Bear Island (Norwegian : Bjørnøya, pronounced [ˈbjø̀ːɳœʏɑ] ) is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The island is located at the limits of the Norwegian and Barents seas, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape. Bear Island was discovered by Dutch explorers Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerck on 10 June 1596. It was named after a polar bear that was seen swimming nearby. The island was considered terra nullius until the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty.
Despite its remote location and barren nature, the island has seen commercial activities in past centuries, such as coal mining, fishing and whaling. However, no settlements have lasted more than a few years, and Bear Island is now uninhabited except for personnel working at the island's meteorological station Bjørnøya radio. Along with the adjacent waters, it was declared a nature reserve in 2002.
Seafarers of the Viking era may have known Bear Island, but the documented history begins in 1596, when Willem Barentsz sighted the island on his third expedition. He named this island "Vogel Eylandt", "Bird Island" in English. [2] Steven Bennet conducted further exploration in 1603 and 1604 and noted the then rich population of walrus. Starting in the early 17th century, the island was used mainly as a base for the hunting of walrus and other species of seals. Also, the eggs of seabirds were harvested from the large bird colonies until 1971. [3]
The Muscovy Company claimed Bear Island for the English Crown in 1609, but it abandoned the site when walrus-hunting declined. A Russian settlement existed in the 18th century and its remains were later used as a basis for territorial claims by Imperial Russia in 1899 and again by the Soviet Union in 1947. [4]
Bear Island has never been extensively settled. The remnants of a whaling station from the early 20th century can be seen at Kvalrossbukta ("walrus bay") in the southeast. From 1916 through 1925, coal was mined at a small settlement named Tunheim on the northeastern coast, but then the mining was given up as unprofitable. Due to the cold climate, the remains of the settlement, including a half-destroyed jetty and a steam locomotive, are relatively well-preserved. [5]
The strategic value of Bear Island was recognised in the late 19th century, when Imperial Russia and Imperial Germany demonstrated their interests in the Barents Sea. The German journalist and adventurer Theodor Lerner visited the island in 1898 and 1899 and claimed rights of ownership. In 1899, the German fishery association Deutscher Seefischerei-Verein (DSV) started investigations of whaling and fishery in the Barents Sea. The DSV was secretly in contact with the German naval command and considered the possibility of an occupation of Bear Island. In reaction to these advances, the Russian Navy sent out the protected cruiser Svetlana to investigate, and the Russians hoisted their flag over Bear Island on 21 July 1899. Although Lerner protested the action, no violence occurred and the matter was settled diplomatically with no definitive claims of sovereignty over Bear Island by any nation. [2]
The whole island was privately owned by the coal mining company of Bjørnøen AS from 1918 to 1932, when the Norwegian state took over the shares. Bjørnøen AS now exists as a state-owned company, and it is jointly managed with Kings Bay AS, the company that runs the operations of Ny-Ålesund on Spitsbergen. [6] A Norwegian radio station (Bjørnøya Radio, callsign: LJB [7] ) was established in Herwighamna on the northern coast in 1919. It was later extended to include a meteorological station.
In 1932 and 1933, the island was a site of the first Polish polar expedition, related to the second International Polar Year. Three researchers - Czesław Centkiewicz (who later recounted the expedition in his book Wyspa Mgieł i Wichrów ), Władysław Łysakowski and Stanisław Siedlecki stayed there for entire winter conducting meteorological and geophysical observations. [8]
Since the shipping routes from the Atlantic Ocean to the ports of the arctic White Sea pass through the Barents Sea, the waters near Bear Island were of some strategic importance during World War II as well as during the Cold War. Although Svalbard was not occupied by Germany, the Kriegsmarine built several weather stations there as part of Operation Haudegen. An automated radio station was deployed on Bjørnøya in 1941. German forces attacked several arctic convoys with military supplies bound for the Soviet Union in the waters surrounding Bear Island. They inflicted heavy losses upon Convoy PQ 17 of June/July 1942, but they were ineffective in the Battle of the Barents Sea on New Year's Eve 1942. The waters southeast of Bear Island were the scene of more naval battles in 1943. In November 1944, the Soviet Union proposed to annul the Spitsbergen Treaty with the intention of gaining sovereignty over Bear Island. Negotiations with Trygve Lie of the Norwegian government-in-exile did not lead to an agreement by the end of World War II, and the Soviet proposals were never carried out. [2] The Soviet Union (and later, Russia) maintained some presence on Spitsbergen, however.
