Metadata for a long-term climate series from the Russian meteorological station “Pyramiden” (1948-1957) at Svalbard ( Short Communication)

Soviet weather station "Pyramiden" was located in the same mining settlement on the northern shore of the Mimer bukta (Billefjorden, West Spitsbergen Island). Research station operated from 1948 to 1957, as a branch of Barentsburg research observatory (Grnfjorden, West Spitsbergen Island). It was the only station that held regular meteorological observations in the inland areas of the archipelago. Observational data (in the form of handwritten books and tables) are preserved in state fond of Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI, St. Petersburg, Russia). So far, these data have not been digitized and with their help not conducted any climate researches. Fruitful scientific collaboration between MET-Norway (Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo) and AARI helped preserve these unique data to the polar scientific community. Now specialists-climatologists of both institutions complete joint climate researches that in the near future will be available to scientists, studying modern climate changes in the polar regions of the Earth

Sea ice metadata for Billefjorden and Grnfjorden, Svalbard

Description of sea ice conditions in the fjords of Svalbard is crucial for sea transport as well as studies of local climate and climate change. Old observations from the Russian Hydrometeorological stations in the mining settlements Barentsburg (Grnfjorden) and Pyramiden (Billefjorden) have now been digitized. These visual and instrumental observations are archived in the State Archive of Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) and Murmansk Branch of the Russian Hydrometeorological Service. In this paper, we bring an overview of the sea ice metadata with few examples of yearly changes in sea ice extent