List of research stations in the Arctic

A number of governments maintain permanent research stations in the Arctic. Also known as Arctic bases, polar stations or ice stations, these bases are widely distributed across the northern Polar region of the earth.

Location of some of the major research stations in the Arctic

Historically few research stations have been permanent. Most of them were temporary, being abandoned after the completion of the project or owing to lack of funding to continue the research. Some of these facilities are constructed on land or on ice that rests on land, while others are drifting ice stations built on the sea ice of the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean.[1]

Research stations

Station name	Location	Country	Year opened	Year closed
Abisko Scientific Research Station	Abisko	Sweden	1903	Active
Adam Mickiewicz University Polar Station	Petuniabukta, Svalbard, Norway	Poland	2011	Active
Alomar Observatory[2]	Andøya Space Center, Andøya, Svalbard	Norway	1994	Active
Arctic Yellow River Station	Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway	China	2003	Active
AWIPEV Arctic Research Station	Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway	France  Germany	2003	Active
Barrow Observatory[3]	Point Barrow, Alaska	United States	1973	Active
Begichev Polar Station	Maly Begichev Island, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Polar Station[4]	Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island. Yakutia	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Brønlundhus	Peary Land, Greenland	Denmark	1947	Transformed into a museum
Buor-Khaya Polar Station[5]	Buor-Khaya Gulf, Yakutia	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Canadian High Arctic Research Station[6] (CHARS) campus	Cambridge Bay, Nunavut	Canada	TBA	Active
Centrumsø Research Station	Centrum Lake, Greenland	Denmark	1954	Abandoned
Chelyuskin Polar Station[7]	Cape Chelyuskin, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	1932	Active
Chetyrokhstolbovoy Polar Station[8]	Medvezhyi Islands, Yakutia	Soviet Union  Russia	1933	Active
Churchill Northern Studies Centre[9] (CNSC)	Churchill, Manitoba	Canada	1976	Active
Daneborg	Wollaston Foreland, Greenland	Denmark	1944	NA
Danmarkshavn	Dove Bay, Greenland	Denmark	1906	Active
Dirigibile Italia Arctic Station	Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway	Italy	1997	Active
Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory	Alert, Nunavut	Canada	1986	Active
Dye 3	Four different locations in southern Greenland	United States	1971	1991
Ernst Krenkel Observatory	Heiss Island, Arkhangelsk Oblast	Soviet Union	1956	1980
Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station	Devon Island, Nunavut	Canada	2001	Active
Golomyanniy Island Polar Station[10][11]	Sredniy Island, off Severnaya Zemlya	Soviet Union  Russia	1954	NA
Heiberg Polar Station[12]	Heiberg Islands, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	1940	1995
Himadri[13]	Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway	India	2008	Active
Igloolik Research Centre[14]	Igloolik, Nunavut	Canada	1975	Active
IndARC[15]	Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Norway	India	2014	Active
International Biological Station Lena-Nordenskiöld[16]	Tiksi, Yakutia	Russia	1995	Active
Iqaluit Research Centre[17][18]	Iqaluit, Nunavut	Canada	1978	Active
Isachsen Station	Ellef Ringnes Island, Nunavut	Canada	1948	1978
Izluchin Polar Station	Komsomolets Island, Severnaya Zemlya, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Kevo Research Station[19]	Kevo	Finland	1958	Active
Kap Harald Moltke	Peary Land, Greenland	Denmark	1972	NA
Kigilyakh Research Station[20]	Kigilyakh Peninsula, Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, New Siberian Islands	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	NA
Kilpisjärvi Biological Station[21][22]	Kilpisjärvi	Finland	1964	Active
Kiruna Observatory	Kiruna	Sweden	NA	NA
Kluane Lake Research Station[23]	Kluane Lake, Yukon	Canada	1961	Active
Koldewey Station (de)	Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway	Germany	1991	Active, part of APIWEV station
Kolyuchin Polar Station	Kolyuchin Island, Chukotka	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned in the 1990s
Labytnangi Ecological Research Station[24]	Labytnangi, Yamalo-Nenets	Soviet Union  Russia	1954	Active
Lavrentiya Research Station	Lavrentiya, Chukotka	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	NA
McGill Arctic Research Station[25]	Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut	Canada	1960	Active
