53 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Svalbard
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description: THe northernmost territory in the world
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layout: default
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icon: ac_unit
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---
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<div style="text-align: left; max-width: 700px; margin: auto" markdown="1">
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# Svalbard, Norway
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## Background
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* Northernmost territory in the world
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* 60% glaciers
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* 40% tundra
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* 5 main islands (largest is Spitzbergen)
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* Population of 2700
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* More snowmobiles than people
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## Opportunities
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* Coal mining
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* 300 jobs in coal mines
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* Backbone of economy
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* Energy devlopment
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* Located near Mid-Atlantic Ridge - thin & hot rocks
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* Potential for geothermal energy to replace polluting coal power station
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* Or replace water in power station with CO<sub>2</sub>
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* Fishing
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* Barents Sea (South of Svalbard) is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world
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* 150 species of fish - conservation is vital
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* Tourism
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* 70,000 people visited Longyearbyen in 2011
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* Port was expanded to cope with tourist numbers
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* 300 jobs in tourism
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* Northen lights, natural environment and adventures attract tourists
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## Challenges
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* Extreme temperatures
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* Sometimes below -30°C
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* But wear warm clothes
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* Construction
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* Permafrost has to be protected from melting before foundations can be dug
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* Difficult to build in the cold and the long dark periods - so most work is done in the summer
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* However, road maintenance is relatively easy
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* Services
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* Pipes and cables must be kept off the ground, to ensure they don't freeze
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* Accessibility
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* Limited transport
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* Islands can only be accessed by plane or ship
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* Only 50 km of roads in Longyearbyen
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* But there is an international airport
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* And snowmobiles can be used to travel around
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</div> |