Observation Sites

Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway and Sweden [ZEP]

Location

• Country: Norway and Sweden
• Latitude: 78.9067° North
• Longitude: 11.8883° East
• Elevation: 474.00 masl
• Time Zone: Local Standard Time + -1.0 hour(s) = UTC

Data

• Available datasets
• Data visualization

Cooperating Agencies

• Zeppelin Station/University of Stockholm Meteorological Institute

The research village Ny-Aalesund in the European Arctic is one of the world's northernmost human settlements. It is situated in Kongsfjorden on north-western Spitsbergen, which is the largest of the Svalbard islands. The village is surrounded by mountains and glaciers, which at several places stretch well out into the sea. Large areas of Svalbard (about 60 %) are covered with glaciers. Svalbard, with an area of 62049 km2 is very sparsely populated, and the about 2500 inhabitants are living in one of the five small settlements on Spitsbergen. The Norwegian research village Ny-Aalesund is permanently inhabited by about 30 people year-round and additional approx. 150 scientists during summer peak season. The global GAW station Zeppelin Observatory (coordinates: 78°54'29" N, 11°52'53" E) near Ny-Aalesund lies south of the town. The Observatories unique location at 475 m altitude makes it an ideal place for monitoring of global atmospheric gasses and long-transported contaminants. Since the Observatory is above the inversion layer most of the time, the influence from local contamination sources on the measurements is minimal. The Zeppelin Observatory was officially opened in 1990, but after some time of operation the building did not satisfy the requirements for operation of advanced instruments. The old observatory was demolished in 1999, and a new one was built on the same location, and officially re-opened in May 2000. The observatory is owned by the Norwegian Polar Institute, which is responsible for development, maintenance, daily management and safety. The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) is responsible for scientific coordination. The primary users of the observatory are NILU, Stockholm University and the Norwegian Polar Institute. Other institutions also have instruments and measurement program here, run permanently or on a campaign basis.

Carbon Cycle Surface Flasks