Mestersvig	Scoresby Land, Greenland	Denmark	1956	Active
Mývatn Research Station	Mývatn	Iceland	1975	Active
NEEM Camp	Northern Greenland ice sheet, Greenland	Denmark	2008	2015
Netherlands Arctic Station, Univ Groningen[26]	Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway	Netherlands	1995	active
Nicolaus Copernicus University Polar Station	Kaffiøyra, Svalbard, Norway	Poland	1975	Active
Station Nord	Princess Ingeborg Peninsula, Greenland	Denmark	1952	Active
North Ice	Northern Greenland ice sheet, Greenland	United Kingdom	1952	1954
Northeast Science Station[27]	Chersky, Yakutia	Soviet Union  Russia	1977	Active
Ny-Ålesund[28]	Spitsbergen, Svalbard	Norway	1967	Active
Peschanny Polar Station	Cape Unslicht, Bolshevik Island, Severnaya Zemlya	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory[29][30] (PEARL)	Eureka, Nunavut	Canada	1993	Active
Polish Polar Station	Hornsund, Svalbard, Norway	Poland	1957	Active
Popov Polar Station[31]	Bely Island, Yamalo-Nenets	Soviet Union  Russia	November 1, 1933	March 2001
Preobrazheniya Polar Station	Preobrazheniya Island, Yakutia	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Prima Polar Station[32]	Cape Baranov, Bolshevik Island, Severnaya Zemlya	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Active
Provideniya Research Station	Provideniya, Chukotka	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	NA
Resolute Nunavut Station[33]	Resolute, Nunavut	Canada	1947	NA
Russky Island Arctic Station[34]	Russky Island, Nordenskiöld Archipelago, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	1935	1999
Samoylov Station[35]	Lena Delta Wildlife Reserve, Yakutia	Russia	1998	Active
Samuila Polar Station	Samuila Island, Komsomolskaya Pravda Islands, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Sermilik Station	Ammassalik Island, Greenland	Denmark	1970	Active
Sodankylä Arctic Research Centre[36]	Sodankylä	Finland	NA	NA
Solnechny Polar Station[37]	Solnechny Bay, Bolshevik Island, Severnaya Zemlya	Soviet Union  Russia	1952	Abandoned
Stanisław Baranowski Spitsbergen Polar Station	Werenskioldbreen, Svalbard, Norway	Poland	1971	Active
Stolbovoy Meteorological Station[38]	Stolbovoy Island, Yakutia	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	Abandoned
Summit Station	Near summit of the Greenland ice sheet, Greenland	United States	April 1989	Active
Thule Research Station[39]	Pituffik, Greenland	Denmark	1995	Active
Toolik Field Station[40]	Toolik Lake, Alaska	United States	1975	Active
Troynoy Island Polar Station[41]	Izvestiy TSIK Islands, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	1953	Active
Tuktoyaktuk Station[42]	Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories	Canada	NA	1997
Tundra Ecosystem Research Station[43][44] (TERS)	Daring Lake, Northwest Territories	Canada	1994	Active
Tyrtov Island Polar Station	Tyrtov Island, Nordenskiöld Archipelago, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union	1940	1975
Uedineniya Polar Station	Uyedineniya Island, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	1996
University of Copenhagen Arctic Station	Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland	Denmark	1906	Active
Ushakov Island Polar Station	Ushakov Island, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union	1954	1980s
Vavilov Meteorological Station[45]	October Revolution Island, Severnaya Zemlya	Soviet Union	1974	1988
Vize Island Arctic Research Station	Vize Island, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	November 1, 1945	NA
Ward Hunt Island Observatory Research Station[46]	Ward Hunt Island, Nunavut	Canada	1957	Active
Western Arctic Research Centre[47]	Inuvik, Northwest Territories	Canada[48]	1964	Active
Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik Research Complex[49]	Whapmagoostui, Quebec	Canada	1971	Active
White Sea Biological Station[50] (WSBS MSU)	Chupa, Republic of Karelia	Soviet Union  Russia	1938	Active
Willem Barents Biological Station[51]	Meduza Bay, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	NA
Wrangel Island Cape Blossom Station[52]	Cape Blossom, Wrangel Island, Chukotka	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	NA
Wrangel Island Ushakovskoye Station[53]	Ushakovskoye, Wrangel Island, Chukotka	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	NA
Yenisei Ecological Station[54]	Mirnoye, Turukhansky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai	Soviet Union  Russia	NA	NA
Villum Research Station[55]	Station Nord, North Greenland	Denmark	1990	Active
Zackenberg Station	Wollaston Foreland, Greenland	Denmark	1997	Active
Zeppelin	Zeppelinfjellet, Svalbard	Norway	1990	Active

