Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) WP5 – Logistic Plan: D5.5. Common supplies and maintenance routines proposition Lead contractor for D5.5: Institute of Oceanology PAS (IOPAS) Other contributing contractors: UNIS, IGFPAS, CNR, AARI, FMI, KOPRI, PGIA, RCN Lead authors: Waldemar Walczowski (IOPAS), Agnieszka Beszczyńska‐Möller (IOPAS) Contributing authors: Fred Skancke Hansen (UNIS), Włodzimierz Sielski (IGF PAS, Piotr Głowacki (IGF PAS) and Ragnhild Rønneberg (RCN) D5.5. Due date: January 2014 Page 1 of 18
Version 6 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 3 2. The current status .................................................................................... 4 A. Longyearbyen (LYR), 78° 14' N 15° 30' E..................................................4 B. Barentsburg 78° 03.9'N, 14° 13.5'E..........................................................5 C. Pyramiden 78° 39.3' N, 16° 20' E .............................................................5 D. Ny‐Ålesund 78° 55´ N, 11° 56´ E ..............................................................5 E. Sveagruva (Svea) 77°54 N 16°41 E...........................................................6 F. Polish Polar Station in Hornsund 70° 00´N, 15° 33´E ...............................7 3. Challenges and recommendations............................................................ 9 4. Maintenance of stations..........................................................................15 5. Conclusions .............................................................................................18 Page 2 of 18
1. Introduction The aim of the task 5.5 is optimization of instruments and platform maintenance. Logistics is the basis of all Arctic expeditions and investigations. In case of Svalbard, all goods and equipment have to be delivered from the mainland by vessels or planes. It limits possibilities and determines the way of logistic activities. In the following document some key logistics issues are reviewed. From the point of view of the SIOS community, the main products which are requested for any field work/expedition are: •
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Fuel Food Scientific equipment Camping equipment Health, safety and security equipment Transportation of people is also an important issue and might in many occasions pose a significant challenge, in particular in winter and spring seasons when the weather normally is harsh. The main challenges with delivery of goods from mainland are: •
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Long distance from Svalbard to mainland (Norway); Expensive and rare flight connections; Limited possibilities of sea freight; Deliveries by sea dependent on ice conditions; Many sites are not accessible throughout the year due to weather, ice, strong currents, etc. ‐ but also because some areas are protected and work on land is not permitted (e.g. East Svalbard region). On the Svalbard territory the main limitations for local logistics are: • Poor infrastructure of roads, connecting several communities (Longyearbyen, Ny‐
Ålesund, Svea, Hornsund, Barentsburg, Pyramiden); • Underdeveloped harbor infrastructure resulting in a long waiting time for the pier, thus limited possibilities to supply a ship (fuel, water); •
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No regular coastal traffic between the various sites/stations; Long distances between stations (settlements); Expensive local (helicopter) flights; Problems with transportation during winters (in warm winters fjords are not frozen what prohibits traffic on ice). Page 3 of 18
2. The current status Large stations There are three western Spitsbergen fjords where year‐round operating stations are: • Isfjorden; • Kongsfjorden; • Hornsund. Therefore, most activities and logistics should be concentrated around these centers. In case of addressing the logistics problems in a wider context, all human settlements should be taken into account. Facing an extremely low population and few settlements on Svalbard, even places without current scientific activities (like Svea and Pyramiden) may in the future help in terms of the expeditions or stations logistics. There are three settlements in Isfjorden: Longyearbyen, Barentsburg and Pyramiden. A. Longyearbyen (LYR), 78° 14' N 15° 30' E Longyearbyen as the Svalbard capital and administrative center is the place with the most developed traffic connections. The harbor and year‐round working airport provide a continuous communication with the mainland. Airport The Longyearbyen airport is the northernmost airport in the world with the public scheduled flights. