A new report about recent climatic changes in the Arctic has been published by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Click here for the report.
The behaviour of single glaciers cannot be used directly as an indicator for climate change, but the retreat of Monacobreen in Spitsbergen is impressive and no more or less dramatic than that of other glaciers. The island in the foreground was under the ice of the glacier that can be seen in the middle of the picture until no more than a few years ago.
The behaviour of single glaciers cannot be used directly as an indicator for climate change, but the retreat of Monacobreen in Spitsbergen is impressive and no more or less dramatic than that of other glaciers. The island in the foreground was under the ice of the glacier that can be seen in the middle of the picture until no more than a few years ago.
So far, there is no pass control for travellers from Norway to Longyearbyen (or vice versa). This will probably change, as Norway is part of the Schengen treaty, but Svalbard is not.
Airport Longyearbyen: soon with passport control
The public hearing process for the current proposal for new regulations for ship-based organized tourism in the nature reserves in Eastern Svalbard has been opened on October 10 (for some more details on the proposal, scroll down to April news or click here). The hearing will be going on until December 10. Should the current proposal come into force, then the flexibility of expedition ships in the areas in question (the complete eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago) would be significantly reduced. The proposal is controversial. The law will not be passed before the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) has issued a new white paper on Svalbard in spring 2009.
The issue was discussed during a conference of Expedition Leaders who work with ship-based tourism in Svalbard and other polar regions in Longyearbyen, October 07 and 08. The result is a letter to the Norwegian administration that addresses weaknesses of the current proposal and points out alternatives.
Hiking in Palanderbukta on Nordaustlandet -soon history?
“Clean up Svalbard”: tourists collecting garbage, partly dangerous to wildlife, from a remote beach in northeastern Svalbard. This will then also be history.
Source: Sysselmannen, AECO-Expedition Leader conference in Longyearbyen Oktober 06-08, 2008