Svalbard

Question 1

Where is Svalbard

Answer 1

A Norwegian territory in the Arctic Ocean and the most northerly permanently inhabited group of islands in the world

Question 2

What biomes does Svalbard have

Answer 2

• polar climate
• 60% land covered by glaciers
• rest is tundra, much of which is frozen
• No arable farming and no trees

Question 3

facts abt Svalbard

Answer 3

• population - 2700, most living in main town - Longyearbyen
• more polar bears and snowmobiles than people

Question 4

Opportunities for development in Svalbard

Answer 4

Mineral extraction
energy developments
fishing
tourism

Question 5

Mineral extraction in Svalbard

Answer 5

• rich reserves of coal
• vital to the economy because it’s the main economic activity (+300 people are employed by the mines.)
• in 2014 a new mine opened near Svea. To gain access to the new mine, a road had to be constructed over a glacier

Question 6

Fishing in Svalbard

Answer 6

Barrents Sea south of Svalbard:

• +150 species of fish - (e.g. herring & haddock)
• important to not pollute - extremely important breeding & nursery grounds for fish stocks
• jointly controlled & monitored by Norway & Russia to ensure sustainability

Question 7

Energy developments in Svalbard

Answer 7

COAL mined used to power station in Longyearbyen. (Norway’s only coal-fired power station - supplies all of Svalbard’s energy needs)

likely future is GEOTHERMAL ENERGY since Svalbard sits on CONSTRUCTIVE margin where rocks are hot CLOSE to SURFACE

Question 8

Tourism in Svalbard

Answer 8

-70k visitors to Longyearbyen in 2011 (30k were cruise passengers)
-provides 300 jobs
-tourists like to see the glaciers, fjords, wildlife and especially polar bears and like doing activities like kayaking, snowmobiling and seeing the northern lights.

Question 9

Challenges of development in Svalbard

Answer 9

• Extreme temperatures
• provision of buildings
• infrastructure
• inaccessiblity

Question 10

Extreme temperatures in Svalbard

Answer 10

• temperatures can fall below -30 degrees even in Longyearbyen
• people at risk of frostbite have to wear several layers which can make work difficult

Question 11

Forms of Provision of buildings in Svalbard

Answer 11

• building houses, shops & offices, using deep piles (wood or metal poles) sunk into the permafrost
• constructing & maintaining roads on top of a gravel layer to insulate the permafrost
• constructing & enlarging harbour facilities for fishing vessels & cruise ships
• constructing buildings and mining operations to extract coal & transport it to harbours

Question 12

Challenge of Provision of buildings

Answer 12

• working outdoors in extreme temp + limited light in Winter v. difficult so most construction carried out during brief summer period
• the permafrost can provide solid foundations but it has to be protected from melting. If the top surface melts, then it becomes unstable and could lead to building & roads cracking/collapsing
• most roads are dirt/gravel roads raised up above the ground surface - relatively cheap + easy to maintain annually

Question 13

Infrastructure in Svalbard

Answer 13

most services are provided to individual buildings by overground heated water + sewage pipes.

They need to be kept off the ground to prevent them thawing the permafrost (leads to unstable buildings) and to allow easy maintenance.

Question 14

inaccessibility in Svalbard

Answer 14

remote part of Europe

Longyearbyen has ONE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT capable of handling international flights from norway and russia. smaller aircraft can be used to connect to other islands.

50km road in Longyearbyen - rest accessible only by snowmobiles