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) operates the daily flights to Trømso and Oslo. Also Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (Norwegian) offers flights; directly Oslo‐Longyearbyen. Distance to the nearest international airport and harbor (Trømso) is about 1000 km with 1.5 flight hours. The air connections with two other airports on Svalbard (Ny‐Ålesund and Svea) are maintained as well – but not on a daily basis. The runway of Longyearbyen airport is 2,483 meters, equipped with instrumented landing system. Harbour The Port of Longyearbyen is the logistic point for cargo and cruise traffic to the different areas on Svalbard and the vessels traffic activity. There are three piers in Longyearbyen, the Bykai near the harbormaster, the closest to centre Gamlekaia and the old Kullkaia. • Bykaia (length 84 m, depth 9 m) is the public quay in Longyearbyen. This pier handles cruise traffic and general cargo. Bykaia provides access to electricity, water, fuel, shower and laundry. Ships up to 250 meters long can berth at Bykaia. • Gamlekaia (the old quay with the length of 48 m and the depth of 4.8 m) serves for general cargo ships, coastal ships and bunker supplies for small and medium sized vessels. • Kullkaia (coal quay) located near the airport is dedicated to the coal shipping. In generally these quays do not provide enough space for maintaining the traffic during the summer period. Additionally vessels with larger draft (especially icebreakers as Polarstern or Oden) cannot berth even along the deepest quay. The costs for berth at the quays need to be taken into consideration in developing improved logistic services from a SIOS‐perspective. Page 4 of 18
During May‐December there is one scheduled cargo ship calling LYR every week, while during the rest of the year only one cargo vessel per month visits LYR. More information about the LYR harbor and marine traffic can be found at: http://www.portlongyear.no/
Pole Position (http://www.pole‐position.no/gb/port‐agency.html) is the main logistic agency in Longyearbyen. With Svalbard Science Centre housing UNIS, NPI, Svalbard Museum and the SIOS Knowledge Centre that will be established, Longyearbyen is regarded as the natural centre where also logistics can be secured and provided to the various user groups, according to their specific demands. B. Barentsburg 78° 03.9'N, 14° 13.5'E Barentsburg is the Russian mining town in Grønfjorden (a part of Isfjorden). It is the second largest settlement on Svalbard with about 500 inhabitants (2007). Russia maintains a consulate in Barentsburg, the northernmost diplomatic mission of any kind in the world. Still Barentsburg has a Norwegian mail address and Norwegian phone numbers. The coal industry in Barentsburg is maintained by the Arcticugol, the Russian state‐owned coal company. The museum of Pomor culture and Arctic flora and fauna is also located in the town. Barentsburg providesvarious research activities, in particular geophysics, geology, archaeology, biology, and glaciology. The year‐round meteorological observatory and the northernmost cosmic rays station also operate in the town. From the logistics point of view Barentsburg is an interesting place as it is located 40 km from the Longyearbyen and only 20 km from the Isfjorden entrance. The travel by sea takes only 2‐3 hours. There is no land connection between the settlements in summer, but during wintertime they can be reached by snowmobiles. The travel takes about 2‐3 hours and can vary depending on weather conditions The Barentsburg can accommodate most vessels. Besides the main wharf, there is a smaller floating pier for sailboats and smaller vessels. A harbor fee is relatively low compared to Longyearbyen and Ny‐Ålesund. There is also the heliport for the Arcticugol needs. C. Pyramiden 78° 39.3' N, 16° 20' E Pyramiden is a Russian settlement located in Billenfjorden (a part of Isfjorden). The settlement once had a population of over 1,000 inhabitants but was abandoned in 1998 by its owner, the state‐owned Russian company Arctikugol Trust. In recent years the touristic activities have been started again in Pyramiden, and the settlement is currently being re‐
developed by the Russians to accommodate tourists. 5‐6 people are currently stationed there to upgrade the facilities, including the Tulipan hotel. At the moment there is a small hotel made of old shipping containers that can accommodate a small number of visitors (and is being used by UNIS during scientific courses in the area). D. Ny‐Ålesund 78° 55´ N, 11° 56´ E In Kongsfjorden the scientific activities are located in Ny‐Ålesund (78° 55´ N, 11° 56´ E), the world's northernmost functional public settlement located 107 km away from Longyearbyen. Page 5 of 18
Ny‐Ålesund is inhabited by a permanent population of approximately 30‐35 persons. All of them work for one of the research stations or the logistics and supply company Kings Bay AS, which supplies and runs the research village. In the summer the activity in Ny‐Ålesund is greatly increased with up to 120 researchers, technicians, and field assistants. At present, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, France, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and China all maintain research stations at Ny‐Ålesund, although not all are inhabited year‐