By the time the Germans had surrendered to the allied forces, the weather station operating on the island was still occupied by a team of 11 soldiers, commanded by Lieutenant Wilhelm Dege, who were broadcasting weather information back to Germany. They had been informed of the German surrender via radio on May 7, 1945, and by May 22 with the arrest of Admiral Donitz, they were left to fend for themselves. After nearly running out of supplies, they surrendered to a group of Norwegian seal hunters on September 4, making them the last German soldiers to surrender during the war. [9]
In 2002 a nature reserve was established that covers all of the island, except 1.2 square kilometres (0.46 sq mi) around the meteorological station. The reserve also includes the adjacent waters of a four-nautical-mile (seven-kilometre) radius from the coast. [10] In 2008, the decision was made to extend the reserve to a radius of 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) from the coast covering 177 square kilometres (68 sq mi) on land and 2,805 square kilometres (818 sq nmi) of sea area. [11] Today, the island's only inhabitants are the nine [12] staff members of the Norwegian meteorological station and radio station at Herwighamna. This station carries out meteorological observations and provides logistic and telecommunication services, including a radio watch on the HF channels 2182/2168 and the VHF channels 16/12. Weather forecasts are transmitted from the station twice daily, announced on HF 2182/VHF 16 at 10:05 am/pm UTC. A non-directional beacon at 74°30'7.0"N 019°5'10.2"E, identification BJO transmits on 316 kHz (Morse identifier - . . . . - - - - - -). [13] The station also has landing platforms for use by helicopters of the Norwegian Coast Guard, the Norwegian 330 Squadron, and the Governor of Svalbard. The Norwegian Polar Institute conducts annual expeditions to Bear Island, mostly concerned with ornithological research. Several other research projects, mostly pertaining to geography and climatology, are carried out less regularly. There are very few opportunities for individual travel to Bjørnøya.
Amateur radio operators occasionally conduct DXpeditions on the island during the summer months.
The first recorded case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Svalbard occurred on Bear Island on 6 October 2021. A Russian fisherman had been confirmed to have contracted the disease and was transported via helicopter to Longyearbyen to be treated at its hospital, where he made a full recovery. There have been 0 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in Svalbard as of 2023. [14]
Bear Island lies about 235 kilometres (127 nmi) south of mainland Spitsbergen and 397 kilometres (214 nmi) north-northwest of Ingøy in mainland Norway. It is located at the limits of the Norwegian and Barents Seas on Spitsbergen Bank, which extends southward from Spitsbergen and Edgeøya, forming a part of the continental shelf.
The island's outline is an approximate triangle pointing south with a greatest north–south extension of 20 kilometres (12 mi) and a greatest east-west extension of 15.5 kilometres (9+3⁄4 mi). Its surface area is 178 square kilometres (69 sq mi). The southern part of Bjørnøya is mountainous, the highest top being Miseryfjellet on the southeast coast at about 536 metres (1,759 ft) above sea level.
Other notable mountains are Antarcticfjellet in the southeast, and Fuglefjellet, Hambergfjellet and Alfredfjellet in the southwest. The northern part of the island forms a rocky, lowland plain that covers some two thirds of the surface area.
Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is mostly steep, with high cliffs and notable signs of erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. A number of anchorages and landing points exist, as well as a small harbor at Herwighamna on the north coast.
Norwegian government agencies have conducted hydrographic surveys of Svalbard waters throughout the 20th century. The responsibility fell to the Norges Svalbard- og Ishavsundersøkelser in 1928, its successor, the Norwegian Polar Institute from 1948, and the Norwegian Hydrographic Service from 1984. [15] Land surveying and mapping are the responsibilities of the Polar Institute.
Water depths near the island and to the north and east do not much exceed 100 metres (328 ft), but become much greater to the south, and especially some 55 kilometres (30 nautical miles) to the west, where the continental shelf slopes into the deep water of the Norwegian Sea and Greenland Sea.
The lowland is strewn with shallow freshwater lakes that cover about 19 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi) in all. Several streams flow into the ocean, often via waterfalls along the steeper parts of the coast. There are known glaciers on Bear Island.
Bear Island, located well south of the main islands in the Svalbard Archipelago, has the mildest climate in Svalbard. A branch of the North Atlantic current carries warm water to the west of Svalbard, passing Bear Island on its way. This influences climate, making it much warmer than other polar regions at similar latitude. Bear Island's climate is maritime and polar (Köppen ET) with relatively high temperatures during the winter, and a large amount of precipitation. The large winter precipitation is very unusual in a high polar region, a result of Atlantic Lows sometimes going this far northeast due to open sea southwest of Bear Island. The record high 23.6 °C (74.5 °F) was recorded June 1953. The record low −31.6 °C (−24.9 °F) is from March 1927. The annual mean temperature was −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) in the period 1991–2020, thus threatening to melt permafrost on the island; by comparison, the annual mean temperature was −2.4 °C (27.7 °F) in the period 1961–1990.
