Hopen is an island in the southeastern part of the

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

archipelago (

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

). Hopen was discovered in 1596 by Jan Cornelisz Rijp during the third expedition by

Willem Barentsz Willem Barentsz (; – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch Republic, Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer. Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northern Sea Route, N ...

, trying to find the

Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP; , ) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islan ...

. Later, in 1613, its name was given by Thomas Marmaduke of Hull, who named it after his former command, the ''Hopewell''. The

Norwegian Meteorological Institute The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (), also known internationally as MET Norway, is Norway's national meteorological institute. It provides weather forecasts for civilian and military uses and conducts research in meteorology, oceanography an ...

since 1947 operates a staffed weather station on the island with a staff of four persons. For the welfare of the crew, there are three cabins available on the island for their use.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

placed a meteorological team there under cover of

Operation Zitronella Operation Zitronella, also known as (Operation Sicily), was an eight-hour German raid on Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard Archipelago, on 8 September 1943. The battleships (in its only offensive action) and , plus nine destroyers, sailed to the arc ...

. Due to their remote location, the German soldiers on Hopen were the last in Europe to surrender to the allies, who had to in fact be rescued after losing radio contact almost 5 months prior. On August 28, 1978 an early model

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (USAF/DOD reporting name Type 39; NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years. While many aircraft in Soviet service were retired af ...

of the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

crashed on the island. All seven crew were killed in the accident. It was discovered two days later by the four-man Norwegian weather forecasting team. The USSR refused to admit the loss of an aircraft until the bodies of the crew were given to them. Norway transcribed the contents of the flight recorder over the objections of the Soviet government.

Environment

A significant number of

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

s are found at Hopen in the winter; moreover, the sub-population of ''Ursus maritimus'' found here is a genetically distinct taxon of polar bears associated with the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

region.C. Michael Hogan, 2008 Since 2003, little sea ice has surrounded the island.

Important Bird Area

The island has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

. It supports breeding populations of black-legged kittiwakes (40,000 pairs), thick-billed guillemots (150,000 individuals) and

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s (1000 pairs).

Climate

Hopen has a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''ET''). The average annual temperature in Hopen is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in March, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Hopen was on 9 July 1973; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 4 March 1986.

Gallery

File:Hopen meteorologiske stasjon.jpg, Hopen meteorological station in 2019 File:Hopen Station.jpg, Hopen meteorological station, seen from north File:Hopen Svalbard May2013.jpg, The southernmost point, Kapp Thor, and the highest point, Iversenfjellet (370m) seen from south

References

Bibliography

* C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Polar Bear: Ursus maritimus'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* Oysten Wiig and Kjell Isakse
''Seasonal Distribution of Harbour Seals, Bearded Seals, White Whales and Polar Bears in the Barents Sea''

External links

*

{{Authority control Islands of Svalbard Nature reserves in Svalbard Important Bird Areas of Svalbard Seabird colonies Ramsar sites in Norway