Drifting ice stations

Station name	Head of the first shift	Drift dates		Drift coordinates		Distance (km)
		Began	Ended	Start	Finish
North Pole-1	I.D.Papanin	May 21, 1937	February 19, 1938	89°25′N 78°40′W	70°40′N 19°16′W	2,850
North Pole-2	M.M.Somov	April 2, 1950	April 11, 1951	76°03′N 166°36′W	81°44′N 163°48′W	2,600
North Pole-3	A.F.Trioshnikov	April 4, 1954	April 20, 1955	85°58′N 175°00′W	86°00′N 24°00′W	1,865
North Pole-4	E.I.Tolstikov	April 8, 1954	April 19, 1957	75°48′N 178°25′W	85°52′N 00°00′W	6,970
North Pole-5	N.A.Volkov	April 21, 1955	October 8, 1956	82°10′N 156°51′E	84°18′N 63°20′E	3,630
North Pole-6	K.A.Sychev	April 19, 1956	September 14, 1959	74°24′N 177°04′W	82°06′N 03°56′E	8,650
North Pole-7	V.A.Vedernikov	April 23, 1957	April 11, 1959	82°06′N 164°11′W	85°14′N 33°03′W	3,520
North Pole-8	V.M.Rogachyov	April 27, 1959	March 19, 1962	76°11′N 164°24′W	83°15′N 132°30′W	6,090
North Pole-9	V.A.Shamontyev	April 26, 1960	March 28, 1961	77°23′N 163°00′E	86°36′N 76°00′W	2,660
North Pole-10	N.A.Kornilov	October 17, 1961	April 29, 1964	75°27′N 177°10′E	88°32′N 90°30′E	3,960
North Pole-11	N.N.Bryazgin	April 16, 1962	April 20, 1963	77°10′N 165°58′W	81°10′N 139°34′W	2,400
North Pole-12	L.N.Belyakov	April 30, 1963	April 25, 1965	76°50′N 165°34′W	81°06′N 145°47′W	1,595
North Pole-13	A.Ya. Buzuyev	April 22, 1964	April 20, 1967	73°55′N 161°19′W	87°55′N 03°32′E	3,545
North Pole-14	Yu. B.Konstantinov	May 1, 1965	February 12, 1966	72°42′N 175°25′W	76°59′N 154°49′E	1,040
North Pole-15	V.V.Panov	April 15, 1966	March 25, 1968	78°49′N 168°08′E	85°45′N 10°30′W	2,330
North Pole-16	Yu. B.Konstantinov	April 10, 1968	March 22, 1972	75°31′N 172°00′W	86°00′N 85°27′W	5,850
North Pole-17	N.I.Blinov	April 18, 1968	October 16, 1969	80°30′N 165°26′E	86°48′N 25°20′E	1,750
North Pole-18	N.N.Ovchinnikov	October 9, 1969	October 24, 1971	75°10′N 165°02′W	86°06′N 153°51′E	5,240
North Pole-19	A.N.Chilingarov	November 7, 1969	April 16, 1973	74°54′N 160°13′E	83°08′N 16°17′E	6,705
North Pole-20	Yu. P.Tikhonov	April 22, 1970	May 17, 1972	75°56′N 175°22′E	81°44′N 166°47′W	3,780
North Pole-21	G.I.Kizino	April 30, 1972	May 17, 1974	74°06′N 178°15′E	86°16′N 143°35′E	3,605