While winters are very long, the maritime moderation and the delay of salt water ice formation makes Bear Island have much less cold winters than a lot of mid-latitude climates on the larger continental landmasses. In summer, the maritime influence causes seasonal lag. This means that August is slightly milder than July, which is extremely uncommon on high latitudes. The seasonal lag is extreme in the winter with the coldest month being March and April being colder than December.
The weather can be quite stable during the summer months, although foggy conditions are common, occurring during 20% of all days in July. Fog develops when the warm air of the Atlantic Ocean, from farther south, passes over cold water. The average monthly precipitation is lowest in May, and highest in September and October.
Because Bear Island lies on a boundary between cold water of polar origin and warmer Atlantic water, water temperatures within a few dozen nautical miles of the island are quite variable, sometimes reaching 10 °C (50 °F) in summer. During the winter fast ice develops on the coast, but it is rare on the open sea around Bear Island. The Barents Sea carries pack ice to Bjørnøya every winter, but a significant amount of ice is not common before February.
The polar night lasts from about November 8 through February 3, and the period of midnight sun from about May 2 through August 11. With just 595 hours of bright sunshine per year, Bear Island has the lowest average yearly sunshine in Europe. [16]
Climate data for Bear Island 1991–2020 (16 m, extremes 1910–2020) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 5.3 (41.5) | 5 (41) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.1 (46.6) | 16.5 (61.7) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.5 (72.5) | 15.5 (59.9) | 11.6 (52.9) | 8.4 (47.1) | 6.4 (43.5) | 23.6 (74.5) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.3 (27.9) | −2.8 (27.0) | −3 (27) | −1.4 (29.5) | 1.5 (34.7) | 4.5 (40.1) | 7.2 (45.0) | 7.3 (45.1) | 5.5 (41.9) | 2.2 (36.0) | 0.2 (32.4) | −1.2 (29.8) | 1.5 (34.7) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.6 (23.7) | −5.1 (22.8) | −5.4 (22.3) | −3.5 (25.7) | −0.2 (31.6) | 2.9 (37.2) | 5.3 (41.5) | 5.7 (42.3) | 4.1 (39.4) | 0.7 (33.3) | −1.4 (29.5) | −3.4 (25.9) | −0.4 (31.3) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −7.3 (18.9) | −7.7 (18.1) | −8 (18) | −5.7 (21.7) | −1.7 (28.9) | 1.5 (34.7) | 3.8 (38.8) | 4.2 (39.6) | 2.7 (36.9) | −1 (30) | −3.5 (25.7) | −5.7 (21.7) | −2.4 (27.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −29.8 (−21.6) | −29.1 (−20.4) | −31.6 (−24.9) | −25.6 (−14.1) | −17.7 (0.1) | −8.4 (16.9) | −4.7 (23.5) | −2.4 (27.7) | −10.4 (13.3) | −22.2 (−8.0) | −25.1 (−13.2) | −28.1 (−18.6) | −31.6 (−24.9) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 48 (1.9) | 41.7 (1.64) | 41.6 (1.64) | 31.7 (1.25) | 25 (1.0) | 19.7 (0.78) | 27.4 (1.08) | 32.4 (1.28) | 47.2 (1.86) | 40.2 (1.58) | 46 (1.8) | 50.4 (1.98) | 451.3 (17.79) |
Source 1: yr.no/Norwegian Meteorological Institute/eklima (means, precipitation, extremes) [17] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Meteostat (average high/low) [18] |
Earlier climate normal for Bear Island with sunhours
Climate data for Bear Island, Norway 1961-1990 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −5.0 (23.0) | −4.7 (23.5) | −4.8 (23.4) | −2.9 (26.8) | 0.3 (32.5) | 3.6 (38.5) | 6.6 (43.9) | 6.3 (43.3) | 4.2 (39.6) | 1.2 (34.2) | −1.7 (28.9) | −4.3 (24.3) | −0.1 (31.8) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −7 (19) | −7 (19) | −7 (19) | −4 (25) | 0 (32) | 2 (36) | 4 (39) | 4 (39) | 3 (37) | 0 (32) | −3 (27) | −6 (21) | −2 (29) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −11.4 (11.5) | −10.9 (12.4) | −10.5 (13.1) | −8.0 (17.6) | −3.0 (26.6) | 0.4 (32.7) | 2.8 (37.0) | 3.0 (37.4) | 1.3 (34.3) | −2.3 (27.9) | −6.0 (21.2) | −9.9 (14.2) | −4.5 (23.8) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 30 (1.2) | 33 (1.3) | 28 (1.1) | 21 (0.8) | 18 (0.7) | 23 (0.9) | 30 (1.2) | 36 (1.4) | 44 (1.7) | 44 (1.7) | 33 (1.3) | 31 (1.2) | 371 (14.5) |
Average precipitation days | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 96 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 87 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 88 | 90 | 92 | 91 | 89 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 88 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 0 | 6 | 57 | 105 | 116 | 105 | 79 | 70 | 42 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 595 |
Source 1: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/index.php?product=statistics&pagecontent=C00009 | |||||||||||||
Source 2: met-no/met.no/eklima |
Victor Summerhayes and Charles Elton visited Bear Island during the 1921 Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition [19] and the location formed the basis of their pioneering ecological study which produced one of the first food web diagrams. There is a little plant growth, consisting mostly of moss and some scurvy grass, but no trees.
