Stations

Antarctic
Arctic

Station

Camp

Shelter

Laboratory

Station

Camp

Shelter

Laboratory

Background

Station code	SIOS2
Facility Name	Bear Island Meteorological Station
Website	http://bjornoya.org/
Location	Arctic
Current status of facility	Open
Type	Station
Operating country	Norway
INTERACT Status	None
First opened/Opening year	1947
Operational period	Year-Round

Introduction

Facility name and Operator	Bear Island (Bjørnøya) Meteorological Station operated by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Location	The stations is located in Herwighamna on the northern shore of Bear Island, which is part of the Svalbard archipelago and is around 250km south of Spitsbergen.
Biodiversity and natural environment	The island is characterised by high sea cliffs in the south, while the rest of the island is mostly flat tundra with many lakes. It is an important habitat for a great number of migratory birds.
History and Facilities	The first weather station on the island was established in 1918 by the Tromsø geophysical institute. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute took over responsibility for the station in 1932. It was moved to its current location in 1947. Historically the island was used for hunting and trapping of walrus, polar bears, seals, whales and birds. Coal mining was also attempted in the period 1916-1925. The station has a crew of 9 and can accommodate up to 3 visitors. It was workshop space, but no specialist labs.
General research and databases	Weather observations are made every hour. In addition, weather balloons are deployed 2 times a day in summer and 4 times a day in winter.
Human dimension	The station is isolated and there is no human population on the island other than the station crew. The nearest human settlement, Longyearbyen, is nearly 700km away.
Access	Bear Island may be accessed by boat or helicopter. Travel around the island is possible by boat and on foot.

Operator

Facility operator/manager	Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Type of entity	Government
Institution managing/operating the facility	Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Contact facility	bjornoya@met.no
Website (operator/manager)	https://www.met.no/en

Data Source

Name of contact person

seklima.met.no/observations/

Partner Institution

Partnership

No data

Location

Station code	SIOS2
Geographical coordinates - Latitude	74° 30' 14'' N
Geographical coordinates - Longitude	19° 0' 5'' E
Region	European Arctic
Altitude of facility (m)	18
Min. altitude within study area (m)	0
Max. altitude within study area (m)	535
Nearest town/settlement	Longyearbyen
Distance to nearest town/settlement (km)	700
Distance to nearest transport facility (airstrip/helipad/dock - km)	0.1
Distance to nearest station (km)	300
Type of surface facility built on	Other
Other type of surface	Permafrost

Climate

Permafrost	Continuous
Climate zone	High Arctic
Precipitation type	Snow and Rain
Total annual precipitation (mm)	371
Dominant wind direction	No data
Period of temperature measurements	1920
Mean annual temperature (°C)	-2.4
Mean temperature in January (°C)	-8.1
Mean temperature in February (°C)	-7.7
Mean temperature in March (°C)	-7.6
Mean temperature in April (°C)	-5.4
Mean temperature in May (°C)	-1.4
Mean temperature in June (°C)	1.8
Mean temperature in July (°C)	4.4
Mean temperature in August (°C)	4.4
Mean temperature in September (°C)	2.7
Mean temperature in October (°C)	-0.5
Mean temperature in November (°C)	-3.7
Mean temperature in December (°C)	-7.1

Features

Features in the facility area

Bird colonies; Coast; Fauna; Lake; Melt streams; Rivers; Sea; Snow; Tundra

Disciplines

Main science disciplines

Meteorology

Human Activities

Human activity	No
History of human presence in the area	History of science and hunting expeditions. Station manned since 1918.
Long term monitoring	Yes
Waste management	Yes
Hazard[ous] management	Yes
Fuel spill response capability	Yes

Infrastructure

Station code	SIOS2
Type of scientific laboratories	None
Number of beds	3
Showers	Yes
Laundry facilities	Yes
Power supply (type)	Fossil fuel

Staff Capacity

Number of staff on station (peak/summer season)	9
Number of staff on station (off peak/winter season)	9

Scientific Equipment

Long-term monitoring/observations

Weather

Medical Facilities

Medical facilities	No
Distance to hospital (km)	300
Compulsory safety equipment	Polar bear protection
Medical research capabilities	No

Vehicles

Workshop facilities

Wood workshop

Communications

Satellite phone; VHF

Access

Station code	SIOS2
Access	Air; Sea

Aircraft landing facilities

Helipad

Yes

Transport and freight

Transport to facility

Helicopter; Ship

Access To The Facility

Permits required for access to the facility	Permission to access is required from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
Permits required for studies	Various permits are required depending on the nature of the work
Contact person	Thomas Olsen
Email contact	thomas.olsen@met.no
Contact facility	met.no