Ghosts in the Ice

Gimalditoppen and July 24th Glacier

The July 14th Glacier is overlooked by Grimalditoppen, which was named by Duke Albert I of Monaco when he explored this fjord in 1906 and 1907. Many of Svalbard's glaciers have lost over 40% of their volume in just 100 years.

I want to eat you...

Icerberg Art

The Svalisvreen Glacier constantly calves icebergs into Brepollen, creating some of the largest ice-cliffs in Svalbard. Newly exposed is appears dark and transparent; as it is exposed to the air its surface cracks so that it appears white, and over time it gradually melts and erodes to produce the most beautiful shapes and textures.

Little Auks take to the sky

Polar bear hunting on sea-ice

Remains of a marble mine at New London

The remains of Ernest Mansfield's failed marble mine are gradually being reclaimed by Svalbard's arctic landscape. The mine machinery now provides a safe haven for nesting long-tailed ducks.

Whale bones from the 17th century

Although the landscape of Hornsund is wild and remote, it was well known to whalers who hunted in this area 400 years ago. British whalers ran several blubber cookeries at Gashamna in the early 1600s, leaving behind these piles of skulls and ribs on the beaches.