Radio traffic with the French biplane broke off just under three hours after it took off. The airplane and the crew were lost without a trace -- to this very day.
The search for Amundsen goes on, read more here:
http://searchforamundsen.com
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The disappearance of a Norwegian national hero
Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) is one of the greatest national heroes of Norway. He was the first person in the world to set foot on the South Pole (1911) and the first person to have been on both the South Pole and North Pole. Amundsen was also the first person to traverse the Northwest Passage.
Amundsen’s Latham 47.02 float plane took off from the northern Norwegian town of Tromsø on June 18, 1928. Amundsen was on a rescue mission with a French-Norwegian team led by pilot René Guilbaud aimed at finding Umberto Nobile, the pilot of the airship Italia, and his crew. Amundsen and Nobile were well-acquainted. Two years earlier, Amundsen had flown over the pole to Alaska with Nobile and the American Lincoln Ellsworth. Truth be told, the two weren't exactly the best of friends. But now Nobile was in danger, and Amundsen was determined to find him. It was a mission he would pay for with his own life.
Radio traffic with the French biplane broke off just under three hours after it took off. The airplane and the crew were lost without a trace -- to this very day.
The search for Amundsen goes on, read more here:
http://searchforamundsen.com
Radio traffic with the French biplane broke off just under three hours after it took off. The airplane and the crew were lost without a trace -- to this very day.
The search for Amundsen goes on, read more here:
http://searchforamundsen.com
Friday, December 5, 2008
Bergen and the Fjords
Bergen is situated between seven mountains on the North Sea coast of Norway. Very close to Bergen you will find the beautiful Hardangerfjord. Among other other sights you will find The Rosendal Barony - a picturesque small castle deep in inside the fjord.
Sognefjord
The Sognefjord is Norway's longest fjord (second in the world), 205 km long. Here you can find The Flåm Railway which is a fantastic train journey from the mountain station Myrdal on the Bergen Railway from Bergen to Oslo, through the steep and exiting Flåm valley, down to Flåm station at the head of the Aurlandfjord.
There are several old stave churches to be found around the fjords. Five of the oldest are in the Sognefjord region, and all of them date back to the 12th century.
Fjords formed during the ice age
The fjords were formed when the ice retreated and carved out the u-shaped valleys that you can see today. The fjords, which consist of saltwater, are often very deep - the Sognefjord as an example drops down to 1,308 metres below sea level, making it Norway’s deepest fjord. Because fjords are so deep, they permit navigation by large ships, allowing you to experience their beauty at close range.
How to get there?
You can take the plane and rent a car from Bergen, or also check some of the many packages going by train and ferry. There are several cruiselines offering crusies along the fjords.
Sognefjord
The Sognefjord is Norway's longest fjord (second in the world), 205 km long. Here you can find The Flåm Railway which is a fantastic train journey from the mountain station Myrdal on the Bergen Railway from Bergen to Oslo, through the steep and exiting Flåm valley, down to Flåm station at the head of the Aurlandfjord.
There are several old stave churches to be found around the fjords. Five of the oldest are in the Sognefjord region, and all of them date back to the 12th century.
Fjords formed during the ice age
The fjords were formed when the ice retreated and carved out the u-shaped valleys that you can see today. The fjords, which consist of saltwater, are often very deep - the Sognefjord as an example drops down to 1,308 metres below sea level, making it Norway’s deepest fjord. Because fjords are so deep, they permit navigation by large ships, allowing you to experience their beauty at close range.
How to get there?
You can take the plane and rent a car from Bergen, or also check some of the many packages going by train and ferry. There are several cruiselines offering crusies along the fjords.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
10 Online Maps of Norway
10 online maps of Norway, including Svalbard, Bjørnøya and Jan Mayen as well as city-maps of Oslo and Bergen.
Political Map of Norway and Scandinavia
PDF-version
Map of Norway and surrounding countries
PDF-version
Map of Svalbard from 1970
Detailed map of Oslo in pdf-format
Map of Bjørnøya (Bear Island)
Interactive road-map of Norway
Topographic map of Svalbard
City-map of Bergen
Historical map of Norway from 1662
Map of Jan Mayen
Political Map of Norway and Scandinavia
PDF-version
Map of Norway and surrounding countries
PDF-version
Map of Svalbard from 1970
Detailed map of Oslo in pdf-format
Map of Bjørnøya (Bear Island)
Interactive road-map of Norway
Topographic map of Svalbard
City-map of Bergen
Historical map of Norway from 1662
Map of Jan Mayen
Monday, March 17, 2008
Polar ice cap melting away in 2008 ?
How low will they go? Putting a date on the melting of the Arctic ice cap has been a popular prediction game among scientists of late; in recent months, we've heard estimates ranging from 2030 to as early as 2013.
