Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (Norwegian Spitsbergen ) is an island belonging to Norway of the same archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, which has a total area of 39,044 km ². Its extension is about 380 km from north to south and about 220 km in the east-west direction. Traditionally, Svalbard ( Spitsbergen and ) also in Norway the name for the entire island group, until it was renamed in 1920 to the Svalbard Treaty in Svalbard. To distinguish the archipelago of the island of Spitsbergen was also the name of West Spitsbergen in use.
The highest elevation is the Newtontoppen with a height of 1,713 m.
Today and späteiszeitliche glaciation on the Dickson Country Peninsula
The peninsula Dickson country located in the center west of Spitsbergen (78 ° 27 ' 23.71 "N - 78 ° 40 ' N and 15 ° 7 ' 57.07 " E - 16 ° 2' 20:12 ' E) between the northern and north-eastern foothills of the Isfjord. The current glaciation consists of plateau glaciers with Auslasszungen. The glacier snow line (ELA ) was in 1976 at about 500 m altitude. Your orographic variations are dependent on the wind exposure. Dickson - country was during the late Pleistocene glacial thrust in the edge region of two local ice centers. A parent glaciation West Spitsbergen can be excluded for this period.
About the formation of a subglacial meltwater erosion Kerbtalsystems by the peak of the late Pleistocene glaciation on the period, about 17,500 (± 2000-1375 ) is dated years. Here a correlation nacheiszeitlicher glacier ends with radiocarbon - dated (C14) marine terraces is possible. Taking into account the isostatic land uplift a climatic glacier snow line was evaluated in 270 m height for a post-glacial stage about 10,400 years ago. A glacier stagnation about 9650 years ago coincides with a snowline altitude of about 320 m. The historical glacier variation around the year 1890 took place at a glacial snow line in about 420 meters, which corresponds to a snowline lowering of approximately 60 meters above sea level compared with 1976. In the warm period 7000-2000 years ago, the emergence of the still preserved strong periglacial landforms due to frost -patterned ground. This was due to the large thickness of the soil freeze-thaw cycles was due to the profound thawed permafrost. Such frost -patterned ground are getting smaller with increasing altitude due to the decreasing temperature because the sorting depth of the frost debris is lower.
Settlements
- Barentsburg ( Russian mining and tourism development )
- Grumant ( abandoned mining settlement )
- Longyearbyen ( capital )
- Ny -Ålesund ( research station )
- Ny- London ( left )
- Pyramids ( after 1998 exit )
- Smeerenburg ( on the offshore island of Amsterdam, after 1660 abandoned )
- Svea ( Mining Station)