The surface temperatures in Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic have shown to dramatically
increase along with global warming over the last few decades. The average temperature
in Longyearbyen in Svalbard has increased by approximately 4 degrees Celsius since the
opening of the University Studies at Svalbard about 30 years ago. Increased temperatures
cause thawing of sediments, retreating glaciers and general destabilization of the ground.
Heat flux into the frozen tundra causes frozen and stiff sediments to soften, which have
significant effects on their elastic and seismic properties. Extensive thawing of the
Cryosphere may cause severe emissions of climate gases.
Geophysical methods will be important for revealing such ongoing near-surface dynamic
processes caused by a warmer climate. In this presentation I will show examples on the
use of active and passive seismic methods, and assisted by GPR data, for studying such
phenomena, and, furthermore, emphasize the generics of methods already established
and used by the oil and gas industry.

Speaker: Tor Arne Johansen

Professor, Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Norway
Department of Arctic geophysics, University studies on Svalbard, Norway

Visiting Professor, Stanford Geophysics