round. Ny‐Ålesund is a well‐organized research settlement, supplied and managed by the Kings Bay AS company (Norwegian state owned company). This commercial company owns the station facilities and rents them to several users, mainly scientific institutes from different countries. Additionally the Kings Bay AS provides a wide range of services including equipment rentals. The way of how provision of supplies and services is organized by the Kings Bay AS might serve as an example for the SIOS operational center in Longyearbyen. Airport in Ny‐Ålesund has the 868 meters long, 30 meters wide runway with the gravel surface. There are weekly flights year round from Longyearbyen for transport of scientists and other personnel with Dornier 228 aircrafts, operated by Lufttransport AS (current one way ticket price is 2600 NOK). Ny‐Ålesund harbor has two quays, one 42m long and 8m deep and second with a length of 73m and a depth of 8.5m. There are also floating piers for smaller boats in the harbor, providing space for 20‐25 boats. The harbor is ISPS certified. The power plant in Ny‐Ålesund operates 3 diesel power generators with a maximum output of 530 kW. There is also an electric and an oil boiler, which produces heat, with a combined effect of app. 1000 kW. The settlement has emergency power generators (stationary and mobile) that can keep the most vital parts of the society going should there be a breakdown in the power plant. Kings Bay AS has various technical workshops: for the electrician, the plumber, the carpenter and for the mechanic and other additional workshops. These workshops are not open for scientists, but provide the professional services. E. Sveagruva (Svea) 77°54 N 16°41 E Sveagruva (Svea) in Van Mijenfjord is the third largest settlement in Svalbard. Svea has no permanent inhabitants while around 300 workers living in Longyearbyen commute to Sveagruva for work on a daily or weekly basis. Sveagruva holds the most productive coal mine of Svalbard, the Svea Nord mine. Opened in 2001, the mine produces up to 4 million tons of coal annually, making it one of the largest underground coal mines in Europe. Svea has the airport, owned, operated and used by the mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani to transport personnel to Longyearbyen. Services are provided by the airline Lufttransport with a Dornier 228 seating 19. They fly about 25 times per week. There is no road connection between Longyearbyen and Svea, so all transport of personnel is done by plane. This has given rise to the creation of an extensive infrastructure, including canteen, accommodation units, airfield, roads, water supply, power plant and port facilities at Svea. Vessels traffic for goods to Svea is maintained as well, and they have the quay for shipment of coal (to Europe) during the period April‐November. Page 6 of 18
During wintertime Svea can be reached by 3‐4 hours snowmobile tour, and it is quite common to do so for scientific excursion/courses with students. F. Polish Polar Station in Hornsund 70° 00´N, 15° 33´E Hornsund has the smallest facilities with one settlement, Polish Polar Station, being the only working year‐round working station in the southern Spitsbergen. Therefore it plays an important role in the planned SIOS infrastructure. The Polish Polar Station in Hornsund is operated by Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. During the winter the station personnel consists of 10 people while during the summer season up to 40 persons (mostly scientists) work at the station and in the surrounding area. Additionally during the summer other minor field bases are maintained by smaller groups of scientists within a distance of 50 kilometers from the station. Most of these bases is supported by the Hornsund station. In recent years many international projects have used and use the Polish Polar Station for logistic support of their activities, which allows to predict a further growth of the Hornsund Polar Station in a future SIOS perspective. The station maintains the meteorological, geophysical and glaciological observatories, which have provided the long time series of relevant observations. In recent years the physical and biological oceanographic studies in Hornsund have become more intense, involving international partners and programs. Page 7 of 18
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3. Challenges and recommendations In a situation of permanent challenges with transportation and logistics, the most important issue is to provide an access to currently updated and detailed information about available logistics solutions and services. In the frame of SIOS the various channels of communication between partners and service providers about needs and possibilities should be established. To make logistics easier and more efficient, a close collaboration in ordering of equipment and services would be of a great advantage. The Knowledge Center (KC) should therefore play a central role to provide means for such activities. The recommendations for a best practice in logistics should be established under the frame of SIOS and service and information should be provided via SIOS KC. Different logistical tools should be developed with a special focus on on‐line services for planning and maintaining various types of field activities in terms of logistics. SIOSKC should maintain a joint forum for information on these issues to Svalbard inhabitants, researches and visitors. Various users with a need of information on available supplies and maintenance can be identified. The most important are: •