The only indigenous land mammals are a few Arctic foxes. Despite its name, Bear Island is not a permanent residence of polar bears, although many arrive with the expanding pack ice in the winter. Occasionally, a bear will stay behind when the ice retreats in spring and remain through the summer months. [20] Moreover, the sub-population of Ursus maritimus polar bears found here is a genetically distinct set of polar bears associated with the Barents Sea region. [21]
Ringed seal and bearded seal, prey of the polar bear, live in the waters near Bjørnøya, but the formerly common walruses have nowadays become guests. Bear Island's freshwater lakes hosts a population of Arctic char. [22]
The only land bird of significant numbers on the island is the snow bunting which arrive in the early spring to breed. However, the island is rich in seabirds nesting on the southern cliffs. Other species visit the island during their seasonal migration between Svalbard's northern islands and mainland Europe. The only permanent resident appears to be the northern fulmar.
Bear island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International. It supports breeding populations of northern fulmars (50,000–60,000 pairs), purple sandpipers, red phalaropes (10 pairs), glaucous gulls (2000 pairs), black-legged kittiwakes (100,000 pairs), little auks (10,000–100,000 pairs), common guillemots (50,000 pairs), thick-billed guillemots (190,000 individuals) and black guillemots (1000 pairs).
It also supports migratory populations of pink-footed geese (30,000 individuals), barnacle geese and long-tailed ducks. [23]
Although there are currently no industrial activities on Bjørnøya or in its immediate vicinity, pollution by toxic and radioactive substances remains a threat to the island's virtually untouched nature. Exploration in the Barents sea and the recent development of the Snøhvit gas field off the northern coast of Norway shows that the ecologically sensitive polar and subpolar sea areas of the Norwegian and Barents Sea have come into the focus of the petrol and gas industry. [24] The environmental organisation Bellona has criticised [25] the Norwegian government for licensing these activities without sufficient studies of their ecological impact. Organic toxins, specifically PCBs, have been found in high concentrations in biological samples from Bear Island, especially in Arctic char of the freshwater lake Ellasjøen. [26] The Soviet nuclear submarine Komsomolets sank on 7 April 1989, some 135 nautical miles (250 km) southwest of Bear Island. [27] Leakage of radioactive material from the reactor and nuclear warheads currently poses a problem[ citation needed ], and severe pollution of the surrounding waters remains possible. [28] [ failed verification ]
Surfing has been documented in the movie Bjørnøya – følg drømmen. [29]
“The Last Bear”, a storybook by Hannah Gold, features Bear Island and Svalbard. The story depicts a girl named April who must, with her father, go to the Arctic to research for a duration of 6 months. During these 6 months, April secretly helps a wounded bear to escape the island to Svalbard.
Bear Island is a thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, originally published in 1971. The book is a murder mystery set on the island, tying into its World War II history. In 1979 it was adapted into a film bearing the same name, starring Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Widmark.
In Tom Clancy's second bestselling novel Red Storm Rising, Bear Island gets a brief mention as one of many locations where invading Soviet forces battle NATO defenders, in this case to more easily move naval forces into the Atlantic Ocean.
Jan Mayen is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is 55 km (34 mi) long (southwest-northeast) and 373 km2 (144 sq mi) in area, partly covered by glaciers. It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide isthmus. It lies 600 km (370 mi) northeast of Iceland, 500 km (310 mi) east of central Greenland, and 900 km (560 mi) northwest of Vesterålen, Norway.
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a submarine ridge running between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. To the north, the Jan Mayen Ridge separates it from the Greenland Sea.