The latest salvo comes courtesy of Xinhua, which reports that Olav Orheim, the head of the Norwegian International Polar Year Secretariat, is placing his money on this summer. Noting that its ice sheet had reached a historical low of 3m sq. km last summer - it covered around 7.5m sq. km as recently as 2000 - Orheim told Xinhua that "if Norway's average temperature this year equals that in 2007, the ice cap in the Arctic will all melt away." Barring this disaster, Orheim predicted that excess carbon dioxide emissions and higher average temperatures would unpredictably alter the region's fragile ecosystems. On a separate note, he said that Asia would likely be hardest hit by rising sea levels, estimating that a one meter rise would affect "nearly 100 million people on an area of 800,000 square km in Asia and direct economic loss will amount to 400 billion U.S. dollars."
Shrinking ice cap in the Arctic Ocean even produced a new sea route from the Bering Strait to Oslo last summer, said Orheim. Maritime enterprises in some industrial nations such as the UnitedStates and Britain have started mulling on how to use it to cut cost over the past six months, he added.
Olav Orheim
The latest salvo comes courtesy of Xinhua, which reports that Olav Orheim, the head of the Norwegian International Polar Year Secretariat, is placing his money on this summer. Noting that its ice sheet had reached a historical low of 3m sq. km last summer - it covered around 7.5m sq. km as recently as 2000 - Orheim told Xinhua that "if Norway's average temperature this year equals that in 2007, the ice cap in the Arctic will all melt away." Barring this disaster, Orheim predicted that excess carbon dioxide emissions and higher average temperatures would unpredictably alter the region's fragile ecosystems. On a separate note, he said that Asia would likely be hardest hit by rising sea levels, estimating that a one meter rise would affect "nearly 100 million people on an area of 800,000 square km in Asia and direct economic loss will amount to 400 billion U.S. dollars."
Shrinking ice cap in the Arctic Ocean even produced a new sea route from the Bering Strait to Oslo last summer, said Orheim. Maritime enterprises in some industrial nations such as the UnitedStates and Britain have started mulling on how to use it to cut cost over the past six months, he added.
Olav Orheim
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Eat whale and save the world
Eating whale meat is far better for the climate than eating other types of meat. That’s the conclusion of a new, groundbreaking study.
“People can eat whale meat with a good conscience,” says Rune Frovik of the High North Alliance, which has conducted the study.
Norway and Japan, the two main whaling nations, are seeking new arguments to promote whale meat after years of condemnation from anti-whaling nations for breaking with a 1986 moratorium on all hunts meant to save many whale species from extinction.
The study compared the carbon foot print of Norwegian minke whale meat and farm raised meat. It found that the carbon foot print of beef was eight times higher than that of whale meat. “Put simply, one meal of beef emits the same amount of greenhouse gases as eight meals of whale meat,” says Frovik.
When expressing greenhouse gas emissions as CO2 equivalents, whale meat ends up with 1.9 kg per CO2 equivalents while the corresponding values are 17.4 for lamb, 15.8 for beef, 6.4 for pork and 4.6 for chicken.
The CO2 equivalents for other types of meat were done through other studies.
The High North Alliance has for years argued that abundant whale stocks make whale meat a sustainable and ecological sound option. International scientists estimate that there are more than 100,000 minke whales in the areas where the Norwegian commercial whale hunt takes place.
“Now it is also confirmed that whale meat is low carbon and good for the climate,” Frovik says.
A transfer to green taxes in which the real costs associated with climate change emissions are incorporated in the real consumer prices may strengthen the economic competition of low-carbon items.
“With increasing environmental awareness, coupled with abundant whale stocks, the future for whaling looks bright,” he says.
Further information:
Study on the carbon foot print of whale meat
“People can eat whale meat with a good conscience,” says Rune Frovik of the High North Alliance, which has conducted the study.
Norway and Japan, the two main whaling nations, are seeking new arguments to promote whale meat after years of condemnation from anti-whaling nations for breaking with a 1986 moratorium on all hunts meant to save many whale species from extinction.
The study compared the carbon foot print of Norwegian minke whale meat and farm raised meat. It found that the carbon foot print of beef was eight times higher than that of whale meat. “Put simply, one meal of beef emits the same amount of greenhouse gases as eight meals of whale meat,” says Frovik.
When expressing greenhouse gas emissions as CO2 equivalents, whale meat ends up with 1.9 kg per CO2 equivalents while the corresponding values are 17.4 for lamb, 15.8 for beef, 6.4 for pork and 4.6 for chicken.
The CO2 equivalents for other types of meat were done through other studies.
Greenpeace said the threat of extinction was more important.
"The survival of a species is more important than lower greenhouse gas emissions from eating it," said Truls Gulowsen of Greenpeace. "Almost every food is more climate friendly than meat.
Most fish and seafood has similarly low emissions."
The High North Alliance has for years argued that abundant whale stocks make whale meat a sustainable and ecological sound option. International scientists estimate that there are more than 100,000 minke whales in the areas where the Norwegian commercial whale hunt takes place.
“Now it is also confirmed that whale meat is low carbon and good for the climate,” Frovik says.
A transfer to green taxes in which the real costs associated with climate change emissions are incorporated in the real consumer prices may strengthen the economic competition of low-carbon items.
“With increasing environmental awareness, coupled with abundant whale stocks, the future for whaling looks bright,” he says.
Further information:
Study on the carbon foot print of whale meat
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