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Large, year‐round working stations; Small, seasonal stations; Seasonal camps; Land expeditions; Sea expeditions. Variety of end‐users and types of platform/fieldwork can in many occasions require tailor‐made logistics and for a full overview the schemes covering the general needs and the special needs in term of logistics have to be established (like a shopping list). LONGYEARBYEN The Knowledge Centre located in Longyearbyen should not only be a centre where scientific knowledge is provided but also the midpoint concentrating all SIOS activities (including the logistics) and providing information about laws/regulations, available facilities and services, freight possibilities, accommodations, etc. Thus the KC should work round the clock, at last during the highest scientific activity period from May to October as flights and cruises also arrive during the night. This approach should be pursuit step by step since working ‘round the clock’ options will strongly depend from agreements with SIOS partners able to provide personnel and services. A service desk at the KC should be available for visitors and remote users (by e‐mail, phone, Iridium, VHS radio). Computers and easy Internet access should be available for visitors (SIOS participants and others) and the standard routines of using facilities should be developed. A differentiation in costs and fees between SIOS members and non‐members should be considered. A wide scope of information about the real‐time updated status of available logistical services and infrastructure should be provided (via a dedicated website and on display at the Knowledge Center) including: Page 9 of 18
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Information about planes (arrivals, departures, available connections); Information about ships (arrivals, departures, available connections); Information about hotels/accommodation; A board with questions, advertisements for exchange of information; Information about expeditions for a certain time ahead (or even for completed ones); Information about the spare parts and equipment (sought, offered); Information about the needs for various scientific field trips/excursions/cruises. Such information will not only help to organize the expeditions but also improve the logistics coordination. This will also strengthen a development of Longyearbyen as a center of logistics for scientific field expeditions. To achieve this goal in the frame of the Knowledge Centre, SIOS should provide the storage space and technical workshops for expeditions and involved researchers. Different ways to operate SIOS facilities should be considered with different approaches taking into account the costs involved. Three kinds of storage facilities available in Longyearbyen should be considered: • Heated storehouses for sensitive/delicate/costly instruments; • Rubber tents and containers; • Open air fenced storage fields. Such facilities will require maintenance, which could be done by any of the following: • Facilities maintained by the SIOS‐KC employers; • Facilities maintained by or rented from the external providers (Pole Position, Kings Bay AS, Naviga); • Facilities directly maintained by users (SIOS partners) and made accessible for other SIOS partners. All pros and cons (incl. costs) of the various solutions for maintenance of the infrastructure should be carefully evaluated. Nevertheless, SIOS‐KC should be the centre providing information about the stored goods and organizing access to facilities. The modern database of information about storage by different users (computer labels, stick codes) should be developed and implemented. The maintenance of the storage facilities could be divided between SIOS, users and third parties (as Pole Position), but this solution needs to be evaluated in a more detailed way, taking into account costs involved and shared contributions. Because most of scientific activities, both on land and at sea, is concentrated during the summer season, the storage services are the most important for seasonal expeditions. Therefore the expedition organizers have already gained significant experience regarding seeking and using different storage possibilities. This experience should be utilized for planning and implementing the SIOS logistical infrastructure. Currently most of services are provided by Pole Position, but also the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) serves as a service provider for external projects. Exemplary storage costs • Container in the Pole Position: about 6000 NOK/year • Floor space in ‘Rubbhallen’ (NPI): about 1400 NOK/year Page 10 of 18
