Nordaustlandet | Austfonna, Arctic Wildlife & WWII Secrets

Early sightings and naming

Unlike many parts of Svalbard, no single explorer is credited with the discovery of Nordaustlandet. It was likely first seen by Dutch and English whalers in the early 17th century, who charted the southern coastline while navigating the Barents Sea. By 1710, the island appeared on Dutch maps as Noord Oosterland — 'northeast land' — a name that reflects its position relative to Spitsbergen.

Following the Svalbard Treaty of 1920, the island officially became part of Norwegian territory and was given its current name: Nordaustlandet. In the 1920s, the Oxford University Arctic Expeditions undertook several scientific journeys here, with the first arriving in 1923. These expeditions helped to map and study the island’s geology and glaciology in greater detail.

A Forgotten WWII Outpost

One of the most unusual episodes in Nordaustlandet’s history came during World War II. In 1944, the German military launched Operation Haudegen, a secret mission to establish a weather station on the island — a critical asset for forecasting in the North Atlantic theatre.

A team of eleven German soldiers was deployed to the island in September 1944. They built a functioning weather station and even launched atmospheric weather balloons. On May 8, 1945, they received news of Germany’s surrender — but were then met with silence. Cut off from command, and with supplies running low, the men began sending distress signals.

They were eventually rescued by a Norwegian fishing vessel on September 3, 1945. Their formal surrender marked the last official German capitulation of the war, months after the fighting had ended elsewhere in Europe.

One such place is Murchisonfjorden, a fjord that cuts into the northern coastline and occasionally opens up for landings in late summer. Its surrounding cliffs and scree slopes offer chances to spot walrus, Arctic fox, and nesting seabirds, while the ice edge nearby makes for dramatic vistas.

Just inland from the fjord lies Kinnvika, a wooden research outpost built by Swedish and Finnish scientists during the International Geophysical Year of 1957–58. Originally used to study glaciology, meteorology, and geophysics, the station was abandoned in 1959 but later revived in 2007–08 for international climate research. Remarkably well preserved, its ten wooden buildings still stand today, including what’s believed to be the northernmost sauna in Svalbard — a quirky but memorable landmark in this remote wilderness.

Austfonna: one of the largest ice caps outside Greenland

Austfonna, meaning ‘East Ice’ in Norwegian, dominates the eastern part of Nordaustlandet and is the larger of the two. Covering around 7,800 square kilometres, it’s one of the largest ice caps in the Northern Hemisphere outside the Greenland Ice Sheet.

The ice here reaches over 500 metres thick in places, feeding a network of glaciers that flow outward and calve into the surrounding sea. Its massive size and remote location make Austfonna a key site for studying ice dynamics, climate change, and sea-level rise.

Vestfonna: the smaller but active western ice cap

Vestfonna, or ‘West Ice’, occupies the island’s northwest corner and is significantly smaller than Austfonna, but still substantial in scale. It contributes to the island’s total glaciated area of around 11,150 square kilometres.

Vestfonna has been the subject of numerous satellite and radar studies, especially in relation to its surface melting rates and seasonal glacier movement. Its outlet glaciers often show signs of faster flow, offering valuable contrasts to the slower-moving ice of Austfonna.

Polar bears and Arctic predators

Nordaustlandet is a known habitat for polar bears, especially during the summer months when they patrol the coasts and drift ice in search of food. Sightings near whale carcasses or around known winter denning sites are not uncommon. Arctic foxes also roam the island’s rocky shores and tundra pockets, scavenging for seabird eggs and other food.

Seabird colonies in the North

Though vegetation is sparse, the cliffs of the northern coast provide nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds. These include the Brünnich’s guillemot, little auk, northern fulmar, black-legged kittiwake, and glaucous gull. More remote rock faces occasionally shelter ivory gulls, one of the Arctic’s rarest and most elusive seabirds.

Marine mammals and haul-out zones

The warmer Atlantic currents that reach the northern and western shores support marine life such as walrus, which haul out in small groups on gravel beaches. Ringed seals and bearded seals can also be seen in the surrounding waters, along with minke whales and the elusive white whale (beluga).

Reindeer in ice-free zones

Svalbard reindeer do inhabit parts of Nordaustlandet, but in lower densities than on Spitsbergen. They tend to be found in seasonally ice-free areas, grazing on mosses and lichens during the short Arctic summer.