Svalbard, where's that?

• Geographic coordinates: 78 00 N, 20 00 E

• Area: 62,049 sq km

Svalbard is a wondrous archipelago found within the Arctic Circle, less than 1000 km away from the North Pole. It is also Europe's northernmost territory.

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At such a high latitude, Svalbard experiences some of the earth's most extreme weather conditions including an annual average temperature of just 4°C. During the month of March and April though, temperatures can plummet down to -20°C (and more when you include wind chill factor!). It is, however, influenced by the extremity of the Gulf Stream, making it a unique ecosystem. From the 20th April, Svalbard is lit by 24 hours of daylight.

The terrain is treacherous: over two thirds of land is covered by ice and crevassed glaciers. The danger doesn't stop there as Svalbard is home to over 3000 hungry polar bears (outnumbering the human population).

Under the Svalbard Treaty, Svalbard is a demilitarized zone and special permission is required from the Sysselmannen (governor) to venture out in the environmentally sensitive wilderness (there are 7 National Parks).

The expedition

From the end of March 2006, I will be taking part in a 12 week expedition to Svalbard organised by BSES Expeditions. The team will consist of around 26 YEs (Young Explorers) and leaders, but we'll be split up into smaller groups ("Fires") whilst conducting scientific research on behalf of institutions (research will include geology, zoology and glaciology)

On arrival in Svalbard, research opportunities will be limited due to the harsh conditions; but will be the perfect occasion to learn crucial skills such as crevasse rescuing.

This website and its content has been created by Yann Rashid as a personal website for his expedition to Svalbard in 2006 and does not necessarily reflect the views and policies of BSES Expeditions.