The catalogue of services provided by NPI is attached to the report. The prices should be carefully analyzed. Establishing of the own SIOS storage facilities and their maintenance of storage facilities might not be the optimal and most efficient solutions if other providers can provide similar services in a better, more effective way or at lower cost. However the report authors still consider that some part of the storage service should be provided by SIOS, in particular for activities carried by the SIOS partners and other scientific expeditions. The basic options that should be considered are: • Boxes in rubber tents (Rubbhallen); • Containers; • Separated (and secured/fenced) areas in open air places. Assigning separated space (boxes, containers) for several SIOS participants makes the storage administration easier but hampers efficiency and space utilization. The most effective (in terms of costs and space) way of storage seems to be provided by the storage tents, Rubbhalles (Fig. 2, Fig. 3) or similar constructions. SIOS should consider obtaining (renting) the parcel and for construction of the storage tent(s). Due to the fast growth of the city, finding a good location may pose a challenge. Therefore renting the existing hale(s) from the current owners (as NPI or Longyearbyen companies) can be the other option. Figure 1. Rubbhalles in Longyearbyen Page 11 of 18
Figure 2. Inside the Rubbhalle SIOS‐KC should also provide access to workshop/lab facilities. This sort of facilities already exists in Svalbard Science Centre, but they are not accessible for external users. The workshop area should be accessible for all SIOS partners, possibly also for other research groups collaborating with SIOS. Similarly to the storage facilities, various ways to operate the facilities should be considered. A workshop should be maintained by the professional SIOS employees (during the season of the highest activity only or year‐round) with professional equipment and facilities accessible for SIOS participants for own work, available workspace and possibility to rent the equipment/tools. However, this approach can to some extent be problematic regarding the safety issues, insurance or security of facilities. The central workshop should be managed under the umbrella of the Knowledge Centre and mechanisms of providing access for research groups should be established (including legal responsibilities). The Knowledge Centre should also provide opportunity of renting the field equipment. Camping equipment, rifles and communication equipment are available in the NPI offer (see the attached price list), but SIOS should also provide its own service, more directed towards the needs of SIOS partners and cost optimized. It should also include possibility of re‐using of equipment and cross‐rentals between SIOS partners and other research groups. COSTS It is not easy to evaluate the costs of the required facilities in terms of construction and equipment. However the rough estimations can be provided. The storage tents, Rubbhallen, are manufactured in Bergen, http://www.giertsenhall.com/en/produkter and their costs vary depending of type (manufacturer does not provide the final price). The costs of the maintenance of facilities are easier to explore. The Kings Bay AS in Kongsfjorden can serve as an example. They maintain large facilities and employ 11 people in the technical section. Page 12 of 18
The amount of employed persons is highly dependent on the planned facilities operation scheme, which can be 5 days per week with 8 hours versus full availability with 24/7 service. The first estimates suggest that 4‐6 persons working in the season and 3 people during the rest of the year should be enough for the standard logistics operations foreseen for the KC. Season: Information Centre (information, coordination, web page) 1 ‐2 persons Workshop (mechanic, electronics, equipment rentals) 1‐2 persons Storage/rental facilities manager 1 ‐2 persons Off season: Information Centre (information, coordination, web page) 1 person Workshop (mechanic, electronics, equipment rentals) 1 person Storage/rental facilities manager 1 person Most likely this order of personnel costs cannot be fully covered by the SIOS funds. Therefore some flexibility of the Knowledge Centre employees managing SIOS facilities will be an important issue since they should be able to work in different positions, depending on the current needs. 