North Pole-22	V.G.Moroz	September 13, 1973	April 8, 1982	76°16′N 168°31′W	86°10′N 00°00′W	17,069
North Pole-23	V.M.Piguzov	December 5, 1975	November 1, 1978	73°51′N 178°25′W	87°40′N 22°31′W	5,786
North Pole-24	I.K.Popov	June 23, 1978	November 19, 1980	76°45′N 163°00′E	86°03′N 29°40′E	5,652
North Pole-25	V.S.Sidorov	May 16, 1981	April 20, 1984	75°01′N 168°35′E	85°50′N 122°15′W	5,754
North Pole-26	V.S.Sidorov	May 21, 1983	April 9, 1986	78°30′N 174°46′E	82°46′N 170°31′W	5,380
North Pole-27	Yu. P.Tikhonov	June 2, 1984	May 20, 1987	78°31′N 160°30′E	86°28′N 09°02′W	5,655
North Pole-28	A.F.Chernyshov	May 21, 1986	January 23, 1989	80°40′N 168°29′E	79°40′N 03°09′E	7,634
North Pole-29	V.V.Lukin	June 10, 1987	August 19, 1988	80°22.8′N 112°59′E	84°42.8′N 56°34.3′W	2,686
North Pole-30	V.M.Piguzov	October 9, 1987	April 4, 1991	74°18′N 171°24′W	82°31′N 126°26′W	7,675
North Pole-31	V.S.Sidorov	October 22, 1988	July 25, 1991	76°35′N 153°10′W	73°33′N 161°04′W	5,475
North Pole-32	V.S.Koshelev	April 25, 2003	March 6, 2004	87°52.5′N 148°03′E	84°41′N 03°33′W	2,418
North Pole-33	A.A.Vishnevsky	September 9, 2004	October 5, 2005	85°05′N 156°31′E	86°14′N 95°54′E	3,156
North Pole-34	T.V.Petrovsky	September 19, 2005	May 25, 2006	85°39′N 115°19′E	87°26′N 07°39′E	2,032
North Pole-35	Vladimir Chupun[56]	September 21, 2007	July 22, 2008	81°30′N 103°54′E	81°00′N 31°18′E	3,614
North Pole-36	Yuri Katrayev	September 7, 2008	August 24, 2009	82°32′N 144°56′E	85°53′N 26°41′W	2,905
North Pole-37	Sergey Lesenkov	September 7, 2009	May 31, 2010	81°28′N 164°35′W	80°04′N 140°40′W	2,076
North Pole-38	Tomash Petrovskiy	October 14, 2010	September 20, 2011	76°07′N 176°32′W	83°53′N 154°18′W	3,024
North Pole-39	Alexander Ipatov	October 2, 2011	September 15, 2012	84°10′N 148°49′W	83°57′N 96°44′W	1,885
North Pole-40	Nikolai Fomichev	October 1, 2012	June 7, 2013	85°21′N 142°53′W	82°25′N 130°25′W	1,736
North Pole-2015	Dmitrij Mamadaliev	April 11, 2015	August 9, 2015	89°34′N 17°08′W	86°15′N 07°52′W	714
Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC Expedition)	Markus Rex	September 27, 2019	August or September, 2020	NA	NA	NA

