NORCE aircraft images show big changes on Svalbard mountainside

NRK reported on 24 October that the research institute NORCE has put measuring equipment on one of the two Lufttransport aircraft on Svalbard, to map terrain and environment. Senior researcher Tom Rune Lauknes of NORCE described cameras and a navigation system under the aircraft.

Lauknes said NORCE works to detect the changes, not to establish their cause. He said it is well known that warmer climate and thawing permafrost affect stability on Svalbard. He said aerial photos give higher resolution than satellite images, and an aircraft can fly when needed to gather new data quickly. The images are not part of a separate research project, he said. The data are open and will be made available to other researchers, and the important thing now is to show that this capacity exists on Svalbard. Senior researcher Ketil Isaksen of Meteorologisk institutt (the Norwegian Meteorological Institute) said high-resolution images from the air give new insight into how extensive the thaw is.

NRK said Lufttransport celebrated 50 years of continuous presence on Svalbard in the week before its report. The two Dornier aircraft are based in Longyearbyen and operated permanently from there. Chief executive Erlend Olsen said the Dornier flies low and can be fitted with such technology. He said the aircraft will be used more as technology develops.

NRK said NORCE and Lufttransport have cooperated since 2019, and NORCE has chartered the airline several times in recent years for research projects.

Coverage: NRK