1‐2 persons are the minimum number of SIOS KC employees for taking care of the workshop and storage. Additionally, a bigger contribution of SIOS partners in terms of sharing costs or providing the necessary personnel is essential. Sharing/renting of storage space and workshops maintained by NPS and UNIS in Longyearbyen and by IGF PAS in Hornsund is vital. Also agreements with commercial agencies in Longyearbyen (Pole Position) and Ny‐Ålesund (Kings Bay AS) should be developed. HORNSUND A lack of a harbor or quay is the biggest challenge in Hornsund. Communication with visiting vessels is maintained by rubber boats. The supply vessels are offloaded with a use of amphibious vehicles. There is also a helicopter landing close to the base but no regular air or sea connection with the rest of Spitsbergen or mainland Norway is maintained. Despite these disadvantages the Hornsund station should be an important part of the maintenance plan. A local SIOS workshop, storage and rental facilities should be established here since the storage area and a workshop with year‐round available technicians are already available at the station. With the SIOS additional support for the facility growth, modernization and maintenance, the Polish Polar Station has a large potential to provide necessary services to scientists of different specialties for the fieldwork in the southern Svalbard and to become one of main logistical support points in the SIOS infrastructure. Some sort of a temporary pier should be constructed to operate during the summer season when the activities are the most intensive, taking into account some technical (sea ice, and icebergs) and ecological (a national park) challenges. A project for establishing a pier in the vicinity of the Hornsund station could be a part of the logistics development plan within SIOS. Page 13 of 18
KONGSFJORDEN In Kongsfjorden SIOS should not completely replicate the Kings Bay AS activities but may collaborate with the company and/or help to maintain the national stations working in Ny‐
Ålesund. More information and prices of different services provided by the Kings Bay AS are available on the company website: http://www.kingsbay.no/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=114
The current prices can also be found in the attachment. To be cost efficient for SIOS partners, the prices of services and rentals, if offered in future by SIOS (or/in collaboration with Kings Bay SA) should not exceed the costs of services provided by the Kings Bay SA. Page 14 of 18
4. Maintenance of stations A detailed plan, how to optimize the maintenance of stations and necessary repairs, should be elaborated on the basis of above description of the required SIOS facilities (information centre, storage, workshops, etc). Optimization plan should cover: •
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provision of information collaborative support exchange of spare parts collective ordering. In the frame of SIOS WP5, the logistics questionnaire has been developed and circulated among the SIOS participants and other potential parties to collect their inputs about logistics/facilities available and required. The questionnaire provided valuable information about the scientific stations, bases and commercial organizations and the Gap Analysis Report summarized most of the currently existing and planned research activities and their logistic and technical backgrounds. The collected data were analyzed in Task 5.5 leading to the following conclusions: (i) A better flow of information is necessary (in addition to the updated data base, this can be achieved through f. in. a dedicated webpage with announcements, advertisements, questions and answers, supported by the SIOS information center). •
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A central database collecting information about stations equipment and available facilities would be also necessary (Gap Analyses, WP5 questionnaire and SSF information can be used as the initial data source for this data base) even if keeping the data base updated poses a challenging task. The Knowledge Centre should develop mechanisms to encourage and facilitate the exchange of information between different research groups working on Svalbard by establishing the dedicated channels for information flow. (ii) In the case of stations’ maintenance, the collaborative support can be organized and developed in various ways. •
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To initiate this action we need better knowledge (not only in databases) about requirements of individual stations, contact persons, etc.; Annual meetings of Svalbard stations operators might be helpful to exchange information and analyze the possibilities of collaboration in terms of technical support (similar and complementary to activities of FARO); Page 15 of 18
(iii) Sharing the practical ‘know‐how’ between the personnel of different stations would be of an advantage and can be achieved by organizing short‐term visits (high rotation of technical staff might be a problem). (iv) Exchange of spare parts requires the information flow and transportation means but following issues are crucial: •
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Information about available/sought spare parts should be provided by the stations’ operators via the SIOS information centre; Transportation is limited by the distances between stations and problems with weather (especially during the winter); Other challenges include the specifications of needed spares. To exchange spare parts we need to use the same mechanical equipment (in case of the station maintenance) and instruments (in case of measurements). A general unification of the equipment is rather impossible. (v) Collective ordering •
