Oil exploration in Spitsbergen

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Nagy, Jenö
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1965
• Subjects: Arctic Basin; Barents Sea; Barentsøya; Bjørnøya; Edgeøya; Greenland; Greenland Sea; Nordaustlandet; Polar Record; Svalbard; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400059490; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400059490

Svalbard comprises the islands between longs 10 to 35° E and between lats 74 to 81° N. The largest of these islands is Vestpitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet, Edgeøya, Barentsøya and Bjørnøya. The archipelago lies in the northwestern part of the Barents-Kara shelf. To south and east the continental shelf is covered by the shallow waters of the Barents Sea, whilst to the north and west the shelf falls away rapidly into the Arctic Basin and the Greenland Sea.