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Station
Camp
Shelter
Laboratory
Station
Camp
Shelter
Laboratory

Background

IN1205

Villum Research Station (VRS)

Arctic

Open

Station

Greenland

Station

1990

Year-Round

Introduction

Villum Research Station (VRS) is owned by the Government of Greenland and operated by Aarhus University, Denmark.

VRS is located on Princess Ingeborgs Peninsula (c. 20 ×15 km2 lowland plain) at the military facility, Station Nord, in North Greenland (81°36’ N, 16°39 W). The station is situated within the National Park of North and Northeast Greenland, the largest national park in the World. The military station has an average elevation of 30 m a.s.l. with a gentle slope to the coast. A 2 km gravel/ice runway, which is kept open year round, is the only gateway to Station Nord. The station acts as a gateway to the northern part of the National Park of North and Northeast Greenland.

The station is situated in the High Arctic, and the surroundings are mainly Polar Desert. The area has continuous permafrost, and a continuous snow cover characterise the area for almost ten month per year. The mean annual temperature is c. -17 °C and the mean annual precipitation is c. 190 mm. Mean monthly temperature is -31 °C during the coldest month (February) and 3 °C during the warmest month (July). The Princess Ingeborgs Peninsula plain consists of Quaternary raised marine silt, beach shingle, and glacial deposits. The Quaternary deposits are underlain by rocks of Permian age. Station Nord is situated very close to the Polar Sea, and the sea-ice conditions in the area are generally severe with heavy sea-ice throughout the year. Consequently, ships cannot service Station Nord. Provide access to another Greenland with unique arctic ecosystems including species like ivory ant geese, whales, and muskox.

Station Nord was opened in 1952 as a Danish weather station and emergency runway, and it remained open until 1972, when it was closed and left unused, until the Danish military acquired it in 1975. The research activities at Station Nord have been ongoing since the 1970s with measurement activities being intensified since 1990. The research facilities were established by the Danish National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), which is now merged with Aarhus University. In 2014, the research facilities at Station Nord were substantially upgraded based on a major grant from the Danish private fund, Villum Foundation. VRS now consists of three buildings, including a main building with laboratories and accommodation facilities, an atmospheric/air observatory situated two km outside Station Nord, and a garage with storage facilities. The station can house 14 scientists at a time. The total area under roof is c. 600 m2.

Once the new station is fully operating, a database will be established for storage of all kind of scientific data. At present only atmospheric data are stored in a database maintained by Aarhus University. Meteorological and atmospheric chemical data are reported to EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme), and AMAP (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme) and will in the future also be reported to WMO-GAW (World Meteorological Organisation, Global Atmosphere Watch). A list of the parameters currently being measured at Station Nord can be found on envs.au.dk/en/research/facilities/villumresearchstation.

Station Nord is operated by the Danish military and is manned year round by five soldiers. The nearest Inuit community is situated more than 800 km away.

Traditionally, transport to Station Nord has been with the Danish Air Force Hercules C-130 aircrafts on space-available conditions. From 2015, Aarhus University will arrange weekly flights between Longyearbyen, Svalbard, and Station Nord.

Operator

Greenland Institute of Natural Resources

Government

Aarhus University

hsk@envs.au.dk

Data Source

Partner Institution

Yes

*

Location

IN1205

81° 36' 0'' N

16° 39' 0'' W

North America Arctic

30

0

100

746

746

2

746

Ice-shelf

Climate

Discontinuous

High Arctic

Snow

188

14

144

S

01/Jan/61 to 31/12/90

-16.9

-30.1

-30.9

-30.7

-22.7

-9.9

-0.4

3.4

2.1

-9.2

-19.7

-25.8

-28

22/Oct/70

-39

June; July

July; August

None

July; August

Features

Bird colonies; Clear air zone; Coast; Fjord; Hill; Ice cap or glacier; Ice shelf; Ice tongue; Lake; Low artificial light pollution; Low humidity; Melt streams; Moraine; Rivers; Sea; Sea ice; Shoreline; Snow; Other

Polar deserts/semi-deserts; Shrub tundra;Wetlands; Fladende Isblink.

Disciplines

Archaeology; Atmospheric chemistry and physics; Climatology; Climate change; Environmental sciences; Geocryology; Geodesy; Geology; Geomorphology; Geophysics and seismology; GIS; Glaciology; Hydrology; Isotopic chemistry; Limnology; Mapping; Marine biology; Microbiology; Oceanography; Paleoecology; Pollution; Sedimentology; Sociology; Social science; Terrestrial biology

Human Activities

No

None. There were indigenous settlements back in 17th century

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Infrastructure

IN1205

600

220

Biology; Chemistry; Geology; Geophysics; Other

Cleaner laboratory, Mobile laboratory, microbiological, Air measurement lab. (gasses and aerosols)

0

400

28

Yes

Yes

Fossil fuel

230

24

No

Staff Capacity

2

20

2

0

24

0

Scientific Equipment

5 laboratoires: Air measurements, clean room, microbio, chemistry and biology/geology lab, and workshop

Free access to climate, meteorological, and air pollution data and a mapping of biological mapping from ground based observations, air plane remote sensing and satellite images

Medical Facilities

No

0

0

746

1

1

0

746

VHF radio

First aid kits, defilibrator, various figher extinguishers

No

Yes

Vehicles

2 rubber boats

7 snow mobiles, 3 ATVs

Workshop facilities

ICTS (Staff available to assit with constructions)

electric,

Communications

Computer; E-mail; Internet; Printer; Satellite phone; Scanner; VHF

Access

IN1205

Air

Aircraft landing facilities

1

3000

100

Yes

Transport and freight

Airplane

None

0

20

January; February; March; April; July; August; November; December

Access To The Facility

Yes

Yes, fee for entering the national Park

Jørgen Skafte

secretariat@villumresearchstation.au.dk

Pictures

Villum St Nord Main building (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Measuring hut and towers (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Lab-space (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Accommodation (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Building (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Fishing (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Fuel storage (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Ice and sky (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Landscape (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Living room - spotting scope33-12 (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Living room (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Measuring tower (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)

Office space (Credits: Stephan Bernberg)