• Fletcher's Ice Island, US (1952 - 1978)

In fiction

• Ice Station Zebra (novel), by Alistair MacLean
  • Ice Station Zebra (1968 film)
  • Ice Station Zebra a songon Boarding House Reach
• Ice Station, by Matthew Reilly
• Ice Station -- Impossible!, an episode of The Venture Bros.
• Ice Station Santa, an episode of Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space

Gallery

• 
  View of the Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory, Alert, Nunavut, Canada
• 
  View of the Polish Polar Station, Hornsund.
• 
  View of the Arctic research station on Vize Island.
• 
  View of the Igloolik Research Centre, Igloolik, Igloolik Island, Nunavut, Canada.

See also

• List of Arctic research programs
• Research stations in Antarctica
• List of northernmost settlements
• Winter-over syndrome
• Barneo, one-month tourist ice camp annual since 2002

References

1. "North Pole drifting stations (1930s-1980s)". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
2. Alomar Observatory
3. Barrow Observatory - NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory
4. Soviets gather geographic data in Arctic - CIA
5. Deserted Buor-Khaya Polar Station
6. Welcome to the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Campus
7. On northernmost tip of Eurasian mainland, a showoff of Northern Fleet capacity; Navy vessels put ashore a group of Arctic soldiers at Cape Chelyuskin, 77° North, by Atle Staalesen, The Barents Observer
8. История полярных арктических станций с 30-х годов XX века (History of polar arctic stations from the 1930s in the XX century)
9. Churchill Northern Studies Centre
10. Golomyanniy Station in Severnaya Zemlya
11. Книга: Два года на северной земле
12. "ДИКСОН — СНЕЖНОЙ АРКТИКИ СТОЛИЦА. К 90-ЛЕТИЮ НАЧАЛА НАБЛЮДЕНИЙ НА о. ДИКСОН". Archived from the original on November 21, 2011.
13. Stensdal, Iselin (2013). "Asian Arctic Research 2005-2012" (PDF). Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 3, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
14. Igloolik Research Centre, Igloolik, Igloolik Island, NU
15. India Deploys its First Sub-Surface Ocean Moored Observatory in the Arctic
16. International Biological Station (IBS) “Lena-Nordenskiold”, Lena River Delta
17. Iqaluit Research Centre
18. Iqaluit Research Centre, Nunavut Arctic College (Nunavut Research Institute)
19. "Kevo Research Station - Turun yliopisto". Archived from the original on 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
20. "Kigilyakh". Mapcarta. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
21. Kilpisjärvi Biological Station
22. University of Helsinki - Kilpisjärvi Biological Station
23. Kluane Lake Research Station
24. Labytnangi Ecological Research Station
25. McGill Arctic Research Station (MARS)
27. BBC news report
28. UK Arctic Research Station
29. Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory
30. Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, PEARL
31. Popov Polar Station
32. Фотогалерея: 2004 - "Полярное Кольцо" - Местонахождение: 17 мая, Северная Земля, о.Большевик, м.Баранова, п/ст Примах
33. Nuclear Explosion Monitoring (NEM)
34. F. Romanenko, O. Shilovtseva. Russian-Soviet polar stations and their role in the Arctic Seas exploration. Moscow State University, Geography Department, 1998
35. Samoylov Station
36. FMI ARC
37. "Polyarnaya Stantsiya Solnechnaya". Mapcarta. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
38. Северный морской путь оснащается современными приборами навигации
39. Thule Research Station
40. Toolik Field Station
41. Luhn, Alec; Hunt, Elle (14 September 2016). "Besieged Russian Scientists Drive Away Polar Bears". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
42. Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.
43. Tundra Ecosystem Research Station
44. "Tundra Ecosystem Research Station (TERS)". Archived from the original on 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
45. Bassford, Robin; Siegert, Martin; Dowdeswell, Julian; Oerlemans, Johannes; Glazovsky, Andrey; Macheret, Yuri (February 2006). "Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap". Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. university of Colorado. 38 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2006)038[0001:QTMBOI]2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
46. Ward Hunt Island Observatory Research Station; Centre d’études nordiques (CEN)/ Centre for Northern Studies
47. Western Arctic Research Centre
48. "Western Arctic Research Centre (WARC)". Archived from the original on 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
49. CEN Whapmagoostui-Kuujuarapik Research Station
50. White Sea Biological Station (WSBS MSU)
51. Willem Barents Biological Station
52. State Nature Reserve “Wrangel Island
53. "Ministry of Natural Resources of the russian Federation – History of Wrangel Island". Archived from the original on 2005-02-27. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
54. Enisei Ecological Station “Mirnoe”
55. <www.villumresearchstation.dk><Goodsite, M. Skov, H. Asmund, G. Bennike, O. Feilberg, A. Glasius, M. Gross, A. Hermanson, M.H. (2014) Pilot Study of Contaminants near Station Nord, a Military Airbase and Research Station in NE Greenland. NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Sustainable Cities and Military Installations: Climate Change Impact on Energy and Environmental Security. Conference paper 177-98. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7161-1_10.>
56. Скалина, Ирина (10 July 2008). "Опасный дрейф; Полярников эвакуируют на судне "Михаил Сомов"" (web). Российская газета. Retrieved 2008-07-12.(Russian/English)Skalina, Irina (July 10, 2008). "A dangerous drift; Polarnik evacuated on the ship "Mikhail Somov"" (web). Google Translation. Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 2008-07-12.

External links

• Media related to Scientific stations in the Arctic at Wikimedia Commons
• A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution
• Centre d'études nordiques (CEN)
• Russian Arctic Weather Stations - Julie Stephenson