Svalbard, previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed in size by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen on the west coast of Spitsbergen.
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean roughly centered on 78° north latitude and 20° east longitude. It constitutes the northernmost territory of the Kingdom of Norway. The three main islands in the group consist of Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. There are also a number of smaller islands, such as Barents Island (Barentsøya), Kvitøya, Prins Karls Forland, Kongsøya, Bear Island, Svenskøya, Wilhelm Island and other smaller islands or skerries.
Spitsbergen is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway in the Arctic Ocean.
Franz Josef Land is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of 16,134 square kilometers (6,229 sq mi), stretching 375 kilometers (233 mi) from east to west and 234 kilometers (145 mi) from north to south. The islands are categorized in three groups separated by the British Channel and the Austrian Strait. The central group is further divided into a northern and southern section by the Markham Sound. The largest island is Prince George Land, which measures 2,741 square kilometers (1,058 sq mi), followed by Wilczek Land, Graham Bell Island and Alexandra Land.
Barentsburg is the second-largest settlement in Svalbard, Norway, with about 455 inhabitants (2020). A coal mining town, the settlement was almost entirely made up of Russian and Ukrainian nationals. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most of the Ukrainian citizens were reported to have left.
The polar archipelago of Svalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by Pomors or Norsemen. Whaling for bowhead whales started in 1611, dominated by English and Dutch companies, though other countries participated. At that time there was no agreement about sovereignty. Whaling stations, the largest being Smeerenburg, were built during the 17th century, but gradually whaling decreased. Hunting was carried out from the 17th century by Pomors, but from the 19th century it became more dominated by Norwegians.
The Norwegian Polar Institute is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Ministry of Climate and Environment. The institute advises Norwegian authorities on matters concerning polar environmental management and is the official environmental management body for Norwegian activities in Antarctica.
Edgeøya, anglicised as Edge Island, is a Norwegian island located in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago; with an area of 5,073 square kilometres (1,960 sq mi), it is the third-largest island in this archipelago. An Arctic island, it forms part of the Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve, home to polar bears and reindeer. An ice field covers its eastern side. The island takes its name from Thomas Edge, an English merchant and whaler. It is seldom visited today and development of tourist facilities is forbidden by law because of its nature reserve status.
Hopen is an island in the southeastern part of the Svalbard archipelago (Norway). Hopen was discovered in 1596 by Jan Cornelisz Rijp during the third expedition by Willem Barentsz, trying to find the Northeast Passage. Later, in 1613, its name was given by Thomas Marmaduke of Hull, who named it after his former command, the Hopewell.
The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean, sometimes as part of the Atlantic Ocean. However, definitions of the Arctic Ocean and its seas tend to be imprecise or arbitrary. In general usage the term "Arctic Ocean" would exclude the Greenland Sea. In oceanographic studies the Greenland Sea is considered part of the Nordic Seas, along with the Norwegian Sea. The Nordic Seas are the main connection between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and, as such, could be of great significance in a possible shutdown of thermohaline circulation. In oceanography the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas are often referred to collectively as the "Arctic Mediterranean Sea", a marginal sea of the Atlantic.
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The climate of Svalbard is principally a result of its latitude, which is between 74° and 81° north. Climate is defined by the World Meteorological Organization as the average weather over a 30-year period. The North Atlantic Current moderates Svalbard's temperatures, particularly during winter, giving it up to 20 °C (36 °F) higher winter temperature than similar latitudes in continental Russia and Canada. This keeps the surrounding waters open and navigable most of the year. The interior fjord areas and valleys, sheltered by the mountains, have fewer temperature differences than the coast, with about 2 °C lower summer temperatures and 3 °C higher winter temperatures. On the south of the largest island, Spitsbergen, the temperature is slightly higher than further north and west. During winter, the temperature difference between south and north is typically 5 °C, and about 3 °C in summer. Bear Island (Bjørnøya) has average temperatures even higher than the rest of the archipelago.
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Svalbard is an Arctic, wilderness archipelago comprising the northernmost part of Norway. It is mostly uninhabited, with only about 3,000 people, yet covers an area of 61,020 square kilometres (23,560 sq mi).
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Tunheim is an abandoned coal mining village on Bear Island, Svalbard, Norway. It lies in the northeast of the Island, a few kilometers east of the Bjørnøya Radio Station, and directly adjacent to Kapp Bergersen. To its south is Miseryfjellet, the tallest mountain on Bear Island.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Publications of administrative and general interest are issued by the Governor of Svalbard . Maps, research reports, and scholarly works about Svalbard-related subjects are available from the Norwegian Polar Institute .
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