Kangerlussuaq

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Kangerlussuaq
Residential area in Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq Location within Greenland
Coordinates: 67°00′38″N 50°42′33″W / 67.01056°N 50.70917°W / 67.01056; -50.70917
Country	Kingdom of Denmark
Province	Greenland
Municipality	Qeqqata
Founded	1941
Population (2005)
- Total	522
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)

For the United States Air Force Base (1941-1992), see Sondrestrom Air Base

Kangerlussuaq (Danish: Søndre Strømfjord) is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality, located at the head of a fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub, being the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport.

Kangerlussuaq is the Greenlandic word for 'Big Fjord'. Kangerlussuaq was also known as Bluie West Eight and Sondrestrom Air Base during its time as an American military base. The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse land-based wildlife (such as muskoxen, caribou and gyrfalcons). The combination of these two factors has made Kangerlussauq a significant tourist centre for most of the year. The settlement's economy and population of over 500 is now almost completely reliant on the airport and tourist industry.

[edit] Geography

Quicksands at the estuary of Qinnguata Kuussua, emptying into Kangerlussuaq fjord.

Kangerlussuaq settlement occupies an alluvial flatland on the far end of the 185 km long Kangerlussuaq fjord, straddling both sides of the Qinnguata Kuussua river estuary. West of Kangerlussuaq there is a confluence of Qinnguata Kuussua and Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua, the two major regional rivers. The valley of the latter forms large quicksand plains. Both rivers take their source in the Russell Glacier. The edge of the glacier is easily accessible, and is a major tourist attraction in Kangerlussuaq, as is the ice sheet edge in the Isunngua highlands, to the northeast of Russell Glacier.

Highlands with numerous flat ridges oriented east-west bound Kangerlussuaq from the north and the south. To the south-east, behind lake Tasersuatsiaq providing fresh water for the town^[1] is the vast highland of Ammalortup Nunaa, the original region artificially populated with 27 muskoxen^[2]. The climate in Kangerlussuaq is polar continental, with the area receiving very little rainfall^[3].

[edit] History

Kangerlussuaq, originally known as Bluie West Eight was founded on 7 October 1941, at the east end of Kangerlussuaq fjord, under the supervision of Colonel Bernt Balchen of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). While Inuit hunters certainly visited Kangerlussuaq there appears never to have been an Inuit settlement there.

Following the fall of Denmark to Germany in World War II, US forces invaded Greenland, building several bases in Greenland, the largest of which were Bluie West One in Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland and Bluie West Eight, at the Kangerlussuaq fjord.

The base briefly came under Danish control in 1950, but following mounting concerns about the Cold War threat, a new agreement saw the United States reopen Bluie West Eight up under the name of Sondrestrom Air Base on 27 April 1951.

It served as one of the Distant Early Warning Line bases and a supply station for similar early warning facilities. Following the fall of the Soviet Union the usefulness of the base was greatly diminished and the last U.S. Air Force personnel left the base on 30 September 1992. The base subsequently came under Greenlandic Home Rule control and was given its first Greenlandic name, Kangerlussuaq. This site and Bluie West One in Narsarsuaq remain Greenland's best-equipped airports. Almost all of the permanent structures in the town were built during the American occupation of the site.

Russell Glacier, flowing down from Sermersuaq. Visible is the fresh meltwater outflow and remains of berg bombardment.

[edit] Road to the ice sheet

A gravel road connects Kangerlussuaq with the ice sheet, initially serving as venue for car endurance experiments. Since then it is mainly used for tourist purposes.

[edit] Transport

Midnight sun under Sugar Loaf, Kangerlussuaq

As the only civilian airport in Greenland large enough to support large long-range airplanes such as Boeing 747s, Kangerlussuaq Airport is Greenland's most important transport hub. Six flights weekly arrive from Copenhagen and connect to internal flights operated by Air Greenland to the capital Nuuk and Ilulissat amongst other locations. Other flights are available in the summer to Keflavík, Iceland. Access to several research camps on Greenland's ice cap, including the Danish field camp North GRIP and the American Summit Camp, is handled through Kangerlussuaq via the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard.

There is no road to places outside the Kangerlussuaq area, but there has been discussions for several years about building an about 170 km long road to Sisimut.

[edit] Scientific Research

There is an ionospheric and atmospheric research facility known as the Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric Research Facility, situated at about 15 km (9 mi) west of Kangerlussuaq. It is commonly known around the town as Kellyville. It is operated by the SRI International for the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Danish Meteorological Institute. This facility is host to more than 20 instruments, the majority of which provide unique and complementary information about the arctic upper atmosphere. The centerpiece instrument of the facility is an L band incoherent scatter (IS) radar with a 32 m (105 ft) fully steerable antenna. It has been operational since the ionospheric radar was transported from Alaska to Kangerlussuaq in 1983 and it continues to be in high demand by the scientific communities.^[4]

Kangerlussuaq has also hosted the Greenland Space Science Symposium in May 2007. The selection of Greenland as a place for the symposium celebrated the rich history of Greenland in using scientific instruments to provide a window into the geospace system.

[edit] Rocket launches

Since 1971, rockets such as the Nike Apache, Petrel, Nike Tomahawk, Black Brant, Terrier Malemute, Taurus Orion, Terrier Malemute and Taurus Nike Tomahawk TNT have been launched from a site close to Kangerlussuaq (specifically, at 67°01′23″N 050°35′49″W / 67.02306°N 50.59694°W / 67.02306; -50.59694 (Kangerlussuaq rocket launches)) for examinations of the upper atmosphere.

[edit] Launch List

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ International Polar Year
2. ^ O'Carroll, Etain (2005). Greenland and the Arctic. Lonely Planet. pp. 166. ISBN 1-74059-095-3. 
3. ^ Allmetsat
4. ^ About Sondrestrom

[edit] References

• Kangerlussuaq information from sisimiut.gl
• Sonde Stromfjord Launch Log

[edit] External links

• Media related to Kangerlussuaq at Wikimedia Commons
• Kangerlussuaq travel guide from Wikitravel