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Meteoroids 2001Conference
Swedish Institute of
Space Physics
Kiruna, Sweden
6-10 August 2001
6-10 August 2001
The Svalbard Excursion [cancelled -
insufficient bookings]
ESR 1 & 2. Photo: Ingemar Wolf
In connection with the Meteoroids 2001 conference we offer the participants and accompanying persons a chance to visit the Ramfjordmoen and Longyearbyen radar sites of the EISCAT Scientific Association. EISCAT stands for the European Incoherent SCATter Facility. It is a comprehensive collection of three different radar systems working on 224, 500 and 930 MHz including six large antennas, and an ionospheric Heating facility. The VHF, UHF and the Heating transmitters are located at Ramfjordmoen, close to Tromsø, Norway. Two remote receivers for the UHF system are located in Kiruna, Sweden and Sodankylä, Finland. The 500 MHz ESR (EISCAT Svalbard Radar) comprising two antennas, is located near Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen. The EISCAT facility is owned by Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Norway and Sweden. The main initial purpose of the instruments has been to conduct ionospheric and magnetospheric studies in the auroral zone and polar cap areas. However, these powerful radars have also been used for other purposes, such as studies of basic plasma physics phenomena through the Heating facility, interplanetary scintillations, as astronomic VLBI stations, for upper atmosphere and even for meteor studies.
The tour starts on Thursday morning, August 2nd, in Kiruna heading towards the EISCAT Ramfjordmoen radar station. After visiting the site in the afternoon the tour continues to the city of Tromsø. The airplane to Svalbard leaves from Tromsø airport at 11.10 pm and arrives at Longyearbyen airport 00.45 am August 3rd. Remember the continuous daylight, so it does not matter from whatever time zone you come. On Friday afternoon there will be a visit to the ESR site. On Sunday 5th the plane leaves at 2.05 pm arriving at Tromsø airport at 3.30 pm. We arrive back in Kiruna in the evening.
For logistic reasons the tour has been divided into two parts. The Spitsbergen Travel company SPITRA will organise the flights, accommodation, meals and sightseeing (except the program at the ESR site, which is organized by EISCAT) on Svalbard. The detailed program and price and insurance information for this part of the excursion can be found on the page Pre tour Meteoroids 2001. Registration and payment is made directly to SPITRA with the form, which also includes information of the deadlines for registration (April 27th, 2001, the same date as for the conference) and cancellation (May 28th, 2001).
We urge the participants to pay for the Tromsø-Svalbard-Tromsø part of the tour with their credit card direct to SPITRA. After the April 27 deadline the reservations are no longer valid. If there are any problems with the Svalbard part of the tour, please contact Merethe Hveding at SPITRA, e-mail meretheh@spitra.no.
Please note that a minimum of 15 participants are needed for the excursion to go ahead. At present we have 43 seats booked for the tour as per the situation in December. All the people who have so far indicated interest for the tour have been contacted by us. If other people are interested in this tour, contact Asta Pellinen-Wannberg: asta@irf.se.
Transport
The part of the tour from Kiruna to Tromsø and back and to the Ramfjordmoen radar site is organized as follows:
We will leave Kiruna early in the morning on Thursday, August 2, drive to Tromsø via Finland and eat lunch in Kilpisjärvi, close to where the Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish borders meet. In the afternoon we will stop for a visit at the Ramfjordmoen EISCAT UHF and VHF transmitter site outside Tromsø. There will be a few free evening hours in the city of Tromsø, but we will leave in good time for the Airport to get the tickets for the flight to Svalbard which leaves at 11.10 p.m. (23.10).
The bus will be waiting for us when we arrive back at Tromsø Airport on Sunday, August, 5, at 3.30 p.m. (15.30). It takes us back to Kiruna by a different route. We will make a short stop for a sandwich and a slide show by the legendary Swedish nature photographer Sven Hörnell at Riksgränsen. We will be back in Kiruna at about 10 p.m. (22.00).
The Kiruna-Tromsø-Kiruna tour, including the meals mentioned above, will cost 800 SEK (400 SEK for children up to 15). This part of the tour can be paid together with the registration fee to the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, before April 27.
Remember
1. Everybody needs passports to Svalbard (even the Nordic citizens).
2. Check the visa and customs regulations for your nationality as we will pass through Finland and will enter Norway and Sweden on our way.
3. To arrive in Kiruna by Wednesday, August 1, and book a hotel room for one night, if you want to use our bus transport to Tromsø.
4. Let us know if you plan to go to Tromsø by some other means or way. It might be difficult in that case to organize the visit to Ramfjordmoen site. If you fly directly to Tromsø from your home destination, you will probably also have to leave from Tromsø to get cheap tickets. There are no regular connections between Kiruna and Tromsø.
5. Inform us if you have some special dietary requirements for the meals.
6. Bring slippers or light indoor shoes. The rule of not using outdoor shoes inside is absolute on Svalbard due to the ever-present dust from the coal mines.
The road distance between Kiruna and Tromsø is 400 - 500 km depending on which route is taken. Both the roads are very beautiful including partly flat Lappish landscape, high (by Scandinavian standards) snow-clad mountain landscape and dramatic Norwegian fjord landscape.The distance between Tromsø and the Ramfjordmoen site is about 40 km. The distance by sea or air from Tromsø to Svalbard is about 1500 km. Svalbard is located between 77° and 80°N.
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Latest update: 18 May 2001