Are Longyearbyen and Svalbard facing an energy transition?

Top image: Longyearbyen and Svalbard are facing an energy transition. This is the background for the cooperation agreement between UNIS, Store Norske and SINTEF. Photo: Graham Gilbert/UNIS. Longyearbyen and Svalbard are facing a huge energy transition.

How has the Svalbard glacier mass balance changed over time?

Since the first estimates of Svalbard-wide glacier mass balance were made in the early 2000s, there has been great progress in remote sensing and modeling of mass balance, existing field records have been extended, field records at new locations have been added, and there has been considerable environmental change.

What are the development opportunities in Svalbard?

Svalbard has a range of development opportunities. Svalbard has a significant amount of coal and coal mining is the main economic activity on the islands, once employing over 300 people. A coal-fired power station in Svalbard meets the energy requirements of the island.

Does the Svalbard archipelago have a negative mass balance?

However, the main conclusion one can reach from the body of GRACE analyses is that all find a negative total mass balance for the Svalbard archipelago, with values ranging from −0.46 to −0.09 m w.e. a –1, or −15.5 to −3.0 Gt a –1 (Table 2), even if the error range for some of the estimates extends them into the positive territory.

Does Svalbard have a coal-fired power station?

A coal-fired power station in Svalbard meets the energy requirements of the island. Along with the need to fly frequently, it is one of the reasons why the carbon footprint of Svalbard residents is among the largest in Europe.

How much refreezing does Svalbard have?

For all of Svalbard glaciers, specific refreezing amounts to about 0.22 m w.e. a –1, i.e., corresponding to about 25% of the annual accumulation (Aas et al., 2016; Østby et al., 2017; Van Pelt et al., 2019).