Hornsund crew prepares for the polar night

The nine people wintering at the Polish polar station at Hornsund on Spitsbergen are preparing for months of darkness, the news agency PAP reported. The sun set there for the last time in 2026 on 29 October.

The station does year-round environmental monitoring and is the northernmost permanent Polish research base. Its 49th expedition, for 2026/2027, is wintering there.

Three first-time members, Dominika Hochmańska, Joanna Kalita and Anna Rudnik, told PAP that the typical polar night starts in mid-November. Until then, a few hours of twilight each day still let them go outside without torches. They prepare with vitamin D supplements, lamps that give off daylight and regular exercise, and the station has a gym.

Work changes too. Kalita, a hydrochemist, has fewer chances for field measurements on rivers and works in the laboratory. Hochmańska, an oceanographer, stops sailing from early November and assists Kalita. Rudnik works with the meteorological monitoring group, whose members take 24-hour duty shifts of observations.

The Institute of Geophysics, which runs the station, takes applications until 15 November for the 50th expedition, for the 2027/2028 season, for both the wintering and summer teams. Besides scientists, mechanics, maintenance workers and cooks are needed.

Coverage: Nauka w Polsce