Mestersvig, also called Mesters Vig, is a military outpost located in Scoresby Land, on the southwestern shore of Davy Sound in King Christian X Land, NE

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

. It has a 1,800 m gravel

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

. This airport is located near the

Stauning Alps The Stauning Alps ( da, Stauning Alper) are a large system of mountain ranges in Scoresby Land, King Christian X Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively the Stauning Alps are part of the Northeast Greenland National Park zone. This mou ...

mountainous area.

History

From 1956 to 1963, Mestersvig was a

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic t ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

mine. Later Mestersvig used to be the only permanent station in the

Northeast Greenland National Park Northeast Greenland National Park ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq, da, Grønlands Nationalpark) is the world's largest national park and the 10th largest protected area (the only larger protected areas all consist mostly of sea). ...

but all of the 1986 population of 40 has been split up into the three newer Northeast Greenland National Park research stations ( Danmarkshavn, Nord and Daneborg) except a permanent population of two people, although tourists visit the station occasionally. In September 2015, as part of the newest defence agreement to increase the enforcement of sovereignty in Greenland, Mission Mestersvig was executed. The mission was to test the responsiveness of the

military of Denmark Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...

and if the equipment could handle winter weather. HDMS ''Thetis'', parts of the

Guard Hussar Regiment The Guard Hussar Regiment ( da, Gardehusarregimentet, GHR) is a cavalry unit of the Royal Danish Army, whose primary task is to train the Guard Hussars for various functions in the mobilisation force. The Guard Hussar Regiment is one of two acti ...

, Hunter Corps and the

Danish Frogman Corps The Frogman Corps ( da, Frømandskorpset) is the maritime special operations force of the Danish Defence part of Special Operations Command. On 1 July 2015, the Frogman Corps transferred from the Royal Danish Navy to the newly established Spec ...

all participated in the exercise.

References

Research stations in Greenland {{Greenland-geo-stub

History

See also

References