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Common (central) ordering of spare parts and equipment (via Information Centre) is possible and should be implemented; A local facility aimed in receiving and storing the ordered and delivered equipment should be established to help with supplying the planned field activities in advance. For example a freight of lithium batteries to Svalbard is always problematic nowadays. A possibility to deliver them directly from manufacturer to Svalbard would be helpful; The important question is how to make common ordering for various institutions (problems can arise related to different rules concerning the required tenders, delivery and guarantee conditions, etc.). A possibility of joint purchases within the SIOS structure should be considered. This short list shows that two main challenges for optimizing the future SIOS infrastructure are INFORMATION and TRANSPORTATION. There is a need for establishing mechanisms for exchange of people and equipment between different stations and the SIOS Knowledge Centre location (Longyearbyen). Access to several stations (in particular those located in the southern Spitsbergen like the Polish Polar Station in Hornsund) is very difficult and expensive, especially in wintertime. Different solutions to establish a regular connection between the three main field research centers (Longyearbyen, Kongsfjorden, Hornsund) should be explored. To improve the communication with different stations, the SIOS development plan should consider one of following options: • Ownership of own transportation means (vessel, hovercraft); • An agreement with the Governor for securing the transport to main stations; • Agreements with commercial partners (ship operators) concerning the regular visits of commercial (cargo/tourist) ships to three main research bases (including Hornsund); Page 16 of 18
• Providing support for a small vessel (12‐14 m long motor boat) based in Hornsund with possibility to reach Longyearbyen under good weather conditions. Page 17 of 18
5. Conclusions The Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System main aim is to establish a collaborative and transparent research infrastructure for the sustained long‐term observing system of the ongoing and future environmental and climate changes in the Arctic. Extensive resources from various countries have been already devoted to the scientific fieldwork in Svalbard and the existing infrastructure is impressive. However, the experience gained during these research activities indicates that a better coordination, information flow and most of all logistical support for scientific expeditions is crucial and highly required. The central role of the SIOS KC in coordinating and supporting both long‐term field activities as well as seasonal campaigns should be underlined. Organisation and flexibility of the KC will decide about the future efficiency of SIOS efforts. According to the current experience of SIOS partners, availability of storage space, access to technical infrastructure and exchange of updated information are the most crucial issues to be addressed by the SIOS KC in its role as a provider of logistical support. The questionnaire collected by the WP5 and analyzed under the SIOS Task 5.4 provided a conclusion that there are sufficient resources of local means of transportation to satisfy the needs of the SIOS project participants for communication between Longyearbyen, Hornsund and Kongsfjorden. However, authors of this report claim that for more intensive and efficient use of existing infrastructure of the permanent stations, the possibilities of the local transport between the main field bases should be improved – and this will create added value to all users of the infrastructure. This report has been compiled as an attempt to review the current status of logistical needs in terms of supplies and maintenance but by no means can it cover the individual needs and requirements of all SIOS partners and other parties, involved in the scientific field operations on Svalbard. Therefore, the long‐term process of planning and implementing of the infrastructure and solutions for logistical support of SIOS research activities, should also include the continual and far‐ranging interactions with all end users. Other comments: The number of personnel to carry out the logistics tasks within the SIOS Knowledge Center proposed in the report is the target number for Logistic Services under the SIOS KC in the third, operational phase after 2020. In the construction phase in 2015‐2016, one person (as part of the 5‐person SIOS KC set‐up team) should be sufficient to fulfill the necessary basic logistical functions such as : 1. To collect and provide continuously updated logistical information 2. To assist in project planning (advising). 3. To identify logistical needs in SIOS projects. 4. To facilitate contact to existing services. 5. To participate in updating the SIOS web portal. Page 18 of 18