Kangerlussuaq: Difference between revisions
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/25/greenland-glacier-bridge-destroyed-video Meltwater from Greenland glacier wipes out key crossing. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=78685&src=iotdrss http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment |
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'''Kangerlussuaq''' ([[Kalaallisut language|Kalaallisut]]: "Big Fjord"), |
'''Kangerlussuaq''' ([[Kalaallisut language|Kalaallisut]]: "Big Fjord"), also '''Sondrestrom''', is a settlement in western [[Greenland]] in the [[Qeqqata]] [[municipalities of Greenland|municipality]]<ref name="Qeqqata Kommunia">[http://www.qeqqata.gl/OmKommunen/ByogBygder/Kangerlussuaq/tabid/64/Default.aspx]</ref> located at the head of the [[Kangerlussuaq Fjord|fjord of the same name]] ({{lang-da|Søndre Strømfjord}}). It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport. The airport dates from [[USA|American]] settlement during and after [[World War II]], when the site was known as '''[[Bluie West-8]]''' and '''Sondrestrom Air Base'''. The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including [[muskox]]en, [[caribou]], and [[gyrfalcon]]s. The settlement's economy and population of 556<ref>[http://bank2.stat.gl/ Statistics Greenland] {{da icon}}</ref> is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry. |
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== Geography == |
== Geography == |
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Revision as of 15:28, 27 July 2012
Kangerlussuaq
Sondrestrom | |
|---|---|
 Myers Avenue with church and congress centre | |
| State |  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |  Greenland |
| Municipality | Qeqqata |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Albrecht Kreutzmann |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 556 |
| Time zone | UTC-03 |
| Postal code | 3910 |
Kangerlussuaq (Kalaallisut: "Big Fjord"), also Sondrestrom, is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality[2] located at the head of the fjord of the same name (Danish: Søndre Strømfjord). It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and Sondrestrom Air Base. The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons. The settlement's economy and population of 556[3] is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry.
Geography
Kangerlussuaq occupies an alluvial flatland on the far end of the 190 km long[4] Kangerlussuaq Fjord, straddling both sides of the Qinnguata Kuussua river estuary. East of Kangerlussuaq there is a confluence of the two major regional rivers, the Qinnguata Kuussua and Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua. The valley of the latter forms large quicksand plains. Both rivers originate from the Russell Glacier. The edge of the glacier is easily accessible and is a major tourist attraction from the town, as is the edge of the ice sheet in the Isunngua highlands to its northeast.[5]
Highlands such as Tarajornitsut bound Kangerlussuaq from the north and south. To the southeast behind lake Tasersuatsiaq, which provides fresh water to the town,[6] is the vast highland of Ammalortup Nunaa,[5] the original region artificially populated with 27 muskoxen.[7]
History
While Inuit hunters certainly visited Kangerlussuaq, there appears never to have been an settlement at the location.
Kangerlussuaq was founded at the east end of Kangerlussuaq fjord as Bluie West-8 on 7 October 1941, under the supervision of Colonel Bernt Balchen of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Following the fall of Denmark to Germany in World War II, US forces assumed security for Greenland, building several bases including Bluie West-1 to the south in Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 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-8 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 and was renamed using the Kalaallisut dialect of the West Greenland Inuit.
This site and Bluie West-1 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.
Population
The population of Kangerlussuaq dropped significantly after the liquidation of the Sonderstrom Air Base. Since then it has doubled in size, remaining stable in the last decade, slightly increasing over time.[8]
Transport
Air
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. Hotel Kangerlussuaq operates at the airport.
Sea
Kangerlussuaq Fjord is navigable in its entire length. Cruise ships, such as Norway's Hurtigruten[9] and supply ships of Royal Greenland navigate the fjord, mooring at the Kangerlussuaq port, west of Kangerlussuaq Airport.[10]
Road
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.[11]
Construction of a road to Sisimiut (170 km) has been discussed for several years without resolution.[12] The cost estimates have been between 250-500 MDKK, depending on road quality, but it has been considered expensive, and therefore the plans are delayed.
Climate
The climate in Kangerlussuaq is polar continental, with the area receiving very little rainfall.[13]
| Climate data for Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (1961-1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −14.5 (5.9) |
−16.4 (2.5) |
−12.4 (9.7) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
7.6 (45.7) |
13.9 (57.0) |
16.3 (61.3) |
13.4 (56.1) |
7.5 (45.5) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −24.4 (−11.9) |
−26.7 (−16.1) |
−24.0 (−11.2) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
3.3 (37.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
−16.4 (2.5) |
−20.8 (−5.4) |
−10.7 (12.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 5 (0.2) |
4 (0.2) |
5 (0.2) |
6 (0.2) |
8 (0.3) |
15 (0.6) |
24 (0.9) |
33 (1.3) |
18 (0.7) |
14 (0.6) |
11 (0.4) |
7 (0.3) |
150 (5.9) |
| Source: Danish Meteorological Institute[14] | |||||||||||||
In July 2012 a gust of warm air resulted in glacier meltwater which wiped out key crossing.[15][16][17]
Scientific Research
.JPG)
There is an ionospheric and atmospheric research facility known as the Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric Research Facility, situated at about 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Kangerlussuaq. It is commonly known around the town as Kellyville. It is operated by 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.[18]
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.
References
- ^ Qeqqata Municipality Template:Da icon
- ^ [1]
- ^ Statistics Greenland Template:Da icon
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. "Kangerlussuaq". Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ^ a b Vandrekort Vestgrønland: Kangerlussuaq (Map) (1996 ed.). Cartography by Compukort, Denmark. Greenland Tourism a/s.
- ^ International Polar Year
- ^ O'Carroll, Etain (2005). Greenland and the Arctic. Lonely Planet. p. 166. ISBN 1-74059-095-3.
- ^ a b Statistics Greenland
- ^ Hurtigruten.co.uk
- ^ sisimiut.gl
- ^ Sisimiut.gl
- ^ Sisimiut.gl
- ^ Allmetsat
- ^ Danish Meteorological Institute Template:Da icon
- ^ Meltwater from Greenland glacier wipes out key crossing. Scientists in Kangerlussuaq on western edge of ice sheet film runoff from glacier washing out roads and taking out a tractor 25 July 2012
- ^ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=78685&src=iotdrss
- ^ Greenland's ice sheet is melting fast – I'm not surprised. The ice sheet has been living on borrowed time for many years, with dire consequences 26 July 2012
- ^ "About Sondrestrom". SRI International. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
External links
Media related to Kangerlussuaq at Wikimedia Commons- Template:Wikitravel
