Page 23 - An-introduction-to-Svalbard

SVALBARD NATURE

GEOLOGY

Anyone who is interested in geology will find Svalbard very exciting. The archipelago was
formed on the northeast coast of Greenland a long, long time ago, and has since moved via
continental drift to the other side of the equator where it turned and headed north. Just wait
another 50 million years, and Svalbard will probably be at the North Pole!
During much of their geological history the islands of Svalbard were under sea level and the
sedimentation has been going on almost continuously. Parts of western Svalbard folded around
the same time as the Norwegian-Swedish mountains formed about 400 million years ago. The
archipelago has been exposed to nearly all geological processes in the Earth’s crust and there
are also many fault lines in Svalbard. A great number of rock types are represented, as well as a
variety of fossil plant parts, shells, corals, fish and dinosaurs from different time periods.

GLACIERS AND PACK ICE

Svalbard is still in the ice age. Glaciers cover 60% of the land and the ice can be up to 600
metres thick. There are more than 2,100 glaciers in Svalbard. Some of the mightiest and
most well known include Monacobreen, Lilliehöökbreen and Bråsvellbreen. Austfonna on
Nordaustlandet in the northeast part of the archipelago is an ice cap that is one of the largest
in the World. Its ice front reaching into the sea is more than 130 kilometres long.
During winter the sea ice spreads across the Polar Basin, and eastern Svalbard becomes
part of the ice cover. The sea west of Spitsbergen remains largely ice-free under the influence
of the Gulf Stream, but all the smaller fjords are covered by solid ice. The northernmost parts
of the archipelago (Sjuøyane) and eastern parts (Storøya and Kvitøya/White Island) are usually
only accessible with an expedition ship in the latter part of summer. In recent decades, the
summer ice has decreased significantly in the Polar Basin.

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