Ny-Ålesund Research Station – Sverdrup, NO

The research station is owned and managed by the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Contact

Station manager, Section leader Ny-Ã…lesund Arnt Rennan: HeadNPI.Nya[at]npolar.no

Location

The Ny-Ã…lesund Research Station – Sverdrup is part of the Ny-Ã…lesund Research Station on the northern side of Brøgger Peninsula at the southern shore of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Most of the infrastructure in Ny-Ã…lesund is owned and managed by the limited company Kings Bay. Institutions from many countries has long term research and monitoring programms running in Ny-Ã…lesund. The nearest civilian settlement is Longyearbyen, 100 km south of Ny-Ã…lesund.

Website

Stations at Ny-Ålesund do a lot of collaboration, read more from here: 
https://eu-polarin.eu/ny-alesund/
https://www.npolar.no/en/sverdrup/
https://interact-gis.org/Home/Station/11

Facilities

Ny-Ã…lesund was a mining town until the 1960s. After the mining was stopped, Ny-Ã…lesund started to develop into a research facility, beginning with the Norwegian Polar Institute establishment of a permanent research station in 1968. Today, institutions from 10 nations have long term comittments in Ny-Ã…lesund, and scientists from many more nations visit Ny-Ã…lesund to conduct research. The Ny-Ã…lesund Research Station – Sverdrup hosts Norwegian projects and research groups from institutions without their long-term committment in Ny-Ã…lesund. Sverdrup provides logistical support (snowmobiles, boats, and equipment), workshops, office facilities, and field storage, while several laboratory facilities are available through Kings Bay. Norwegian Polar Institute owns and manage the Zeppelin Observatory for long-term atmospheric monitoring. Up to 25 people can be accommodated at Sverdrup in the summer peak season.

Availability for access

Time frame for access preparation

The booking to Ny-Ã…lesund is set up after a first come-first serve principle. Bookings should as a general rule be submitted latest 1-2 months before the activity. The research group are asked to provide their booking in the RIS portal as soon as the access through POLARIN is confirmed.Â

Permits, licenses and training

Researchers and research institutions must familiarize themselves with applicable regulations and obtain all relevant permits from Norwegian authorities before initiating their research activities in Svalbard. Some research activities in Svalbard do not require prior consent from governmental agencies, others do.  Most of Norway’s legislation applies also to Svalbard and regulates research-relevant activities in the archipelago. The Svalbard Environmental Protection Act and regulations derived from it in particular, is highly relevant to all field research in Svalbard. The Governor of Svalbard has introduced four fixed application deadlines per year for research activity on Svalbard.  There are also other Ny-Ålesund specific local regulations, include permission from the land owner Kings Bay before installing instruments within the Kings Bay area plan, and guidelines and regulations regarding use of radio emitting equipment and use of the airspace in Ny-Ålesund. Read more here: https://nyalesundresearch.no/research-and-monitoring/researchers-guide/research-permissions/.
Polar bears are a threat anywhere on Svalbard, and anyone travelling outside the settlement of Ny-Ålesund must be equipped with appropriate means of protection (rifle and flare gun). Researchers will need a permit to hold and borrow a rifle on Svalbard. Read more about the permit needed here: https://nyalesundresearch.no/research-and-monitoring/researchers-guide/safety/ In order to be able to rent rifles from Kings Bay, researchers need to attend the Kings Bay polar bear safety course (course on site the day of arrival/or following day) or another pre-agreed safety course by the University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS). Booking of this must also be done through the RiS-portal.

Medical guidelines

No medical guidelines.