Ny-Ålesund
Ny-Ålesund ("New Ålesund") is one of the four permanent settlements on Svalbard. It is located on the Brøgger-peninsula at the Kongsfjorden. Like the rest of Svalbard, Ny-Ålesund is administered by Norway.
Ny-Ålesund is one of the world's northernmost settlements at , and is the world's northernmost functional public settlement.
Today, it is inhabited by a permanent population of approximately 30-35 persons. All of them are working for one of the research stations — the Global Atmosphere Watch has one here — or the logistics and supply company "Kings Bay", which 'owns' and runs the research village. In the summer the activity in Ny-Ålesund is greatly increased with up to 120 researchers, technicians, and field assistants. At present, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea and China all maintain research stations at Ny-Ålesund, although not all are inhabited year-round.
Ny-Ålesund is home to the new Arctic Marine Laboratory (the northernmost in the world), which was officially opened June 1, 2005. With many open rooms and wet and dry lab spaces alike, the marine lab is particularly useful for countries which do not maintain permanent research stations in the area.
It is possible to travel to Ny-Ålesund by scheduled flights from Longyearbyen and there is a hotel. On ship cruises, Ny-Ålesund is a typical shore break. However, this tourism may cause interference with the sensitive scientific devices in the settlement, so tourists are closely observed by the local population. The settlement is served by the airport Ny-Ålesund Airport, Hamnerabben
Near Ny-Ålesund there has been since 1997 SvalRak, a launch
site for
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History
- 1916 — founded as a coal mining town, at first named Brandal City after the founder Peter S. Brandal
- 1926 — Roald Amundsen starts his North Pole flight with the Airship Norge
- 1962 — Kings Bay Affair - mining disaster (1962-11-05) kills 21 people; Norwegian government resigns in August 1963 due to this event, and mining is discontinued
- 1968 — the Norwegian Polar Institute opens a research base
- 1980s/90s — other nations increase their scientific activities, turning Ny-Ålesund into an international Arctic research base
- 2004 — China inaugurates the Yellow River Station, its first Arctic research station, in Ny-Ålesund on 2004-07-27
External links
- British Antarctic Survey research Station
- Webcam in Ny-Ålesund
- Web site of Kings Bay A/S, the local logistics company
- Some photos from Svalbard (tilt-)journey (pictures of Ny-Ålesund)
| Svalbard | |
|---|---|
| General | Flora | Governor | History | Languages | Politics | Treaty | .sj |
| Settlements | Barentsburg | Grumant | Longyearbyen | Ny-Ålesund | Pyramiden | Smeerenburg | Sveagruva |
| Islands | Barentsøya | Bjørnøya | Danskøya | Edgeøya | Hopen | Kong Karls Land | Kongsøya | Kvitøya | Lågøya | Nordaustlandet | Spitsbergen | Svenskøya | Wilhelmøya |
| Fjords | Hornsund | Isfjord | Van Mijenfjord | Wijdefjord | Woodfjord |
| National parks | Forlandet National Park | Nordenskiöld Land | Nordre Isfjorden Land | Northwest Spitsbergen | Sassen-Bünsow Land | Sør-Spitsbergen |
| Landmarks | Newtontoppen | Olav V Land |
| Companies | Arctikugol | Bjørnøen | Kings Bay | Store Norske |
| Research | Norwegian Polar Institute | Polish Polar Station | Seed Vault | Undersea Cable | University Centre |
| Airports | Longyearbyen | Ny-Ålesund | Svea |
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