Tundra degradation in the vicinity of the Polish Polar Station, Hornsund, Svalbard

Studies performed in the summers of 1979 and 1980 in the surroundings of the Polish Polar Station at Hornsund, Svalbard, aimed at determining the impact of the presence of a research station on its immediate tundra surroundings. The sources of environmental degradation were singled out; the ways of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Research
Main Author: Krzyszowska, Anna Jadwiga
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 1985
Subjects:
Online Access:https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2529
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v3i2.6956
Description
Summary:Studies performed in the summers of 1979 and 1980 in the surroundings of the Polish Polar Station at Hornsund, Svalbard, aimed at determining the impact of the presence of a research station on its immediate tundra surroundings. The sources of environmental degradation were singled out; the ways of expansion of various contaminants and the degree of their harmfulness to the environment were evaluated. This gave insight into the extent of tundra degradation in the vicinity of a polar research station. It was found that the heaviest impacts were caused by changes in the chemical composition of the soil, resulting from spills of petroleum-derived fuels, and by transport which damaged the surface of the tundra.