aim is to make Ny-Ålesund into a leading international Arctic environmental research and monitoring station. The Government therefore encourages international research institutions to establish themselves in Ny-Ålesund.
 | Climate change & ecosystem response |
| UV-radiation & biological effects |
| Long-range transported pollutants & ecotoxicology |
| other (e.g. solid Earth, geodesy & ionospheric physics) |
| Physical sciences & engineering |
| Biological & medical sciences |
| Social sciences & humanities |
| Environmental sciences |
For details about the available facilities and equipment please contact the station managers directly.
The Norwegian Polar Institute
(NP) is
Norway's central institution for research, environmental monitoring and
mapping of the polar regions. The Institute is the Norwegian authorities'
advisor and it
contributes significantly to co-ordination and developement of the research activities in Ny-Ålesund in accordance
to the national strategies. NP runs
Sverdrup Station
in Ny-Ålesund, and
offers various services to national and foreign research institutions (Radiation
Observatory, Biological Research Facility, greenhouse facility, meteorology, and
polar logistics, coordinator of ARCFAC project).
The
joint German-French facility,
AWIPEV Station, run by
the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine
Research (AWI) and the French Polar Institute
Emil Victor (IPEV), is a comprehensive base for a large spectrum of polar
research (e.g. geophysics, glaciology, biological research) with a special
emphasis on atmospheric sciences (dedicated balloon launch facility)
The geodetic institute of the
Norwegian Mapping Authority
(NMA, in Norwegian: Statens Kartverk) runs a high precision
space geodesy observatory in Ny-Ålesund. The facility
includes a radiotelescope (VLBI antenna) which is used for geodetic research. It
also monitors the Earth's crust surface displacements and gravity variations,
and the sea-level changes (tide gauges).
In co-operation with others, the
Norwegian Institute for Air
Research (NILU) runs its year-round air sampling and global monitoring programmes from
the Air Monitoring
Station at the Zeppelin mountain (470 m a.s.l.). NILU's research programmes
concentrate on the composition and the chemical processes of the troposphere and
stratosphere.
Great Britain's research station, the
Harland House, run by the
Natural
Environment Research Council (NERC), supports research within life and
earth sciences (also laboratory work), but also provides logistics and safety
support.
Italian
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
(CNR) facility (Dirigibile
Italia Station) supports mostly
atmospheric and bilological sciences related to global change.
Kings Bay AS is also the owner of the
Arctic Marine Laboratory, an experimental
lab for research in marine biology and some physical sciences.
Last updated 11 April 2008/ Marzena Kaczmarska
