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Plan your stay

Ny-Ålesund is easy to reach, but every visit needs careful planning. This guide follows the order you will do things in, from choosing a host institution to the in-brief on your first day.

1

Find your host institution

Kings Bay owns the land and most buildings. Ten institutions rent space long-term, and they assess, accept and host projects from their own countries. Procedures and deadlines differ between them.

Not on the list?

The Norwegian Polar Institute may host your project.

research.nya@npolar.no

Some countries run a peer review that decides which projects get access at no cost. In others, like Norway, the project must already be peer reviewed, and researchers are invoiced for the facilities they use.

2

Register and book in RiS

Research in Svalbard is one system for registering projects, booking facilities in Ny-Ålesund and applying to the Governor. Depending on your host, you register the project yourself or the host does it for you.

Open the RiS portal

Read the RiS help and FAQ first.

  1. Step 1 of 6

    Define your project

    New projects need a fieldwork period and a host institution in Ny-Ålesund. Svalbard Science Forum issues a RiS ID during working hours, and the booking button appears on your project page once it is ready. If the project is already registered, check and update it under My projects.

  2. Step 2 of 6

    Add the people

    Every participant must be registered in RiS. It is easiest when new people register themselves, so the project leader can then search for them and add them.

  3. Step 3 of 6

    Set the fieldwork period

    It runs from the first team member’s arrival to the last one’s departure, and is not the same as the project period. Never reuse an old fieldwork period by changing its dates. Add exact field locations so the Awareness module can flag other projects nearby.

  4. Step 4 of 6

    Book flights and rooms

    Add a separate flight for anyone arriving or leaving at a different time. Check seat availability in the Lufttransport schedule before you submit. Each ticket includes 20 kg of luggage, hand luggage included.

  5. Step 5 of 6

    Book equipment and labs

    Snowmobiles, boats, the Marine Lab, MS Teisten and wet and dry labs are booked in RiS. Clothing and safety gear from NPI Sverdrup are requested separately from materialforvalter@npolar.no.

  6. Step 6 of 6

    Safety course, weapons and invoice

    Sign up for the Kings Bay safety course and request a firearm in the same booking, but check first whether your host can lend you a rifle. Give a complete invoice address and a correct reference for electronic invoicing.

What happens after you submit

  1. 1You submitThe booking goes from RiS to your host.
  2. 2Host approvesYour host institution assesses and approves the project.
  3. 3Kings Bay approvesFlights, rooms, labs and other infrastructure are checked.
  4. 4ConfirmationYou get an email once both have approved. This takes a day or two.

Need to change something? Use the booking ID you already have. Don’t make a new entry, and wait until the booking is approved, since it can’t be changed while it waits.

3

Apply for permits in time

Most field activities need permission from the Governor of Svalbard, applied for through RiS. The Governor has four fixed deadlines a year, and inside the Ny-Ålesund planning area Kings Bay is consulted too.

All rules and permits

  1. January

    • Polar night until the end of January
    • Governor deadline 15 January, for fieldwork March to May

  2. February

    • Day and night

  3. March

    • Governor deadline 1 March, for fieldwork June to August

  4. April

    • Never really dark from the beginning of April
    • Midnight sun from mid-April
    • High season begins

  5. May

    • Bird sanctuaries closed to all traffic from 15 May

  6. June

    • Midnight sun

  7. July

    • Governor deadline 1 July, for fieldwork September to November

  8. August

    • Bird sanctuaries reopen after 15 August
    • Last month of midnight sun

  9. September

    • Nights darken again from mid-September

  10. October

    • Governor deadline 1 October, for fieldwork December to February
    • Low season begins

  11. November

    • Polar night from mid-November

  12. December

    • Polar night
  • Polar night
  • Day and night
  • Never really dark
  • Midnight sun

4

Funding and access

You are expected to bring your own funding for travel, accommodation and any infrastructure or logistics. Several programmes support access, and some are aimed at specific facilities.

  • POLARIN Transnational Access

    An EU project giving funded access to selected polar research infrastructure, including facilities in Ny-Ålesund.

    eu-polarin.eu

  • SIOS Access Programme

    Support for research that matches the goals of the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System, with access to infrastructure and data.

    sios-svalbard.org

  • Arctic Field Grant and Svalbard Strategic Grants

    Calls from the Research Council of Norway that strengthen Arctic research.

    forskningsradet.no

5

Arrival and in-brief

A representative from your host institution meets you when you land. Your in-brief covers the local information you need for your stay, including the risk assessment for your fieldwork.

Safety course
The day after you arrive, 4 hours
Certificate
Valid for three years
Travel and daily lifeSafety
A small plane on the gravel runway at Ny-Ålesund airport
Ny-Ålesund airport. Photo: Dagmara Wojtanowicz